Archive for: tips

Get a Grip: Making Your Tennis Better Through Proper Grip Miantenance

With all the attention given to high-tech frame designs and the latest tour string trends, tennis players have, for years, shortchanged one of the most important parts of their racquets: the grip.  By understanding what it can do for you and how to choose them correctly, you can make a major impact on your game and help prevent injury.

Why Care?

Why should you care about your grip or its size?  It’s the main line of communication between you and your racquet, for one, and it has a great deal to say about the health of you arm, for another. Picking properly, and maintaining your choices, should be of vital importance.

Not Created Equal

Almost every replacement grip made today has a polyurethane outer layer, providing color and tackiness (and possibly a raised rib or other texture), and a foam inner layer with padding and moisture absorption properties. Where they part company is how, and in what amounts, these details are executed.

Chart #1 shows the bare handle sizes of many different racquets, along with the size stated on the frame. As you can see, not every 4 3/8 grip measures the same underneath: the remaining size is taken up by the grip.

Chart #2 shows the “build-up effect” of several popular replacement grips. Choose your replacement grips carefully, and you’ll keep the performance characteristics you desire.

Chart 1:  Bare handle sizes of several popular racquets, in inches

Brand	Model	Grip Size	Bare Handle Size
Babolat	Pure Drive MP	4 1/2	4 1/4
Dunlop	Revelation Tour MP	4 1/2	4 1/4
Head	Flexpoint 4	4 3/8	4
	FXP Radical Team	4 3/8	4 1/16
	FlexPoint Radical Tour MP	4 1/2	4 1/4
	i.X6 OS	4 3/8	4 1/16
	MicroGEL Extreme	4 3/8	4 1/16
	Ti.Laser	4 1/4	4
	Ti.S5	4 1/2	4 3/16
	Ti.S6	4 3/8	4 1/8
Prince	More Control DB 800	4 3/8	4
	O3 Hybrid Hornet	4 3/8	4 1/16
	O3 Hybrid Shark MP	4 3/8	4
	Shark DB OS	4 3/8	4 1/16
	Tour Diablo XP	4 5/8	4 5/16
	Tour NXGraphite MP	4 1/2	4 5/16
	TT Scream OS	4 1/4	3 15/16
Pro-Kennex	Ionic Ki-15	4 5/8	4 5/16
	Ionic Ki-30 OS	4 1/2	4 1/4
	Kinetic Pro 5g	4 5/8	4 5/16
	Laver Heritage Type S	4 1/2	4 1/8
Volkl	C9 Pro	4 3/8	4 1/8
Wilson	Hyper Hammer 6.3 MP	4 5/8	4 3/8
	Hyper ProStaff 6.1 MP	4 5/8	4 5/16
	Hyper ProStaff 6.5 110	4 5/8	4 3/8
	[K]Four 105	4 1/2	4 3/16
	[K]Five 108	4 1/2	4 1/4
	n1	4 1/4	3 15/16
		4 3/8	4
	nsixone 95 16×18	4 1/4	4
		4 3/8	4 1/16
	nTour 95	4 1/4	4
		4 1/2	4 1/4
Yonex	SRQ600 Ti Long	4 3/8	4 1/8
	Ultimum RQTi250M	4 3/8	4 1/8

Chart 2:  Handle build-up effect of several popular replacement grips, in inches

Brand	Model	Build-up Effect
Babolat	Air Touch	1/2″
	Perfcushion	3/8″
	Syntec	3/8″
Gamma	Hi-Tech	5/16″
	Hi-Tech Gel	3/8″
Gamma	Pro Lite	5/16″
Gosen	MG-20	3/16″
Head	Hydrosorb	3/8″
Prince	Air Cushion Fit	7/16″
	DuraPerf Contour	3/8″
	DuraPro+	3/8″
	DuraSoft +	1/2″
	Duratac	5/16″
Wilson	[K]Grip	3/8″
	[K]ontrol	1/4″
	Micro Dry Comfort	7/16″
	Micro Dry Feel	3/8″
	Micro Dry Max	5/16″
	Micro Dry Touch	3/8″
	Sponge	5/16″

Measure Twice; Cut Once

To determine your proper grip size, place a ruler on the palm of your racquet hand (right, if you’re right-handed), on the lower crease across the middle of the palm, and measure the distance from that crease to the end of your ring finger (see photo #1).  In this instance, the player should use a grip size of 4 ½  inches.  Then, see if your racquet’s grip size matches. If you determine your grip size is incorrect, before running off to the pro shop, see if your current replacement grip is still in good working order, or if some simple changes could save you from buying a new stick.

Photo 1:  Measuring for correct grip size

Months or years of use will compress the padded layer of any grip. The grip isn’t good just because the outer layer isn’t worn off (using an overgrip doesn’t help; see below).  After using a measuring tape to determine your racquet’s grip size, see if it matches the size noted on the shaft (or under the grip). You may only need to install a new grip. Even if it’s still off, there are ways to fix it without starting over.

Quick Fixes

Before discussing how to change a grip’s size, perhaps it would be good to explain why it may need to be done. If your racquet’s grip is the wrong size, either from wear or improper fitting, it forces the smaller muscles of the forearm to work harder to grip the handle. These smaller muscles won’t react kindly to the stress, and an injury can result.

