Can an increased grip size cause instant wrist problems?

[Polotechnics]

Hi folks.

My name is Paul.

I've been playing team tennis in Wales (UK) for about 5 years - played a lot before that but had a long break.

It's 4.5 standard using the US rating system.

Always played with smaller grip size - Grip 2 ish.

Increased the grip size to sure-up my volleying.

It worked, but gave me massive wrist pain after two, two hour matches.

Does that sound feasible?

Can a grip size change cause a problem like that?

I use a Head Extreme Graphene 360 MP and soft poly at 44lbs.

Cheers, Paul

 

[travlerajm]

How did you increase it? Did you build it up with overgrips?

 

[Polotechnics]

How did you increase it? Did you build it up with overgrips?

Hi Trav. I added a thicker replacement grip underneath. But not much. I'm clutching at straws a bit because it's never happened to me before. The only other thing is could be is that I can hit a lot more kick serves that day as we played on clay. I haven't been able to hit for a week since. I think I'm going to switch to a hybrid string for the next few weeks. See if it helps

 

[travlerajm]

Hi Trav. I added a thicker replacement grip underneath. But not much. I'm clutching at straws a bit because it's never happened to me before. The only other thing is could be is that I can hit a lot more kick serves that day as we played on clay. I haven't been able to hit for a week since. I think I'm going to switch to a hybrid string for the next few weeks. See if it helps

Try wrapping the overgrip super tight to take the porosity and cushion out of it. Not sure if it was the issue in your case, but excess cushioning might have been the culprit if it caused you to compensate by gripping tighter.

 

[Polotechnics]

Thanks Trav

 

[gold325]

Can a grip size change cause a problem like that?

Ever since I moved up in grip size (from 3 to 4) my wrist is less sore, not more. I didnt lose any spin but it did increase my consistency. The racquet feels lighter in my hand with identical specs.

I think is is more plausible that you did some unnatural movement during the match that hurt your wrist BUT you didnt feel it later till the adrenaline and excitement of playing wore off?

 

[fuzz nation]

Hi Trav. I added a thicker replacement grip underneath. But not much. I'm clutching at straws a bit because it's never happened to me before. The only other thing is could be is that I can hit a lot more kick serves that day as we played on clay. I haven't been able to hit for a week since. I think I'm going to switch to a hybrid string for the next few weeks. See if it helps

Tough call in terms of what may be going on there. That new replacement grip sounds like it made for only a tiny alteration with your grip size - I wouldn't expect something like that to make such significant trouble, but who knows.

One thing that's worth checking in the wake of replacing your grip - take a look (and a feel) at how much flare you have at the butt cap. If you put a new grip on your handle without taking an extra turn (creating an extra layer) around the bottom, the flare might not be as pronounced as it was with the old grip. That "un-flared grip" can trick us into using a lot more grip pressure to keep the racquet from wanting to slip out of our hands when we take a good swing at the ball. Too much grip pressure too often can pave the way to arm strain and potential injury.

Richard Gasquet has what looks like almost doorknob sized flares at the bottom of the handles on his racquets. No need to go that big if you need to do some building up, but if you can put maybe two layers of an old overgrip around your butt cap and then cover everything with a new one, that should give you a nice bump at the end of your handle to make it easier to hold on using lighter grip pressure.

 

[socallefty]

Unlikely. Look for changes in your poly stringjob - using it too long, higher tension than before, new stiffer poly string model you haven’t used before or used the strings after leaving it inactive for too long? Poly goes dead if you leave it in the racquet for many weeks or months without playing also in addition to going dead after 10-20 hours of playing hours.

 

[Slicerman]

I don't know about wrist problems related to grip size, but recently I used one of my racquets that had a new replacement grip on it and the increased grip size negatively affected the racquet's maneuverability. I had a harder time "snapping" into my shots. The hand also seemed to need slightly more effort to securely hold on to. If that's the case then it's possible that an issue with the hand could have an influence on the wrist.

 

[LOBALOT]

In my opinion Goldie Lox grip size is needed. Either too big or too small can cause issues if you have older style strokes. As others have noted it is hard to say in your case.

Younger kids are playing with smaller grips these days but they also play with different strokes than we do with 2 hands on the backhand and semi-western or whippy western forehands.

 

[Polotechnics]

Thanks to everyone who has replied to this thread.

Much appreciated.

Cheers, Paul