Konstantinos Kalfountzos is back with another play test. A Mayami String Review, focusing on Tour Hex and hybrids with Machete and Big Spin.
Introduction to Mayami
Mayami is a tennis string brand with roots in Ukraine. The pandemic and war took a toll on the supply chain these past two years, but as of now, the brand is fully operational in Europe with a new distribution center in Poland. It is also expanding into the US and has a pretty solid presence in SE Asia. You can purchase strings from the Mayami official website.
I’ve played 5 of their strings and three of them stood out for me.
Mayami Tour Hex 1.23
Most reviews talk about a low-powered response. I didn’t have the same experience with my Diadem Elevate. Maybe the semi-open 16×20 pattern replenished some power. The stringbed doesn’t feel “plasticky,” but at the same time, not “buttery.” It’s a semi-stiff string that consistently hits the flat ball, has more than enough top-spin assistance, and because it’s never launchy, control levels are pretty high.Â
Playability stability is its best feature. For example, two months ago, I shared 12m sets with 4 intermediate-level hitting partners to give it a try, and none of them told me they needed to restring. One didn’t like the sound coming out of his Yonex DR98, and another one found it a bit plasticky on his Blade V5 18×16 (his reference string is Luxilon 4G). Personally, I couldn’t notice any drastic drop-off; it just kept playing almost the same as the first time. Â
(rackets used: Diadem Elevate V2 FS98, 21kg and Head Prestige MP 2021 18×19, 21kg)
Machete x Tour Hex hybrid
Machete is the first triangular-shaped string I’ve tried. i didn’t want to go full-bed with such an aggressively-shaped and very sharp string and went hybrid with Tour Hex in the crosses. With no previous experience in such a string setup, I right away noticed the high launch angle giving me signals to hit with as heavy top-spin as I could to keep the ball in play.
At this point, I have to mention that later I tried another similar setup from another brand that proved to be too launchy and with absolutely no control for my level of hitting. Back to this one, Tou Hex in the crosses made sure the stringbed would not be launchy. Control levels were much better when I hit with top-spin, playing with big margins over the net, rather than flat. On the forehand side, it’s a string setup that helped me improve my top-spin cross-court forehands. On the backhand side, I was pleasantly surprised by the power assistance – the ball was getting in and’ out in a blink. Overall, it felt like a “cheat code” string setup for players who use spin-oriented “tweeners” that come with some power of their own, that’s because the following Mayami hybrid setup blew any other hybrid setup away!
(rackets used: Diadem Elevate V2 FS98, 21kg)
Big Spin x Tour Hex hybrid
I first read about this hybrid setup on Talk Tennis forum where it was highly praised by some guys and I quote: “it gives you the confidence to hit big strokes without fear of missing long”. Tour Hex in the crosses, like the previous hybrid, keeps the power levels at a controllable state and the stringbed at a medium stiffness level.
Big Spin in the mains offers a magic blend of soft feel, excellent access to spin with a much lower launch angle than Machete, and at the same time, it somehow manages to hit the flat balls very well when hitting through the ball with a good pace. I never felt any discomfort; the stringbed started dropping off a bit during the 6th-7th hour mark, becoming slightly more powerful and less spin-friendly as the edges started losing shape. Big Spin is aggressively shaped and twisted but not harsh on the fingers, so the comfort levels derive from that.
Until now, it’s the best hybrid setup I’ve tried by miles.
(rackets used: Diadem Elevate V2 FS98, 22kg)
* Some have suggested the Big Spin x Magic Twist hybrid which I have not tried yet, but I’m eager to do, maybe side-by-side someday. Magic Twist and Hit Pro were also played, but at a lower level of hitting than today, so I won’t comment about them on this Mayami String review.
Summary
Mayami offers a small range of strings, keeping things very simple for the consumer and offering strings with very clear orientation. These two hybrid ideas came up through forums, and I’m very happy I did so. I highly recommend the Big Spin x Tour Hex hybrid. Tour Hex is a string that I would happily pay out of my own pocket for a reel. Such a solid string is always handy!