If your grip is improperly sized, there are 3 simple ways to change it. Overgrips are the cheapest and easiest way to add size. Thin overgrips will add very little to grip size, but may be enough if you’re close. Thicker, cloth-style overgrips like Tourna-Grip can add almost one full handle size.  A problem with thicker overgrips is their “rounding” effect: you will lose some feel for the bevels on the handle, which could hinder grip changes. Thicker overgrips can also add up to ½ oz. to racquet weight.

It may be quite easy to change your grip size by selecting a grip that is thicker or thinner than your current one. As Chart #1 shows, grip build-up effects can vary from ¼” to 9/16”, meaning you could change handle size by as much as 5/16” (two and one half sizes) by simply changing grips.  This would have a minimal change in handle shape and racquet weight.  However, make sure you like the resulting feel and shock absorption qualities.

Heat shrink sleeves let you control the amount of size increase and maintain handle shape. Most sleeves add one full size; some only ½ size. Their complete adherence to the handle maintains the bevels for sure grip changes although they, like thick overgips, can add up to ½ oz. to overall racquet weight. These sleeves should be installed by a professional racquet technician.

Myth Busted

Let’s take some time now to dispel the biggest “tennis myth” to come along in years: “I don’t need to change my grip; I use an overgrip”.

Every time you swing your racquet, your hand or hands squeeze down on the grip, compressing its padding. Initially, this is imperceptible. However, over a period of time, this compression reduces handle size and lessens shock absorption.  Overgips do nothing to prevent this.

Conclusion

Most tennis players never think about the grips on their racquets. Making sure your grip size is correct, making changes as needed, and exercising proper maintenance of the grip, can make stroke production easier, ease or eliminate arm problems, and give you the upper hand in your matches. So, “get a grip” on your racquet today!

Even Kids Need a Strategy

Even kids need a strategy. This is something I see all the time. People learning to play tennis are so focused on the technical aspect they have very little direction in a match. Children, in particular are focused on technique AND VERY vulnerable to distractions.

So, parents, here is a great tip to tell your children, just before they go out on the tennis court to play match.

* win the first two points of every game.

* hit two balls to the backhand, then one to the forehand.

By telling children to focus on just these two simple things, they now have a plan. When times get tough in the match they have a friend. Their plan.

People learning to play tennis do not have distinct strengths and weaknesses, therefore your opponent of equal ability really has no massive strength or no massive weakness. Therefore a basic plan really focussing on yourself will be the most effective.

Let’s talk about the two tips in more detail.

Win the first two points of every game. This actually applies to players at every level however it is very important to beginners who need to understand the importance of getting in front in an individual game. Beginners in particular are more likely to have a negative reaction to losing the first two points. They are more likely to throw the towel in, have a tantrum, drop their bundle. Especially kids. Therefore if you can focus on winning the first two points they may be handed the rest of the game with easy points.

Hit two balls to their backhand, then one to their forehand. the goal of this tip is to basically have some direction with every shot that they hit. So many kids just hit the ball aimlessly. Everybody needs direction with every shot. In actual fact, it doesn’t matter where the ball ended up, just as long as you have a plan. I have chosen to to the backhand won to the forehand because usually players backhands are weaker than their forehands. If there is an obvious weakness, play two shots to that side and one to the strong side.

Recently I saw a great example of this work. The standard of the two young players was very similar. Before the match I told his father, to tell his son, to concentrate on those two tips. During the match, the opponent became very annoying on court. He was screaming “come on” on a double fault. For an innocent ten-year old this is very distracting. By having the basic plan – this gave him direction during hard times. He was able to focus during a very distracting match and beat this opponent.

Let me know what you think !! Enjoy, Michael

Hit The Ball On The Rise

Make life easy for yourself and hit the ball on the rise. One of the challenges with tennis is that every ball we hit will come to us differently. Different height, speed, spin, distance from our body etc. Our challenge it to try and move ourselves into position to execute as close to the same shat as possible each time.
Let me give you a tip that will make a massive difference to your groundstrokes. Hit every ball on the rise OR at the top of the bounce.

As soon as that ball starts to drop your whole stroke needs to change to get the ball up and over the net. The stroke becomes much more difficult and you will hit the frame of your racquet more especially if you are trying to apply topspin.

The first picture shows how closed the racquet face can be if you hit the ball on the rise. The key is that you can hit the ball very hard and it will stay in the court. You are changing the direction of the ball. In the picture the ball changes direction by about 90 degrees. Lets see what happens with a dropping ball.

With a dropping ball you need to open the face of the racquet, and hit up to get exactly same ball direction. However in this case the harder you hit the ball the further over the fence the ball will go. In which case most people then back off the power and they let gravity bring the ball down onto the court.

Now you can picture in your minds 2 different pictures. High level players strike across a rising ball and other players tap a dropping ball back up and over the net.

High level players use mainly the wind resistance of a heavily spinning ball to make it land in the court, while other players rely on gravity for it to land in the court.

To see another compact explanation of this look at or think of people playing ping pong. The ball is hit with a closed bat, as the ball is coming off the table. They can generate massive power and still keep it in that little area.

Anyway I hope that has got you thinking. Move those feet, move forward, hit the ball on the rise and WATCH YOUR GAME IMPROVE !!.

Enjoy your tennis !