Some people say an extra grip i.e. a heavier handle makes the racket feel easier to swing. Is this true? In reality it makes the racket as a whole heavier, but the weight is in the handle, which shouldn't matter much. The head weight is still the same... Opinions?
This. Adding weight can only increase the swing weight, even adding weight in the handle will increase the swing weight. Not much though. The further away from the axis you rotate the racket around the weight is added, the more it effects the swing weight. edit: I missed this... No. Facts. For an overview, I suggest the Wikipedia article on it. Further links there or ask again if you want to read more.
+ less contraction on your forearm with a thicker grip which can give you a feeling of added comfort. For my case, if I go too thin, I get tendinitis.
This is true - to some extent. A too thick grip will lead to more stress again, which can lead to injuries. With proper technique, the acceptable variation of grip size should be quite large for most people though. I do admit that a thin grip leading to injuries seems to be more common. I guess that's due to less dampening of vibrations...? To sum it up, everybody should just use the grip (s)he's comfortable with on every racket. You should not change the way you grip your rackets to change the characteristics. Since the weight is at the handle, even the effect of adding weight is negligible.
Interesting.... was going through the threads on this topic Context: I got a N9II (black-pink), added an over grip, it played as I expected , not too heavy , medium flex, easy clears. I added one more layer "thinking comfort" and the racket all of the sudden felt heavy and stiff like a plank. I have a BS12 3U which has 2 over grips but it never felt this way, it still plays med-flexy, easy control (change of direction) and I feel grip size is larger on the BS12 than N9II Interesting how just a grip changes bp, overall weight, swing etc
that’s from holding the racquet too tightly at the times when you don’t need to. Racquet handles are getting smaller - Yonex now make a G6 size grip which is really small. A smaller grip allows you more dexterity by making it easier to use fingers for fine control. I get the general impression that people in Europe prefer large diameter grips and that’s even allowing for the larger hand size. I used to have a large diameter grip and I think I got comfortable like that because of playing tennis. I used to play tennis in summer and badminton in winter. When I was re-engineering my badminton game many years, I got a big surprise picking up my coach’s (top 20 singles player) racquet. The handle size was far smaller than mine and we had roughly the same hand size. I got him to show me exactly how he would hold and control the racquet using that ‘small’ grip. That same night, after the lesson, I ripped off all the extra grips on my racquets.
„Interesting“ meaning that it doesn’t really change any of these or what was your conclusion from reading through the related threads?
Interesting as in it does change the characteristics of how a racket plays. Personally I will experiment before reaching any conclusion on "this racket isn't for me".
The European market doesn't always propose smaller sized handles. All Yonex rackets I see are G4. Never seen a G5 let alone G6 in the shops i consult.
Update... Removed one over grip and the racket immediately started feeling & playing as it should (slightly head heavy and med flex, it's original characteristics). Still makes me wonder why the BS12 didn't change it's character with the 2 over grips, may be BS12 is headlight to start with, could that be why ?
Doubt grip would makes significant change on racket swing weight. But ofcourse grip size matter, makes it more enjoyable or not to hold the racket but not the swing weight itself.
Recently I was playing around with grip sizes as well. I tested from bare wood + overgrip to 12 layers of cushioning foam (wrapped tightly) + overgrip and came to the following conclusions: Thinner grip gives more control over the racket. Switching between backhand and forehand is faster Thinner grip leaves more room in the palm, provides more potential power when squeezing the racket Thicker grip provides easier and faster power because there is less space to travel in the palm Thicker grip has more surface area which allows more skin and muscle in the palm to work on the handle. This makes the racket feels lighter even though the racket is actually heavier Theoretically, the swing weight of the racket should remain similar no matter the grip size, but because of point 3 and 4, a thicker grip might give a feeling of lessened swing weight At the end, I prefer thicker grip because its more comfortable and easier to play with, but I can totally see why the pros prefer thinner grips. **Just my 2 cents, I am no scientist.
