Why you might need to adjust your grip size

…and how Withers can help you to do it properly

1. Considering changing your racket

Something doesn’t feel right with your racket or your game isn’t progressing as you would like it to so you are considering a change of racket. Wait, a change of string or grip size might be all you need to fall in love with your racket again.

If you are young and still growing it can become a little expensive to keep changing rackets to suit your growing hand size. It might be a good idea to change if your physique or style of play are changing significantly. But, if it is simply that your hand is now bigger than it used to be increasing the grip size might delay the need for a new racket by months or even years.

2. Your arm (neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist) hurts

When tennis players start to suffer from injury concerns in their arm or shoulder, neck, back the first thing people often suggest is that the grip size on their racket might be too big or too small. While this is often not the case it can be an easy thing to change to test to see if the situation improves.

Obviously, going down in grip size may be impossible on your racket, depending on how the current size was achieved. But there are multiple options for increasing the size of grip.

Ways Withers can help you increase your grip size

Adding a Heat Sleeve

This is the PROPER way of increasing a grip size. Each heat sleeve will add exactly one grip size and maintain the grip’s shape. It is done by shrink wrapping a rubber sleeve on to racket handle pallet. It is quick to do and the preferred method by most racket brands. If you add a heat sleeve and it is too big, it can be removed. We DO recommend this method.

Grip Pallet Change

Some brands (Volkl and Head) actually offer grip pallets. These are the plastic moulds that fit over the racket, beneath the grip. They normally come in two parts and are stuck and/or tacked onto the racket mould. They can be removed and replaced with another size – THUS ALTERING YOUR grip size. This is pretty straight forward to do but they take a little longer than the heat sleeve method. We also recommend this but we need a little longer to do it.

Adding a Replacement Grip

This means putting a cushioned grip on top of your existing grip. This is something that we see done a lot but it isn’t something that we really recommend. There are a few reasons why, the replacement grip will add probably more than a grip size, it will alter the balance of the racket and it is hard to keep the grip shaped as it should be. The plus is that it will give a very soft feel but be careful not to make the grip too big for your hand. This will only cause you more problems in the long run.

ALL THE ABOVE WE CAN DO IN STORE. PLEASE CALL (0116 262 2113) US OR POP IN IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THESE METHODS

Adding an overgrip

Overgrips normally come in packs of three but can be purchased in larger quantities, they are as they sound, a grip to fit OVER your existing grip. They are thin so only increase your grip size slightly (around 1/16” or 1/2 a grip size). An overgrip is normally used if you are looking to alter the feel of your grip as well as increasing the size a little. Over grips can have a tacky, dry or soft feel. Our best sellers are – Wilson Pro Overgrip (soft slightly tacky feel), Babolat VS (very thin soft slightly tacky feel) and the Yonex Super Grap (soft tacky feel).