Complete tennis grip size guide (tips & tricks!)

TL;DR: To find your tennis grip size, open your hitting hand and measure from the lower crease across your palm to the tip of your ring finger.

That length in inches is roughly your grip size. Most women play with a 4 1/4 grip (size 2 in Europe) and most men with a 4 3/8 grip (size 3). If you land between two sizes, choose the smaller one and build it up with an overgrip, then check the fit with the racket in your hand.

That's the method the LTA recommends, and racket brands describe much the same method on their own size guides. It takes a minute and a ruler, and it saves you from a common racket-buying mistake: a handle that's simply the wrong size for the hand holding it.

Below you'll find the full size chart, how to measure properly, what to do if you're in between, how to tell whether your current grip fits, and what the research actually says about grip size and tennis elbow.

Tennis grip size chart

Grip sizes go up in steps of an eighth of an inch, which is about 3 millimetres around the handle. Rackets sold in the US usually show the size in inches. In Europe you'll see a number from 0 to 6, often written with an L in front, so L2 and size 2 mean the same thing.

The inch sizes and the "usually suits" column follow the LTA's chart. The millimetres are a straight conversion of the inch measurements, rounded, to help if you're shopping from a European site that only lists one system.

Treat the "usually suits" column as a starting point, not a rule. Hands vary a lot, and plenty of men are comfortable on a size 2 and plenty of women on a size 3. Your own measurement and how the racket feels matter more than the average.

How to measure

The standard method is the ruler test. Open your hitting hand and keep your fingers straight and together. Find the lower of the two big creases that run across your palm. Lay a ruler along your ring finger and measure from that crease to the tip of the finger. The result, in inches, is your grip size.

This measurement isn't new. It goes back to a hand measurement technique developed by Dr Nirschl, and it's the one racket manufacturers commonly use to recommend a size, as the authors of a study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine point out.

A few things make the measurement more reliable. Measure your hitting hand, since that's the one holding the racket. Keep your fingers relaxed and straight rather than spread. And if you can, measure twice and take the average. A difference of a few millimetres is enough to move you from one size to the next.

Check it with the racket in your hand

The ruler gives you a number, but the real test is holding a racket. The LTA describes a simple check that you can do in a shop or with a friend's racket.

Hold the racket with an eastern forehand grip, the one you'd use if you shook hands with the handle. Now take the index finger of your other hand and slide it into the gap between the tips of your fingers and the base of your thumb. If your finger fits snugly in that gap, the size is right. If there's room to spare, the grip is too big. If there's no gap at all and your fingertips touch your palm, it's too small.

It's worth doing this test even if you already know your number. Two rackets in the same nominal size can feel slightly different, because handle shapes vary a little between brands, and that changes how the grip sits in your hand.

What to do if you're between two sizes

Choose the smaller size. The LTA's advice, and the advice of most coaches, is that it's easy to make a grip bigger and impossible to make it smaller.

You build a grip up in two ways. An overgrip, the thin tape you wrap over the handle, adds about 1/16 of an inch. A heat shrink sleeve, fitted under the grip by a racket technician, adds about 1/8 of an inch, a full size.

Here's how that works in practice. Say you measure 4 5/16 inches, halfway between a size 2 and a size 3. Buy the racket in size 2 (4 1/4) and add one overgrip, and you're at 4 5/16, exactly your measurement. If after a few weeks it still feels thin, add a second overgrip or ask for a heat shrink sleeve. If you had bought the size 3, you'd be stuck with a handle that's slightly too thick, with no way back.

Signs your grip is too small or too big

If you're already playing with a racket and wondering whether it fits, your hand will usually tell you.

A grip that's too small makes you squeeze. Your fingertips press into your palm, and the racket tends to twist in your hand when you hit the ball off-centre. Many players with small grips notice they hold the racket much tighter than they need to, especially late in a long session.

A grip that's too big feels clumsy. It's harder to wrap your fingers around it, and changing grips between forehand, backhand and volley takes longer than it should. Players often find they can't relax their hand on a grip that's too thick, because it doesn't sit naturally in the fingers.

If any of this sounds familiar, try the index finger test above with your current racket. If your measurement and the test point in different directions, trust the test with the racket in your hand, because that's the size you'll actually be playing with.

