NEW!

Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour

Tourna has been producing quality strings since 1998.

Back in 2012, the Black7 was awarded #1 in spin, which has still not been bested to this day. Black7 is slightly lower powered and softer than Silver7. All Tourna Strings are highly rated and feature the best price to performance ratio on the market.

Tourna strings have 3 of the top 5 spots for spin!
According to USRSA String Blind Playtests

Rank	String	Spin
1	Tourna Big Hitter Black 7 17	4.36
3	Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour 17	4.27
5	Tourna Big Hitter Blue Rough 17	4.15

PlayTest By Tennis Warehouse University

Players

Intro

Tourna, the American tennis brand from Alpharetta Georgia, has been manufacturing premium co-polys since the late 90s. Compared to its legendary blue overgrip (famously used by Pete Sampras and countless pros), Tourna’s string line has flown largely under the radar. How-ever, if our playtest results are correct, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour is not to be overlooked.With its ultra-predictable response on full swings, this co-poly earned one of the best control scores awarded by our playtest program. The outstanding control came in no small part from this string’s shaped and grippy profile, which helped our crew bring the ball down very effectively with spin. Even more impressive was the fact that Silver 7 Tour held its tension and stayed playable longer than the majority of co-polys we’ve tested. Given how perfectly this string fit into the wheelhouse of our playtesters, it’s not surprising that our team reported zero downsides. That said, this co-poly is likely too firm and underpowered for beginners or players who prefer softer “starter” polys. However, for the poly veteran who wants a seductively crisp monofilament with surgical targeting on full swings, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour is as good as it gets. The fact that it is priced under $10 and lasts longer than the average co-poly makes it hard to beat.

Control: 93/Power: 45

With its firm and low-powered construction, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour is a control string designed to give experienced players the confidence to swing big without fear of over-hitting. According to Chris, the design definitely works. He explained, “I enjoyed the control-oriented response of Silver 7 Tour. I was able to drop the tension down 4 lbs in my racquet to get some more power yet still get tons of control. I liked the way Silver 7 Tour encouraged me to take full cuts at the ball and I could trust that my shots wouldn’t fly on me. I found the power level to be some-what low for the duration of the test and was impressed that the control oriented nature didn’t falter even after about 9 hours of hitting.”For Troy, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour provided outstanding control, and it never felt dead, which is a common downside of control strings. He explained, “This string is definitely on the control side of the spectrum, especially compared to some of the softer co-polys I’ve recently playtested, like Kirschbaum Xplosive Speed, Genesis Black Magic and Prince Vortex. I loved the fact that it allowed me to take big swings with full confidence in my depth control. That said, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour isn’t dead or lifeless. I noticed a decent amount of pop as the ball exited the string-bed. I found it similar to stiff strings like Solinco Tour Bite and Luxilon 4G, whose primary characteristic is control, but there is also a little zap of energy given to the ball when taking a big rip from the baseline.”

Spin: 90

With its grippy edges and predictable response on upward cuts, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour was clearly built for spin. Needless to say, Troy was im-pressed. He explained, “Spin was right up there with the best of them. The seven sharp edges helped grab the ball on my topspin shots. While installing this string, I could feel the edges on my fingertips. The edges are not as painfully sharp as Weiss CANNON Ultra Cable or Volkl V-Square, but there was still plenty of ball bite (or string to ball friction as tennis nerds would say). The spin potential was right up there with two of my favorites, Volkl Cyclone and Solinco Hyper-G. The combination of high control and sharp edges allowed me to execute sharp cross-court angles. When taking long and full swings from the baseline, I was able to generate heavy topspin. My topspin ground strokes were rewarded with easy net clearance (high launch angle), and the ball was dipping down in the court with ease. One thing that I noticed in the beginning of the playtest was that this string was sticking out of place just slightly. Not as much as Luxilon Smart did, but a bit more than Solinco Hyper-G. After a few sessions, this string settled in, and it seemed to snap back into place very well. I noticed this similar experience with Solinco Tour Bite.”When it came to spin, there was little Chris couldn’t do with this string. He explained, “I hit Silver 7 Tour in two very different racquets and found it to play spin-friendly in both. The low powered nature for the string allowed me to swing fast and I was able to turn that racquet head speed into spin. I liked the feel on my slice backhand as I could feel the amount of spin I was getting on that shot which helped me judge depth and placement very well. Likewise, I felt connected to my topspin groundstrokes, lobs and angles. I was able to get ample spin on the ball to get it to dip inside the lines, hop up or skid low depending on what I was looking to do.”

