Having the right grip on your tennis racquet is essential. Your racquet will more than likely come with a factory grip already placed. How long do you think it will take for it be worn out? 5 games? 10 games? 100 games? Well, it all really depends on personal preference. Suppose you use your tennis racquet for one year, without replacing the grip; now imagine all the sweat, dirt, grime, and guk on that grip. It’s like shaking hands with a dumpster. Gross. How do you avoid the disgust of overused tennis grips? There are two things one can do when dealing with this problem:

1. Replace your tennis grip. Just get yourself a new tennis grip, pull off the old one, and put the new one on.

That sounds fairly reasonable and easy right? Not really, you will hardly ever see a tennis player replacing the actual grip of their racquet on the tennis court. The problem is with grip replacement, is that you have to be able to line it up perfectly (so that you won’t feel the overlaps in your hand) and you will have to cut the grip to size. If you mess that grip up, what can you do? You shouldn’t really carry multiple replacement grips around so it’s recommended to try something else. Which brings us to the next point….

2. Instead of replacing your grip, use an overgrip!

An overgrip does just that, it goes over your grip. Overgrips are made of the same basic materials as replacement grips, but they don’t have the adhesive (or sticky) on the bottom. You should always carry a few overgrips in your tennis bag because you can replace an overgrip much quicker and easier than you would find with a replacement grip. The over grip starts on the bottom of your tennis racquet (butt cap) and is wrapped to the top of the handle. When you get to the top you can cut or tear the overgrip and use the supplied tape to secure it in place. One of the great things about using an overgrip is that they’re not only fairly inexpensive, but they also come in several varieties of colors and textures (tacky, absorbent, dry, cousioned, textured for better grip, and more) to fit your playing needs.

In conclusion, it’s recommended to use an overgrip instead of replacing your grip every time. Not only will you save money, but you’ll save yourself and tennis partners time (and headaches too!).