Showing posts with label grip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grip. Show all posts

Between grip sizes?

Personally I really like the shape of the classic Wilson pallets, however I (currently?) seem to fall right between sizes 2 and 3 (4 1/4 and 4 3/8).

2 options: 1) make the thicker one thinner, or 2) make the thinner one thicker.

Assuming one uses overgrips, the easiest thing is to apply them with different pull and overlap, and try different kinds brands and models there (e.g. different thickness and/or material that would stretch more or less). Obviously that again can affect the overall feel and, well, grip.

Additional options for sizing down: 

* Use a thinner replacement grip (note that leather comes in different thicknesses too). 
* Try to rewrap the existing base grip while pulling it more tightly 
* Rewrap the base it with less overlap, without introducing grooves.

The Babolat Skin feel has worked great for me in the past. Note that it's quite light, so if you replace a leather grip as I have on my RF 97, you will drop ~10 grams. This also alters balance quite a bit and does have a impact on plow through and stability.
With a thinner grip, you'll have a more direct feel, but also less dampening / comfort.

For sizing up: 

* As a quick fix, you can add an extra overgrip. If 2 of the one you're using is too much, maybe something thin like the Wilson Sensation in the middle.
* Use a thicker base grip.
* For a more permanent solution, you can also apply a heat shrink sleeve. They come in 2 sizes, to go up 1/2 or a full grip size. Note that in both cases you'll lose the edginess of the bevels a bit.

Note that you also have the option to replace the butt cap. For example, Wilson had equipped their white SixOne 95 BLX (parallel drilling) with a thicker, rounder butt cap. Well-intentioned I'm sure, but it kept me from getting the racquet around as a sized it up. So I went back to the classic edgy shape. 

Before messing around too much, maybe take a step back and see if other pallets (Babolat, Prince, Yonex, etc) suit you better, and a stock grip size works there. You can even use customization shops to put say a Wilson pallet on a Head racquet.

And/or see if you're "gripping" (in terms of holding) the racquet in the optimal-for-you way in the first place. Depending on where in the hand you make contact and if you change that, you may like different grip shapes and sizes. In other words, maybe your current discomfort is due to user error :)

Good gripping!

Wilson Pro Overgrip color comparison

aka "the best overgrip" for tennis (and maybe other racquet sports like badminton too...):

This can be short one - at the end of the day, the white grips packaged as 2 x 15 rolls seem to be much grippier than the other colors. And in my experience, even white grips in other packaging such as individual wraps or rolls (e.g. in the 60 box).

It's still my favorite overgrip, despite having to replace it every couple of sets or hours.

If you want to save some money here, and not cause quite as much waste, you can regrip it starting with the used top part. That way, what overlapped before and is not overlapping now will still be nice and white. Overall, it doesn't feel or look as good as new, but for practice it'll do.

Out of curiosity, I had also tried putting the grips in the washing machine, held together by a mesh bag. That worked surprisingly well, though you do not get the slight initial tackiness when you pull the plastic layer off a new one. Plus if the detergent doesn't fully wash off it can get a bit slippery...

Other brands have been putting out pretty nice overgrips over the last years as well, but after sampling ~10 alternatives, I think the white Wilson Pro Overgrip still has the nicest feel to it.

Say hello to the racquet end

Reminding myself of how to hold the racquet seems a bit bizarre to me after more than a quarter century of playing tennis :) We're not talking huge adjustments though, maybe a centimeter or two up or down the grip. But it's worth paying attention to that from time to time.

It determines how much control you have, how easily you can swing and accelerate the racquet head, and most importantly how far away the racquet sweet spot is from you. (Finding the right distance to the sweet spot is also important when switching racquets.) Also, you'll find that making micro adjustments can sometimes improve your game on certain days, for example if your string is too bouncy or your arm feels tight.

Last weekend, I re-discovered what position feels most natural to me. I quickly took a picture of it so that I can check back later if needed :)

From Grips

As you can see, I like holding the racquet quite far down, but in a way that I can still get my hand behind my ground strokes and volleys. I now feel natural racquet acceleration for all my shots again, and most of all I I'm feeling the sweet spot again! Sweet! I wonder what would happen if Zina Garrison gave that a shot :)