Head to head

Babolat Pro Hurricane 17 vs SuperString Nikita Original 1.25

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is string friction, where Nikita Original 1.25 is 9 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Babolat

Pro Hurricane 17

Polyester · 17 ga

SuperString

Nikita Original 1.25

Polyester

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
19360th pct
19967th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
4270th pct
4372nd pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8517th pct
8626th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
3.111th pct
3.416th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.37410th pct
0.3718th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.12284th pct
0.10975th pct

Bars are percentile against all 791 strings, and the marked side is the one that measures better, which is not always the one you want. A firmer bed is worse for your elbow and better for your control, and no measurement knows which of those you came for.

Which one wins, by problem

Each string's standing on the site's rankings, out of every measured string in the database. This is where a comparison stops being arithmetic and starts being a decision.

Swapping between them: what tension?

Bed stiffness is published at one reference tension, so the only honest conversion is to scale it. These are starting points from 52 lb, not prescriptions. The calculator takes your own tension.

Coming from Pro Hurricane 17 at 52 lb

String Nikita Original 1.25 at 49.3 lb 22.4 kg

Coming from Nikita Original 1.25 at 52 lb

String Pro Hurricane 17 at 55.5 lb 25.2 kg

Hybrid: what if you used both?

Estimated, not measured. No hybrid combination has been tested as a bed. These figures are the two strings' own lab measurements weighted by how much of the bed each one actually is. Treat them as a guide to which way a pairing moves, never as lab data.

Pro Hurricane 17 mains / Nikita Original 1.25 crosses

Stiffness63rd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss71st pct · 1 measured
Energy return22nd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential12th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite9th pct · 1 measured
String friction82nd pct · 1 measured

Nikita Original 1.25 mains / Pro Hurricane 17 crosses

Stiffness64th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss71st pct · 1 measured
Energy return23rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential15th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite8th pct · 1 measured
String friction78th pct · 1 measured

Open this in the hybrid builder

Which goes dead first?

Estimated from tension loss, which is the only thing the database measures about ageing. This is when the bed stops playing the way you strung it, not when the string breaks.

Pro Hurricane 17

~19 hours of play

Nikita Original 1.25

~18 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Babolat Pro Hurricane 17 Polyester17find19342853.10.3740.122
SuperString Nikita Original 1.25 Polyesterfind19943863.40.3710.109

Add a third string Pro Hurricane 17 in full Nikita Original 1.25 in full