Why do so few use 4 1/2" gripsize?

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by NLBwell

Hard to believe that anyone other than children and smaller women use 4 3/8 grips. It seems to be pretty common now, though.
Just so much extra stress on the wrist and arm with the smaller grip. It does allow a more wristy stroke, though.

Hard to imagine that Nadal uses a 4 1/4 eh?

-Fuji

[Dreamcastin]

3/8 has just always felt more comfortable to me. That's with leather and an og though.

[mmk]

I'm average size (5' 11"), but started with a 4 5/8" grip in the early 70s, and I've basically kept with that. I have an old Wilson Advantage with a 4 3/4" grip, and it feels comfortable, but it also weighs around 13.5 ounces. I've tried 4 3/8" grips, and they just don't feel right to me.

Edit: and I don't use an overgrip, just leather. Again, it is what I started with, and it just feels right to me.

[svarthofde]

i used a 4 1/2 because i measured my hands on one of those hand measurement charts ( i don't know what they are called) but now i changed to L3 (4 3/ because i feel much more connected to the racquet and the ball.

[TimothyO]

4-5/8 here.

I measured my hand using both methods and technically I'm 4-3/4 according to the "finger top to crease line" method but I'm only 6' tall.

I did buy 4-1/2 PSGTs recently since that's all TW had left and the Shock Shield grip is thick enough to bump up a size.

When I demo using a 4-3/8 grip it feels way to small to me.

[Alex78]

I am 6.1 (185 cm), but I have small hands - used a 4 3/ 8 as kid (on a Prince Graphtech DB 90), but switched to 4 1/4 for my next racket(s). When I was no longer playing regularly, I used a Head Prestige Tour Team with a 4 1/2 grip with an overgrip. Now I buy all my rackets at 4 1/4, and I put on an overgrip (Solinco Wondergrip). I especially like the oval Head grips, definitely more than Prince grips (my current main rackets are a MG Radical Pro and a Prince EXO3 Tour 100 18/20).
To me, 4 1/4 feels more comfortable because I can change from forehand to backhand faster. Never had any wrist issues.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I use a 4 1/2 grip because I go by the old rule that says while gripping the racquet, you should be able to fit 1 finger in the remaining space between your thumb pad and finger tips.

The only rule I follow is 'use what feels comfortable'. That being said, I use a 4 1/2, and so do 90% of the people I play with. There are a few who use 4 3/8, but they are younger.

Oh, and how do I know what others use? Because I string their racquets & have on file what grip size the frame is.

[Maui19]

I have fairly large hands, and used to use a 4-5/8. Then I went to a 4-1/2, then 4-3/8, and now 4-1/4. I don't really notice any difference at all. Zippo.

[Rock Strongo]

I use a blend between 4 3/4 and 4 7/8. Basically it involves a leather grip and about 3 overgrips on a 3/8 grip.

[prjacobs]

I think it's also notable that when the measurements for grip size were determined, people were playing with wooden racquets, hitting with their bodies facing sideways, often with a continental grip on all strokes .

Back when all strings were gut...

[bugeyed]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I use a 4 1/2 grip because I go by the old rule that says while gripping the racquet, you should be able to fit 1 finger in the remaining space between your thumb pad and finger tips. I wear a "large" size Men's glove, but I don't think I have unusually large hands. I just wonder why I seem to be in the minority of people that use anything larger than 3/8?

Is there a benefit to going down to a 3/8 when your proper gripsize shows 4 1/2? Does it allow you to hold the racquet looser? Maybe get more wrist action on serves? I just never understood why 4 1/2 is such a rarely seen gripsize when I know there are many guys with hands at least as big as mine?

I think that quite a few people use 4 1/2" grips!
k

[anubis]

I measured my hand like this:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/lc/gripsize.html

It told me I need a 4 3/8 grip size, so that's what I play with. I have a spare racquet that is 4 1/4, but it feels too small for me.

[Giannis]

Originally Posted by DustinW

I use a 4-1/2 but the measurement rule says I should be using a 5+ grip. With a 4-1/2, my finger tips just barely touch my thumb pad. I used to use a 4-5/8 but I find a 4-1/2 more comfortable now for some reason.

Exactly my case too.

[3fees]

I use a 4 1/2 so my strokes dont have the bad wristy motion, fits the finger rule as well.

[max]

I may be wrong, but 4.5 has for years been pretty much the basic size grip for an adult.

I use a 4 5/8 grip; I'm 6'2", 185 lbs., usual size. I have a 4 1/2 grip on one frame, which makes it a little nicer for serving. But the larger grip makes, for me, more stable and firm groundstrokes from the back of the court.

[LeeD]

I'm just 5'11" and use a 5/8 with an overgrip.
Anything smaller doesn't volley worth beans for me, twisting and mishitting.
Groundies and serves can be hit with any small or big grip, but volleys need some size in the handle, especially with superlightweight 10 oz rackets.

[Top Jimmy]

Grips sizes are leftover rules from wood rackets, Eastern grips, and low bouncing balls.

Forget all that you were told.

[maverick1981]

smaller grip allows, of course, a firmer hold on the stick and possibly more manuevering. If your hand can wrap around the entire grip, it really torques your tendons, be careful, if you are gripping the crap out of the racket due to too small of grip, you may get wrist & elbow problems, sometimes noticing immediate pain.

[max]

Originally Posted by maverick1981

smaller grip allows, of course, a firmer hold on the stick and possibly more manuevering. If your hand can wrap around the entire grip, it really torques your tendons, be careful, if you are gripping the crap out of the racket due to too small of grip, you may get wrist & elbow problems, sometimes noticing immediate pain.

If you have a smaller grip frame and a really hard shot comes to you while at the net, the ball hits the strings and twists the frame around. . . so I'm reluctant to agree that it's better to have a small grip at the net or that it makes for a firmer hold.

Actually there are tennis pros who like the idea of a loose grip on shots rather than a hard clench on the racquet. Makes for a nicer swing.

[LeeD]

Think about this scenario....
Grab a baseball bat.
Allow your friend to grab the other end, whichever....
Now twist it out of your friend's hand.
Who wins?
EVERY SINGLE TIME, the guy who grabs the barrel rips the bat out of the hands of the guy holding the handle.