Grip size and how you play

Once you're within the right range, small preferences come down to your game. This is coaching advice rather than science, so take it as a guide.

Players who change grips a lot, for example those who come to the net often or hit a one-handed backhand, tend to like a grip on the smaller side, because the racket turns in the hand more easily. Players who hit with a lot of topspin from the baseline often say the same, because a slimmer handle lets the wrist move more freely.

Players who want stability, or who often hit the ball slightly off-centre, sometimes prefer a touch more size, because a fuller handle is harder to twist. If you sit between two sizes and can't decide, the smaller size plus an overgrip still gives you the most room to adjust in either direction.

Buying a racket online

Most rackets are bought online now, which means you often can't hold one before you pay. A little preparation helps.

Measure your hand before you start browsing, and note the size in both systems, for example 4 1/4 and L2, because shops don't always show both. If you already own a racket that feels right, find its grip size. It's usually printed on the frame or near the bottom of the handle, and it's the best starting point you have.

If you're unsure, order the smaller of the two sizes and buy a pack of overgrips with it. And when the racket arrives, do the index finger test before you hit with it or remove any labels, so you can still exchange it if the size is wrong.

Does the wrong grip size cause tennis elbow?

This is the question most players really care about, and the honest answer is that the research doesn't agree.

The LTA says a poorly fitting grip can contribute to conditions like tennis elbow, and that's the common view in coaching. One well-known study tested it directly. Researchers asked 16 college tennis players to hit backhands with three rackets: one in their recommended size, one a quarter of an inch smaller and one a quarter of an inch bigger. They measured the activity of five forearm muscles with fine-wire electrodes and found no significant difference between the three grips. Their conclusion was that grip size within a quarter of an inch of the recommended measurement may not be a significant risk factor for injuries like tennis elbow.

A later study came to a different conclusion. French researchers measured grip force with three handle sizes, with and without fatigue, and fed the results into a model of the hand. They found that there is an optimal grip size that reduces how hard players squeeze during the stroke, and that grip size appeared to be a significant factor in reducing the load on the tendons involved in tennis elbow, as their study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports explains.

What you can take from this is fairly practical. A grip that's a little off probably won't injure you on its own, but a grip that makes you squeeze harder adds load that your forearm doesn't need. So it's worth getting right, especially if you play often or already have a sore elbow. If you do have elbow pain, see a doctor or physiotherapist rather than relying on a new grip to fix it.

Overgrips, replacement grips and heat shrink

These three get mixed up a lot, and they do different jobs.

The replacement grip is the main grip wrapped around the handle when you buy the racket. It's thicker and more cushioned, and it's what gives the handle its basic size and feel. You change it when it's worn out or if you want a different texture.

An overgrip is a thin layer wrapped on top of the replacement grip. It adds tackiness and absorbs sweat, and as we saw above, it adds about 1/16 of an inch to the size. Overgrips wear quickly. The LTA suggests changing them every 5 to 10 hours of play, which for a keen club player can mean once a week. A fresh overgrip is one of the cheapest ways to make an old racket feel better.

A heat shrink sleeve sits underneath the replacement grip and makes the handle itself thicker, by about 1/8 of an inch. It's the right fix when you need a full size more, because stacking several overgrips can make the handle feel soft and blur the shape of its edges. It's a job for a racket technician or a good tennis shop, and it only takes a few minutes.

Grip sizes for juniors

Junior rackets come with small grips, and size 0 is the one the LTA associates with juniors and small hands. Hands grow quickly, so it's worth measuring again whenever a child moves up a racket size.

The same ruler and finger tests work for children. If you're choosing a racket for a junior player, our guide on how to choose a junior tennis racquet covers length, weight and grip together.

Get your grip checked on court

Measuring at home gets you most of the way. The rest is how the racket feels after an hour of hitting, and that's easier to judge with a coach watching. A coach can see straight away if you're squeezing the handle, struggling to change grips or letting the racket twist in your hand, and suggest whether to add an overgrip or try a different size.

If you're starting out or getting back into tennis, our beginner tennis programs in Spain are a good place to learn the basics properly, and you can ask your coach to check your grip and racket on the first day.