There’s been a lot of talk the past few years about how grip sizes have shrunk on tour. Reportedly, Federer uses a 4 3/8 size grip, while Nadal uses a 4 1/4. Of course, both play with overwraps, which builds the grip up to a degree. Still, for players of their skill, size, and strength, such grip sizes would have been considered absurdly small 15 or 20 years ago.
So what does a smaller grip afford top players? According to Joe Heydt, who strings pros’ racquets as part of the Luxilon Team, “The benefits that Rafa and Federer are feeling [with smaller grips] come from the increased wrist snap they are gaining on the serve. It is not imagined. The increased head speed leads to devastating movement and kick on their serves. At a world class level, there are not any drawbacks to speak of, but for mortal players, a smaller grip can lead to a problem in technique with forehands and backhands being too wristy. It’s also much more difficult to keep the grip from turning in your hand on off-center hits when the size is very small.”
Smaller grips may also make it harder to volley or hit groundstrokes with traditional (i.e., continental or eastern) strokes, due to reduced stability. What’s more, smaller grips may stress players’ wrists and hands, because of the extra wrist flexion such grips allow, and because they force some players (with bigger hands) to squeeze harder to keep the grip from slipping.
When trying to decide whether to downsize, always remember the obvious: Hands come in many different sizes. If you try out a smaller grip and it doesn’t feel comfortable, you should think twice about switching. Just because it works for Roger or Rafa doesn’t mean it’ll work for you.
