Sampras's L7 grip

[zorg]

Why did Sampras have an L7 grip? Thats huge!!! Did he really have huge hands, cause it doesn't look like it. And if he didn't, why would he use a larger grip than he had? Does a larger grip add more stability and power? He was a S & V player, so the stability might have been good for him. This is just strange for me because most pros have really small grip sizes, and smaller than their real sizes.

 

[PrestigeClassic]

Pete Sampras played with a handle that measured 4 9/16": right around 4 5/8" with an overgrip. The only thing "big" about it might be the way he started his overgrips. I've not held a frame, but I believe the butt cap was relatively larger than the handle.

 

[slice bh compliment]

4 and 5/8 = 4 and 10/16

Pete Sampras played with a handle that measured 4 9/16": right around 4 5/8" with an overgrip. The only thing "big" about it might be the way he started his overgrips. I've not held a frame, but I believe the butt cap was relatively larger than the handle.

4 and 9/16 is more like a 4 and 1/2 with an overgrip.

Pete used a custom handle that was definitely larger than a 4 and 5/8. Most of the leading Sasquatch researchers I polled said 4 and 3/4.

Typical 'big man rooted in the wood racquet era'. I'm sure Lendl was an influence there. Never heard Pete went to a 4 and 7/8, but I would not be shocked. Not sure about the buttcap.

Oh, and sorry about the bad bigfoot joke. No offense to Pete or his fans -- I am one of them, and I'm just as hairy as him and I use a 4 and 3/4 grip.

 

[PrestigeClassic]

4 and 9/16 is more like a 4 and 1/2 with an overgrip.

Pete used a custom handle that was definitely larger than a 4 and 5/8. Most of the leading Sasquatch researchers I polled said 4 and 3/4.

Typical 'big man rooted in the wood racquet era'. I'm sure Lendl was an influence there. Never heard Pete went to a 4 and 7/8, but I would not be shocked. Not sure about the buttcap.

Oh, and sorry about the bad bigfoot joke. No offense to Pete or his fans -- I am one of them, and I'm just as hairy as him and I use a 4 and 3/4 grip.

Pete Sampras used a handle size of 4 9/16. This includes a replacement grip. An overgrip adds one-half of one size, which would make a final handle size of 4 5/8. <--This number includes an overgrip, not the other number.

The reason why the butt cap and the overgrip starting method was mentioned was that those two features might make a handle feel larger than it is upon first holding the frame by someone not too knowledgeable. At least, that's the only answer I have that might help explain the misconception of Sampras' grip size. At the very least, you can read what Sampras' racket builder Nate Ferguson wrote.

It's funny because the other main St. Vincent players (Edberg, Courier) also used handle sizes of 4 9/16.

Lendl? He seemed to have used a L5.

 

[slice bh compliment]

Interesting.

I was just having some fun....going on hearsay and by a Tennis magazine comparison of Pete and Andre back in the mid-nineties (admittedly weak/fuzzy research).

Thanks for your insight, PrestigeClassic.

 

[PrestigeClassic]

Interesting.

I was just having some fun....going on hearsay and by a Tennis magazine comparison of Pete and Andre back in the mid-nineties (admittedly weak/fuzzy research).

Thanks for your insight, PrestigeClassic.

I was also paying attention to the magazine for a while, but then a stringer friend of mine told me differently. Tennis.. not the best source of reference, I'm afraid. Cheers!

 

[Benefactor]

Sampras did not have really big hands, my hands are basically the exact same size as his. There is a country club over in the Charlotte area (The Palisades) where a bunch of players they've had over there (Sampras, Courier, Kournikova, etc.) have done molds of their hands in cement and they have them framed on a wall in the clubhouse. I put my hand in Pete's hand print and they are virtually the exact same size, and I only use a 4 3/8's grip. At the moment, I'm actually using a 4 1/4 with an overgrip, but whatever, you get the idea. So his really large grip had more to do with some kind of weird personal preference that he had than it did with his actual hand size.

 

[ronalditop]

i can understand if he actually uses a very big grip, since he's a s&v player, cause big grips give more stability on serves and volleys. for example, feliciano lopez, who is a s&v player, uses a big grip as well.

 

[jazar]

sampras uses a smaller grip size now than when he was on tour. at least he did when he played that blackrock masters last december

 

[gsquicksilver]

talk about reviving a thread from the grave.

