Overgrips are thin grips that you wrap on top of your replacement grip. They make it possible to quickly and inexpensively have a fresh grip consistently since they are less expensive and easier to replace than standard replacement grips. You may be wondering whether overgrips are used by professionals.
Yes, in the modern game, the vast majority of professional tennis players use overgrips. (In fact, some players like Novak Djokovic have been known to use two at a time!)
There are of course some exceptions. Lleyton Hewitt didn’t use an overgrip and neither did Gasquet early in his career. Gasquet eventually started using overgrips but only wraps them halfway up the handle due to him using a one-handed backhand.
In the rest of this article, we’ll look at why pros use overgrips, which overgrips are used on the pro tour, how many overgrips pros use, and why they only seem to use white and blue overgrips.
Contents
Why Do Pros Use Overgrips?
Professional tennis players use overgrips because they are easy to change during a match, they like the feel of a particular overgrip, or they want to add an extra layer of cushioning.
Overgrips are easy to change which means they can replace an overgrip at the change of ends in the middle of a match. In fact, some players like Gasquet change their overgrip at every change of ends. This allows them to have a consistently new grip.
Another reason pros use overgrips is for the material. Dry overgrips like Tourna Grips are great at absorbing moisture and are popular with players who get sweaty hands. Tourna Grips are one of the most popular overgrips on the pro tour.
A third reason pros use overgrips is to add cushioning to their racket. Some players like Novak Djokovic have even been known to use two overgrips at a time to increase the padding.
Tennis Overgrips Used by Pros
Below you can find four of the most popular overgrips used on the pro tour and some of the players that use them. Obviously, this isn’t a comprehensive list and only covers a handful of players. There are other overgrips used on the pro tour too, but these four are very common.
Wilson Pro – Find them on Amazon.
- Roger Federer
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Pablo Carreno Busta
- Kei Nishikori
- Sebastian Korda
- Kiki Bertens
- Danielle Collins
- Ons Jabeur
- Kaia Kanepi
- Shelby Rogers
Yonex Super Grap – Find them on Amazon.
- Stan Wawrinka
- Hubert Hurkacz
- Lloyd Harris
- Elena Rybakina
Babolat VS Original – Find them on Amazon.
- Rafael Nadal
- Fabio Fognini
- Amanda Anisimova
Tourna Grip – Find them on Amazon.
- Andy Murray
- Gael Monfils
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
- Karen Khachanov
- Kevin Anderson
- John Isner
- Steve Johnson
- Sam Querrey
- Michael Mmoh
- Lucas Pouille
- Andreas Seppi
- Karolina Pliskova
- Madison Keys
How Many Overgrips Do Pros Use?
Most professional tennis players will use one overgrip at a time, but they will change their overgrip multiple times throughout a match. Some players will change their overgrip at every change of ends whereas some might get a few games out of their overgrip.
Most tennis players use a new racket with every ball change (7 games), and the new racket will have a new overgrip on it so you might not necessarily see the pros changing overgrips that often, but they are still playing with a fresh overgrip.
Whilst most professionals use one overgrip applied over a regular replacement grip, some players don’t use overgrips at all (although this is rare in the modern game), and some will use two overgrips at a time.
Why Do Pros Use White Overgrips?
If you pay close attention to the overgrips used by the pros, you will notice they usually use a white overgrip. Pros use white overgrips because they retain their tackiness better. Colored grips have dye added to them which can make the overgrip not feel as good and they tend not to stay tacky for as long as a white overgrip.
Why Do Pros Use Blue Overgrips?
If a pro tennis player is not using a white overgrip, you might have noticed they are almost always using a blue overgrip. The blue overgrips used by pros are Tourna Grips which have a dry feel to them. This makes them popular with players who get sweaty hands as they have good absorption. You can find Tourna Grips on Amazon.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, most professional tennis players today use overgrips. Most just use one overgrip on top of their regular replacement grip but some do double up their overgrips.