Are diamonds also a tennis player’s best friend? If you’re Luxilon, the answer is YES! To celebrate their 60th year in business, Luxilon has released a special Alu Power Diamond Edition tennis string. This string retains the hallmark co-poly, aluminum formula that it is renowned for and forges it in a 16 gauge offering. As one of the most widely played brands on the pro tour, their status as a market leader is unquestioned. Having played with nearly every Luxilon variant under the sun, it was time for me to toast their 60th anniversary by hitting the court with Alu Power 1.30! Note: I playtested this string with the Wilson Blade 16 x 19 v7 tennis racquet strung at 48 lbs.
Power, Spin and Control
Much like standard Alu Power, the Diamond Edition leaned into the low end of the power spectrum. It expected me to bring the power to shots and rewarded me any time I took big aggressive cuts at the ball. The low powered nature also made it an ideal control string. I felt like it was very hard to over hit off the ground using this string. I had no trouble shifting the ball around the court and varying my depths during rallies. With the proliferation of aggressively shaped and textured strings on the market these days, I had almost forgotten how good a quality round poly like Alu Power could be at producing spin. This string produced plenty of topspin off both sides on groundstrokes and had plenty of grip for executing nasty, low skidding slice shots. The spin and control that Alu Power Diamond had was intoxicating and it was easy to see why the string is so popular at the top levels of the game.
Feel
Alu Power Diamond was definitely one of the firmer co-polys out these days. As one of the original revisions to the polyester formula, it seemed to have fallen a little behind the innovations in feel other brands have been experimenting with. The thicker 16g also traded a bit of feel and responsiveness in the name of durability. On contact the feel of the string was crisp and firm, but I did appreciate how connected to the ball it made me feel. I never experienced any outright comfort issues with the string but I did find the low powered, firm nature of the string to be a bit fatiguing over longer hitting sessions.
Durability & Playability
Durability was an area where Alu Power Diamond did not surprise or disappoint. I fully expected it to be a highly durable offering and it lived up to that expectation. The smooth surface resisted friction well and helped to minimize notching over time. I crossed well into double digit court hours before I finally cut it out, which tends to be my litmus test for polyester durability. Playability however, remained one of the most mysterious aspects of Alu Power to me. The playability of the string in the first couple hours was absolutely addicting. Between the control, spin and ball feel, I didn’t want to put it down. As I have seen with other Alu variations in the past, this feeling substantially changed after the first 2-4 hours of hitting. The string dropped quite a bit of tension and just seemed to lose its “magic.” I found it to become a bit more erratic and the firmness of the string became more and more noticeable over time. Eventually, I just found it to be such a different string from when it was fresh that I cut it out without breaking it. If I was consistently restringing after a few hours of play, Alu Power would be toward the top of my list but budget minded players may find the change in performance over time to be a bit more than they can handle.
Overall
Luxilon rounds out their gauge offerings in Alu Power with this special anniversary edition. It plays with the same trademark control, spin and connected response that have made Alu Power such a beloved string. While it may not have the longest playability, there’s no denying that Luxilon Alu Power Diamond Edition is one of the most dynamic and rewarding strings that players who are willing to string regularly will find on the market.
About the Author: Matt Locke formerly served for 3 years as the Junior Programs & Development Coordinator for USTA-Idaho. He is a PTR certified coach and is an active USTA 4.5+ League and Tournament player. He loves Nadal’s determination, but secretly wishes he had Federer’s effortless style.
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