 

[smart_player]

in his autobiography whcih i have read; Pete clearly states that he used a grip size between 4 5/8 and 4 3/4. this can be found in the chapter where he is describing his equipment.

therefore his grip size would have been around 4 11/16

 

[SandV]

can anybody resolve this conflicting info?

 

[orangettecoleman]

Doesn't seem unusual in the context of the time in which he was playing. He was a pretty big guy with big hands. I have small hands for a guy and I use a 4 1/2... I believe Mac and Borg both used 4 5/8 and they were both under 6 feet so their hands can't have been too big.

 

[Bill Tilden]

They are big guy and thy use a relatively a small grip. I'm normal guy (178 cm) and I can use a L2 with leather and over grip

 

[DNShade]

I've held and swung Pete's recent sticks - and the grip doesn't seem to anything overly large. I play with 4 5/8 and it seemed in that range or a bit smaller maybe. I can find the exact specs if it's really important to people.

 

[SandV]

Would be interested to know what he played with during his career. Also, if he's gone smaller now, why?

 

[GS]

For years, I've looked at Pete's ProStaff in a glass case at San Francisco's Niketown. (It's gone now.) The grip really looked like a 4-5/8.
I remember what Nate Ferguson wrote years ago---Pete was having trouble with calluses on his right hand, so he switched from a leather/TournaGrip combo to a cushiongrip/TournaGrip. But initially, it was too big. So Nate somehow brought it down to a 4-9/16.
Same with me---my 5/8s were too big with a cushiongrip/overgrip combo, so I sold all those sticks, bought 4-1/2s, and simply built the raw grips up alittle bit with some gaffer tape. Now I've got 9/16s, too. But, for some reason, I still don't play like Pete. But, I have my perfect grip setup now, and for the future, so I'm happy.

 

[Aces09]

Lol, because it's what he liked. I like a 3/8 grip and I'm 6'4" and 175 lbs. Big guy, I like small grips. Can't tell you why.

Sampras probably had huge gorilla hands, I'm a huge fan of his, but I've always felt his appearance was very monkeyish...

 

[SandV]

Nate's 4-9/16 number conflicts with Pete's own stated size of 4-11/16 (see post #11)

 

[Aces09]

lol, yeah that's insane. He was 6'2 or something like that, not necessarily huge. But he did look kind of like a gorilla, maybe he had gorilla hands.

**Just letting everyone know, I'm a huge sampras fan, I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but he does look rather ape-like....nobody can deny that...

 

[BigServer1]

They also wrapped his fairways around the edges of the buttcap so that part of the handle had a slightly larger more rounded feel to it.

 

[bobeeto]

Are bigger grip sizes aiding flat serves?

I’ve always played with a big grip size and love a flat bomb, but always chalked it up to being tall… maybe a mix?

 

[mtommer]

Are bigger grip sizes aiding flat serves?

No. It is 100% about what you individually find comfortable to play with. If you have 99 people and they all have your hand size and all use the same grip size, all it means is that may be a good place to start to find a grip you also feel comfortable with. However, there will always be someone who likes a smaller or larger grip size who is able to do substantially more with the ball than you. It isn't their grip size that is "facilitating" that higher skill. They are simply a better player with one less thing on their mind to worry about.

 

[PBODY99]

As head sizes increased over time, on average the grip sizes have decreased.
Pete started playing in the era where 3/4 & 7/ 8 were commercially available.

 

[bobeeto]

No. It is 100% about what you individually find comfortable to play with. If you have 99 people and they all have your hand size and all use the same grip size, all it means is that may be a good place to start to find a grip you also feel comfortable with. However, there will always be someone who likes a smaller or larger grip size who is able to do substantially more with the ball than you. It isn't their grip size that is "facilitating" that higher skill. They are simply a better player with one less thing on their mind to worry about.

Agree 100%. Just curious of any correlation, not necessarily meaning or hoping for causation.

 

[bluetrain4]

Everyone has their preferences. While 4 and 5/8 or a little bigger are certainly large on the scale we all know, it's not crazy big. I don't think players would need to have giant hands to use such a grip. Also, let's not forget how player's grip size choice (professional and recreational players) have come down overall in recent decades. Probably due to multiple reasons. A lot of women used to use surprisingly large grips - probably due to how they were taught the sport, the stroke grips they used, and the fact that they weren't hitting super wristy top spin shots.