Do you take overgrips for granted? You shouldn’t. Many tennis players make a mistake of not changing their overgrips often enough. Some of them might not even know that there are overgrips available on the market which can be wrapped over the base grip that comes with the racquet from the factory. This is a small but not insignificant accessory. Tennis players do care about their racquet, shoes, outfit but not often enough about this small thing that can have a huge impact on their game - overgrips. Let’s explore what overgrips can do for your game, and bring back the glory overgrips deserve.

Naturally, we want to have a good grip when hitting the ball. We don’t want the racquet to twist and turn while performing different shots. The racquet is the extension of our arm. Tennis players need to have a great connection with the racquet in order to perform well on the court. Technique in tennis is really demanding and it requires us to have a relatively relaxed grip, with just enough steadiness and control. For example, if we miss-hit the ball, away from the racquet's sweet spot, the momentum force will turn the racquet in our hands. You can’t beat physics. This is where the tackiness properties of overgrips come in handy. Overgrips provide us with more friction between the skin of our hand and the racquet handle. This results in a more secure and steady grip. If you have a good grip, then you’ll surely be able to play better on the court. This property of overgrips alone can significantly improve your game.

It’s a really hot day. The sun is scorching everything and the court surface is almost melting. We all played tennis on those days. You’re sweating like crazy and drinking water even faster to compensate. The match being tight doesn’t help. We’ve all experienced this scenario, right? In those moments, your racquet handle can get soaked in water that you can barely hold it. When the racquet handle is slippery, than it’s really hard to play tennis and keep the ball in play. Try serving with a racquet that has a slippery grip and you’ll probably just drop the racquet on the ground as you perform the shot. It will just slip out. The solution? Get a quality overgrip that has good moisture absorption properties. Overgrips offer this benefit by default, and it can really save your game. After all, tennis is hard enough on its own - why play it with a slippery racquet on top? Overgrips can soak up a certain amount of liquid while still maintaining tackiness and adding friction. This is crucial if you have sweaty hands. Get a bunch of overgrips and change them every 4 hours or so on the court on those extra hot days to make sure you get the best performance possible..

Nothing feels better than a fresh overgrip wrapped on the racquet handle. So why not change it often? Truth is that we often forget to change overgrips or simply are not aware of the benefits. Overgrips bring us comfort as they add another layer between the hard racquet handle and our hand. This way, you can avoid having nasty blisters after long sessions. Overgrips come in a variety of thickness profiles, with more or less comfort added. They can also absorb a bit of the shockwave created from the racquet strings making contact with the ball, thus transmitting less vibration to your arm. How about that? So many recreational tennis players suffer from tennis elbow injury. Tennis elbow is caused by the harsh impact vibrations transmitted over and over again, until our arm and elbow just can’t take it anymore. To counter this, try using softer strings (synthetic gut ones are recommended) and changing overgrip after each session. You can buy overgrips in bulk to save on the costs, and they can help you ease off the pain and spend more time on the court and less in doctor’s office.

This is the topic that is rarely discussed. It’s a secret benefit overgrips have on your game. There are two aspects to it. Firstly, when you change overgrips during breaks in a match, in between sets or even games you do something to break the routine. So, if you have been in a losing streak, this is your opportunity to reset your game and mindset. When you do this, you might also break your opponents winning streak so it’s a win-win situation for you. Another benefit is that putting a new overgrip on a racquet gives us that awesome “new-overgrip-feeling” sensation. It just feels so comfortable, so new and so playable. It instantly inspires us to play a better game and reminds us why we love tennis. Next time you are losing a match, try to change an overgrip on your racquet to see if you can turn things around.

Finally, we get to the personalization aspects and benefits of overgrips. Tennis is a fashionable sport. Both in men and women competition we see all those cool looking outfits. Being well dressed on the court makes us feel good and proud. If we shine with confidence, then we might also scare the opponent - sometimes winning the match even before it starts. Overgrips play an important role here as they help us personalize our racquet. There aren’t so many ways we can personalize the racquet except for using custom overgrips, vibration dampeners and strings. Choosing an overgrip that suits your personality and style helps you stand out from the crowd. It makes you unique on the court. We all remember the players on ATP and WTA tours that have a great and unique style. They have all sorts of cool looking clothing and gear items that make them all but ordinary. There are designer overgrips with various cool patterns available that can help you achieve this. Why not change overgrip color, pattern and style each time you play at a new club or tournament to keep things fun?

As you can see, overgrips are small and affordable accessory that has a huge impact on your game. They can make a difference between winning or losing a match. They can make a difference between feeling confident and playing at the top of your ability and struggling to find your game. Overgrips are important and you should consider paying more attention to how often you change them. Also, experiment with different overgrips and their properties to see how they work out for your own game. Use overgrips to boost confidence and to personalize your racquet and appearance on the court.