Genesis Black Magic String Review

Control - Score: 83 / Power - Score: 66

By virtue of its nature, Black Magic's co-polyester makeup is bound to be low powered and control oriented in the spectrum of all tennis strings. Within the scope of co-polyester strings, however, our testers experienced decent power while maintaining enough control to feel confident going for their shots. Sean elaborated on that characteristic, saying, "Oftentimes I feel that softer polys come off the stringer very lively, then quickly bag out, losing their initial playability properties and becoming dead. However, I was pleasantly surprised that even after the expected tension loss, Black Magic continues to play semi-lively and feel relatively comfortable for a co-poly string. I don't think the control was as predictable as many of the stiffer polys I gravitate toward, but I never had serious control issues on court."

Although he had ample power with Black Magic, Erik still felt this was a control story. He described, "I got solid power from this string, but mostly control. I felt like I could really swing out and my shots would still drop in the court. On the other hand, the ball tended to fly on me if I was not totally committed to the shot, and I couldn't get as much spin out of this string as I had hoped."

Troy found the power output from the stringbed changing over the course of the playtest. He explained, "During the first couple hours of play I found the power to be higher than average compared to other poly strings. After this initial break-in, or what I assume was some tension loss, the string started to calm down a bit. The more I played with it, the deader it felt. On the upside, I enjoyed taking big swings and liked the control I had over the ball. For the most part, I would call this a 'trusty' string. Meaning I could swing like I usually do, and I didn't have to worry about the ball flying long on me or the string feeling too dead."

Spin - Score: 76

Our Tennis Warehouse University lab data suggests that Black Magic, being a round co-poly, lacks a little in the string-to-ball friction department. However, the string-to-string friction is relatively low, potentially increasing a phenomenon called "snap-back," which creates both a higher launch angle and spin potential. Troy clarified this point, saying, "Spin was pretty average on the whole spectrum of co-poly strings. Compared to all of the round shaped co-polys that I have tried, Black Magic felt pretty slick on the surface, which allowed the string to snap back with ease. I found plenty of spin potential on my shots with the 17 gauge (1.23 mm), especially when paired with the open 16x19 string pattern of my Yonex VCORE Pro 97 (330). I thought the spin potential was comparable to Prince Diablo Pro and Yonex Poly Tour Strike."

Sean was less impressed, but not dismayed. He said, "Seeing as Black Magic is a round poly, I thought spin production was noticeably below average. That said, I prefer to hit flatter anyway, so the lack of bite was a non-issue for me while playing. I tested both the 16 and 17 gauges of this string and found the spin potential to be improved on the 17 gauge, but that may have been a result of the higher launch angle coming off the thinner string."

Unlike Sean, Erik tends to hit a higher, heavier ball from the baseline, so the reduction in spin bothered him more. He described, "I got a decent amount of spin with this string, but it wasn’t as much as I usually get with my string of choice, Solinco Hyper-G. I also felt like this string didn't grab the ball as much as Hyper-G. At times I would hit balls long that usually drop in the court."

Comfort - Score: 76

Marketed as softer than other co-polyester strings, Black Magic tested near the middle of the pack in our lab. However, all of our testers commended the comfort of this string, and the consensus was that it felt softer than the average co-poly on court. Sean said, "Although our lab put Black Magic's stiffness in line with many of the soft polys on the market, I thought it played much softer than its stiffness rating indicated. The 17 gauge was more comfortable and a little livelier from my perspective. This comfort was really welcome, and I would classify the string as a medium-soft poly."

Erik had no qualms about the comfort of his string. He added, "Black Magic was extremely comfortable for me. I liked the soft feel of this string, which was very comfortable on my arm. I had no comfort issues, especially in the 17 gauge. I felt very connected to the ball and could slice and hit drop volleys with ease."

Troy thought the comfort level fluctuated as the playtest progressed. He said, "In the first couple hours of play, Black Magic felt very elastic and pocketed the ball well. This helped absorb the shock of highspeed collisions with the ball. As the tension dropped and the string settled in, the stringbed started to feel firmer. At this point the stiffness and the resulting comfort felt closer to what the TW University Lab data would indicate. All that being said, the comfort was good for a medium to slightly firm co-poly."

Feel - Score: 76

Perhaps one of the harder, more subjective categories to pin down, the feel of Black Magic surprisingly united our testers, who all noted this string's soft feel. Erik described, "I thought that this string had excellent feel. I especially enjoyed Black Magic at net because of its softness, and it kept me extremely connected to the ball. This string wasn't super soft, but it was middle-of-the-road soft."

Troy noticed a change after the string's initial drop-off. He said, "At the beginning of the playtest I would call the feel of this string soft, elastic and lively. The feel became deader and firmer after the initial break-in and tension loss. One thing that never really changed was the feel, which was somewhat muted for my liking. Strings like Volkl Cyclone and Solinco Tour Bite offer me a crisper, more responsive feel."

The soft response wasn't Sean's preference, but he still found value in Black Magic's comfort. He said, "Although this is a softer string, I wouldn't venture to call it mushy. That said, it wasn't as crisp as my string of choice, Hyper-G. It was responsive compared to other soft polys and a little muted compared to stiffer polys, so your mileage may vary depending on which side you’re coming from. I still prefer a little more feedback from my stringbed, but I appreciated the improved comfort of the string compared to what I normally play with."

Playability Duration - Score: 83

It is well known that soft polyester strings have an unfortunate history when it comes to maintaining their playability. "Drop-off," a term used to describe the sudden change in feel and response, has long plagued this particular niche of polyester strings. Although Black Magic was not immune to customary tension loss, our testers agreed that the long-term playability was decently stable and linear for a soft poly. Sean explained, "Although I am not a big string breaker, I still feel the loss of tension over time in my preferred stiffer polys. My biggest issue with soft polys is that they usually bag out extremely quickly on me, where the playability drops off a cliff. I did not experience this with Black Magic, although in the future I will probably try pre-stretching it so that the string properties and tension maintenance are more consistent. I noticed that the launch angle off the stringbed gained height as I wore the string in, and I had to adjust for this while playing."

Troy felt Black Magic played consistently after the initial tension loss. He noted, "For a relatively comfortable co-poly, the tension maintenance was better than average. Compared to Volkl Cyclone Tour or Double AR Diablo, I found this Genesis Black Magic to hold tension well. As I touched on already, there was an initial drop-off in the feel and tension after a couple hours of play, but then it settled in. From about two hours into the playtest up until the end, this string remained pretty consistent. Control was good, but the feel wasn't quite to my taste."

Erik agreed that Black Magic maintained its playing characteristics fairly well over time. He described, "This string has good playability duration. It didn't seem to bag out, and it kept its tension well over time. I did notice some notching of the strings around the fourth day, but that's pretty normal for me."

Overall - Score: 80