Overgrip vs replacement grip

The two layers, from the handle outward

Pick up any racket and there are two things between your hand and the pallet. Understanding which is which takes thirty seconds and saves most people from a wasted purchase.

Replacement grip - the base layer

The replacement grip is what the manufacturer fits at the factory. It is roughly 1.5 to 1.8 mm thick, it is cushioned, and it has an adhesive backing so it bonds directly to the bare handle. It is also what the stated grip size on the racket refers to: when a frame is sold as a 4 3/8, that circumference is measured with the factory replacement grip in place.

Because it is adhesive-backed, fitting a new one means peeling the old one off, cleaning any residue from the handle and wrapping the new one under tension from the butt cap upward. It is the fiddlier of the two jobs and you do it rarely - typically once a year or less, or when the cushioning has gone flat and you can feel the pallet edges through it.

Overgrip - the wear layer

An overgrip is thin, usually around 0.5 to 0.6 mm, and it has no adhesive except a small finishing tape at the end. It goes on over the replacement grip, it takes all the sweat and all the wear, and it comes off in seconds when it is finished. That is the entire design intent: a disposable surface that protects the expensive layer underneath.

This is what nearly everyone is actually looking for when they search for a tennis grip, and it is the one you buy in packs of three, ten or twelve because you will go through them.

Side by side

The grip size consequence nobody mentions

An overgrip adds roughly half a grip size. That one fact has a decision hiding inside it, and it is the reason we tell people to size down when they are between two sizes.

If you buy a racket in a 4 3/8 and you intend to run an overgrip permanently - which most players do - you are effectively playing a 4 7/16. Going the other way is much harder: taking a size off means stripping the replacement grip and fitting a thinner one, which is a limited and fiddly adjustment. Adding half a size costs you eight dollars and two minutes.

So the order of operations is: measure your hand, buy at or just below the measured size, then use overgrips to fine-tune upward. Our tennis racket grip size guide covers the ruler measurement and the finger test.

Tacky or dry: the only other choice that matters

Once you know you want an overgrip, the remaining decision is one axis, and it is about your hands rather than your game.

• Tacky grips feel slightly sticky when dry and that is where they perform best. As your hand gets wetter, a tacky grip gets more slippery. Most overgrips sold are tacky, and for most players in most conditions they are correct.
• Dry grips feel slightly rough and absorbent when new and improve as your hand gets wetter. They are the right answer in humidity, in summer heat, or for anyone whose hands sweat heavily, and they feel unimpressive in a cool indoor hall.

If sweat is the reason you are reading this, best overgrips for sweaty hands goes into the dry-grip category properly. For the general case, best tennis overgrips covers both sides.

The three picks below are the shortlist for the common decision: one default tacky grip, one thin tacky grip for players who do not want their grip size creeping up, and one dry grip for sweaty hands.

How this guide was put together

We do not run a test lab and nothing here is written as though we did. This guide is built from the published specification sheets and retailer listings cited at the foot of the page, plus the physical reasoning that connects them. Where a figure is not published we say so rather than estimating it.

The picks below are drawn from our product registry, so every one carries a cited source and a verified listing. Our full selection criteria set out the method and the editorial policy covers corrections. No price is written into this page as a recommendation - the figure on each buy button is the live one.