Tennis grip for beginners
Learn which tennis grip is best for tennis beginners
Tennis grip for beginners
Every tennis player holds the tennis racket by the grip. The grip is therefore the link between your hand and the tennis racket and therefore also of crucial importance for your tennis success.
A slippery grip prevents your hitting technique from coming into its own. The tennis grip is therefore a wear item that should be changed regularly in order to have optimal grip at all times.
In the following, we will show you the different tennis grips, support you in choosing the right tennis grip and name their costs. In addition, we show how to wrap a grip correctly around the handle of the tennis racket – enjoy reading.
1. Tennis grip introduction
Basically, there are two different tennis grip bands, the Basic grip and the Over grip:
a) Tennis grip tape: Basic grip
The tennis basic grip or basic grip tape can already be found on the handle when purchasing the tennis racket and is wrapped directly around the handle of the tennis racket.
The Basic grip is between 1/2 to one inch thick and therefore much more stable and longer lasting than an Over grip.
b) Tennis grip tape: Over grip
The Tennis Over grip is wrapped over the Basic grip and increases the grip strength. With the help of over grips you can wrap the most comfortable grip thickness for you.
With a thickness of between 1/4 to 1/2 inch, the Over grip is significantly thinner and is changed much more frequently than a basic grip.
2. Properties of grips
Both Basic grip and Over grip serve to increase playing performance and comfort. Therefore, it is recommended to treat the tennis grip tape gently and, for example, not to leave it in the rain or to lay it down on the red sand courts. After that, the grip tape is dirty and should be changed accordingly for proper grip.
The most important properties of tennis grip tapes are explained below:
a) Grip handling
A comfortable grip of the grip tape ensures that the tennis racket fits perfectly in the hand and does not slip when performing the strokes. Thus, even the best hitting technique will not lead to the desired success.
If the grip tape does not have a good grip, the tennis racket can sometimes fly out of the hand during the strokes. When serving, we have seen several tennis rackets crashing to the ground. Therefore, be sure to change the grip tape should the slipping begin.
b) Sweat absorption
A grip tape should absorb potential moisture, e.g. in the form of sweat. Even in light rain, the grip tape should still withstand the requirements.
Overall, the function of absorbing moisture often interacts with ideal grip. Perfect sweat absorption and ideal grip at the same time will therefore be difficult to find.
c) Vibration damping
A soft grip tape also provides appropriate vibration damping when hitting, so that the energy is not transmitted 1:1 to your hand or arm. This protects your own body and prevents potential injuries.
3. Purchase the right tennis grips
The previously listed features of tennis grip tapes should give you a good overview of the grip tapes that are right for you.
Basically, we recommend every tennis beginner to work with the less expensive over grips. The over grip is wrapped over the basic grip already on the tennis racket.
When selecting the over grip, your own circumstances should be taken into account. If your hands are often wet, especially when practicing sports, be sure to look for the addition of sweat absorption.
Otherwise, pay more attention to the grip and the good feeling when holding the tennis racket. If necessary, try out several over grips. As I said, they are wear items and your next grip tape change is bound to come.
The tennis grip tapes are again available from the classic tennis brands, such as Babolat, Head and Wilson, but also many other suppliers.
4. Tennis grip cost
The tennis grips provide optimal grip when handling your own tennis racket. The cost per grip varies depending on the type of grip, basic or over grip, and the quantity purchased.
The following is an approximate cost estimate per grip band:
Tennis Basicgrip: USD 5-15
Tennis Overgrip: USD 0.50-2.00
We recommend tennis beginners to purchase tennis over grips and to change them more often.
5. Tennis grip wrapping
The grip tape, whether basic or over grip, consists of the grip tape itself and a small adhesive strip for attachment to the tennis racket. The process of wrapping the grip tape is the same for both grip tapes.
The important thing is to remove the old grip tape from the tennis racket and remove the new grip tape itself from the protective film and the adhesive strip from the protective film.
On the grip tape itself, there is also a small protective film on the inside of the smaller end, remove this as well so that wrapping can begin with this end.
For this purpose, the tennis racket is held with the left hand as a right-hander and the grip tape is processed with the right hand. If you are left-handed, do it the other way around.
You stick the grip tape, the tennis racket with the grip pointing upwards, on the long side of the grip as far up as possible. If you are right-handed, start by pressing the glue with the thumb of your left hand and begin to wrap the grip tape around the handle with your right hand.
After the first turn, hold the tennis racket with your left hand and wrap the grip tape evenly around the handle with your right hand. During the first turn, it is advisable to apply a little more tension to the grip tape so that you get directly into an even winding rhythm.
Simply wrap the grip tape to the end of the grip or even a little higher and hold it accordingly.
The last step is to wrap the adhesive strip around the end of the grip tape at the top of the grip and the new grip tape is attached to the tennis racket.
Don’t worry, the first time you wrap it sounds relatively complicated, but after the 3rd time at the latest, wrapping the grip tape should no longer cause you any difficulties – as the saying goes, practice makes perfect.
6. Summary and conclusion
A tennis grip tape offers the tennis player optimal grip when gripping the tennis racket. Either basic or over grip can be changed to get a perfect grip again.
We recommend tennis beginners to work with over grips, which are cheaper than basic grips at USD 0.50-2.00 per grip band, but also need to be changed more often. However, the feeling of a new grip tape is much more pleasant than playing with a Basic grip for much longer.
Changing the grip band should not be a problem after a little practice – have fun swinging your tennis racket.