Feel: 84/Comfort: 59

The biggest downside of stiff control strings is that they can feel uncomfortable and dead, especially on slower strokes and off-center hits. Armed with the right tension strategy, Chris avoided these problems while still getting that “connected feel” which is so crucial to control. He explained, “Silver 7 Tour offered me a firm, crisp feel. I felt very connected to my shots and could judge pace, depth, spin and direction the instant the ball left the strings. Even at 44lbs the string felt decently crisp, but I got more pocketing and enjoyed the feel even more. While the feel was firm I didn’t have any comfort issues while hitting Silver 7 Tour over a three-week period.”As a longtime user of polyester strings, Troy loved the crisp response of Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour. He explained, “The higher stiffness of Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour fell right into my wheelhouse. If anyone has ever wondered what we mean by “crisp,” they should try this string. Right off the string machine it was evident that this string was on the stiffer side of the spectrum. It wasn’t as stiff as Luxilon 4G but pretty similar to Solinco Tour Bite. I kept the tension fairly low, around 45 pounds, which added some comfort and seemed to enhance the ball pocketing. With that being said, I recommend going down a couple of pounds, especially if you typically play with a soft co-poly. I never felt like this string was jarring on my arms, but it does have a stiff feel to it. If someone is looking for a more comfortable feeling co-poly, I would steer them in the direction of Tourna’s Big Hitter Black 7.

Playability Duration: 83

There is no denying it. All tennis strings lose tension and playability over time, especially co-polys. The good news for Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour is that it received an outstanding score for tension maintenance in our TWU string lab. Needless to say, Troy was impressed, “Tension maintenance was great for a co-poly monofilament. Compared to some of the best co-polys for tension maintenance, such as Solinco Hyper-G and Luxilon 4G, this Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour was right up there. I found a slight drop in tension after about 3 hours of playtesting this string. After this initial settling phase, this string seemed to hold a consistent tension, and response for the rest of the playtest. After the first couple of sessions, I noticed that these strings were moving out of place a bit more than usual, specifically with the 17 gauge. This is something that I also noticed when playtesting thinner gauges of Solinco Tour Bite. After a couple of sessions, this string started to settle in, and I didn’t have any issues with string movement going forward.””Silver 7 Tour lasted very well for me,” said Chris. He added, “As the string aged and lost some tension it remained very controlled. I was still able to find solid levels of spin. I liked how the string never became brassy feeling as it aged. Predictably the snap back diminished as the string’s surface wore and notched towards the end of the test but I was impressed with how it held up over the first two-weeks. Silver 7 Tour is definitely one of the longer lasting co-polys in terms of holding its playability.”

What Type of Player Would You Recommend This To?

Chris – “Players who love firm and crisp poly strings will find a willing partner in Silver 7 Tour.”
Troy – “For the seasoned co-poly user, who wants a crisp feeling co-poly, and is willing to try a great value alternative to strings like Luxilon ALU Power Spin, or Babolat RPM Blast.”

Comparison

Troy – “This string has a lot of characteristics in common with Solinco Tour Bite. Compared to the Tourna Poly Big Hitter Black 7 String, this Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour offers a stiffer, and more controlled response. Spin potential is right up there with two of my favorites, Volkl Cyclone, and Solinco Hyper-G.”
Chris – “I’d compare this string to Solinco Tour Bite. Both Silver 7 Tour and Tour Bite offer a similarly crisp feel to Luxilon ALU Power but I find ALU Power to be slightly livelier and more forgiving.”

Read our review on Tennis Industry →

Dealers

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