For many years we have encouraged players to have their grips installed only by a Certified Master Racquet Technician or Certified Stringer. We have seen some pretty incredibly botched grip jobs installed by do-it-yourself players. We still support our belief in having it done professionally, but we also realize that sometimes wrapping the grip yourself is necessary. So, if you must, here is a tutorial to do it correctly:

First you'll need a few simple tools.

TOOLS: Needle nose pliers and/or narrow screw driver to remove old staples. Scissors to trim grip. Finish tape and staple gun to secure grip to handle when starting.


 

1. Remove the old grip and staple. Make sure the handle is fairly clean and free of old adhesives and grip material.

2. If your new grip comes with a rubber band collar, slide it on over the handle now and push it all the way up above the handle and out of the way. It is much easier to slide over the bare handle than trying to get over a fresh new grip.

3. Remove a few inches of the tape backing from the tapered end of the grip. Align the tapered end of the grip with the end of the butt cap (no more than 1/16" from end) and secure with a staple or two. If you're wrapping for a right hander, attach the grip so that you're pulling to the right with the butt upward. (see photo) If you're wrapping for a lefty, attach and pull the grip to the left.

4. Make sure your staples are well seated (a tap with a tack hammer will secure, if not) before proceeding. When wrapping the grip, try to keep the racquet head stable by placing it against your leg or hip as shown in the photo. Hold the grip firmly with one hand with your thumb over the staples. If you pull too firmly, the grip will rip through the staple. With the end secured, rotate the racquet slowly with your other hand, overlapping the grip edges about 1/16 of an inch. As you proceed, unwrap the backing of the tape as you go to avoid the grip sticking in a place you didn't intend. As you wrap, keep the grip pulled tight to get a firm even grip. Avoid pulling too tight and stretching the grip. Continue wrapping the grip with the consistent 1/16 inch overlap until you reach the top of the handle.

5. Once you've reached the top of the handle, draw a line straight around the grip as shown in the photo. Unwrap the marked portion of the grip and trim along the line with scissors.

6. Secure the finished end with tape and slide the collar down.

Installing an overgrip is pretty much the same, except that no staple is required when starting. Make sure the regular grip is in decent shape. Installing a new overgrip over a worn out grip won't help much. Also some overgrips do not have a tapered end to start with, so beginning can be a bit tricky, but works the same as with the replacement grip. Remember to overlap only about a 1/16 of an inch and keep it consistent as you go. Sometimes you’ll want to install an overgrip on court and probably won’t have scissors with you to trim. In this case just neatly fold the overgrip in half at the top and secure with the tape for a nice smooth finish.