Re-Gripping

Grips are critical to the performance and feel of the racket, and should be changed regularly to ensure you play consistently.

We have a variety of high-quality grips available to customers using brands that have been thoroughly play-tested to ensure you are getting the best products.

We are happy to apply grips during or outside of stringing, or sell the grip on its own for you to apply later.

Types of Grips

There are two kinds of grips, Replacement Grips and Overgrips

Replacement Grips are a think, spongy material that goes directly on the racket handle. As the name suggests, it replaces the previous thick grip that was applied to the racket.

Replacement grips tend to come in a pack of one, and have sticky backing along their length to adhere to the rackets handle.

At Racket Services Ireland, we avoid low-quality replacement grips that feel cheap to the touch and wear out instantly. We favour grips such as Head Hydrosorb Pro and Wilson Sublime.

Other grips are available on request.

Overgrips are much thinner grips that go on top of the replacement grip. They change the feel of the racket, aid traction and absorb sweat.

Overgrips tend to come in a pack of three, as they need to be replaced far more often than a replacement grip. While it is not necessary to use an overgrip, we do recommend it.

Through customer feedback, we recommend Wilson Pro Overgip and Yonex Supergrap, and therefore will have these in stock. Although other grips can be ordered on request.

Grip FAQs

How often should I change my grip?

We recommend replacing replacement grips every few months, and overgrips every few weeks.

These intervals obviously depends on the player. Your style of play and number of hours you play reflects on how often you change your grip.

If the grip is feeling worn out, we strongly encourage replacing it as soon as possible. Worn grips can cause the racket to turn in your hand on contact with the ball, which leads to players holding the racket tighter - something that will lead to painful injuries like tennis elbow.

Do you charge a fee for applying grips?

To put it simply, no. Grips are professionally applied free of charge.

Do I need an overgrip?

We encourage the use of overgrips - especially in the case of more advanced players - as it helps save the replacement grip underneath by aiding traction and absorbing sweat.

However, overgrips are not totally necessary. A lot of players get all they need from a replacement grip and that is fine, but bear in mind it will need to be replaced more often.

Overgrips can also change the feel of a racket and also cause a minor increase in grip size, which can be beneficial to some players.

What are grip sizes?

Rackets have standard grip sizes ranging from L1 to L5, or 4 1/8" to 4 5/8".

While a grip size depends on the size of a players hand, most will use an L2 or L3 grip size, and some use an L4. L1 sizes are primarily reserved for juniors.

Years ago grip sizes used to be of greater importance, with larger grip sizes being favoured as these were more comfortable for use with the heavy, unforgiving wooden rackets of the day. Very little spin was hit in those days, and the large grip sizes helped keep the racket steadily straight through on contact.

In the modern game however, most rackets and grips are comfortable enough for players to use smaller grip sizes. This also allows the spin required nowadays to be hit with greater ease - Rafael Nadal, for example, uses a grip size L2.

If you are unsure what grip size to pick, be sure to contact us for advice.

Can you change a rackets grip size?

In short, yes.

Racket handles that feel too small can be increased in size easily for a small fee. We use heat-shrink tubing to build up a rackets handle to larger grip sizes while still maintaining the important feel of the bevels.

Reducing grip sizes is more difficult. This often requires a racket handle to be re-molded, which is a difficult and expensive process. As an alternative, we recommend the use of thinner replacement grips specially designed to reduce the grip size of a racket.