Fitting an overgrip properly comes down to four decisions: start with the narrow end at the base of the handle, wrap upwards in the direction your hand closes, overlap 2-3 mm on every turn, and pull with constant tension. Do that and the grip sits flat, with no wrinkles, and it won't move. It takes under a minute and no tools. What follows is the detail on each step, plus the mistakes that make a brand-new overgrip come loose by the third game.
Before you start: don't remove the original grip
The overgrip goes on top of the base grip the racket comes with from the factory. You leave that base grip alone: it's what gives the handle its thickness and its octagonal shape. Strip it off and you're left with bare wood, the handle loses 1.5 to 2 mm of diameter, and the overgrip ends up wrapped around a surface with no purchase.
If what you actually want is to replace that lower layer because it has gone flat, that's a different job and it's done with an undergrip, not an overgrip. They're two layers with different jobs: the undergrip shapes the handle and absorbs vibration, the overgrip gives you the feel and is the one you change often.
Keep it simple: the racket, the new overgrip and, if yours includes one, the finishing tape. Nothing else. One logistical tip: open the wrapper on a table, not standing up in the changing room. The finishing sticker is small and it's the first thing to go missing.
The seven steps
- Remove the old overgrip and the plastic from the new one. It sounds obvious, but the clear film that protects some overgrips is easy to mistake for the material itself. Leave it on and the racket slips more than it did before you changed it.
- Find the narrow end. Almost every overgrip has one side cut on the diagonal with an adhesive strip. That's the end that goes on first, right at the bottom, just above the butt cap.
- Stick that end flush with the bottom edge. Don't leave it hanging below the butt cap, and don't move it up a centimetre "so it lines up". Whatever you get wrong here gets multiplied on every turn.
- Make the first turn cover the edge. This turn anchors everything. Pull it tight and check the bottom edge is straight before you carry on.
- Wrap upwards with constant tension. Pull the overgrip as you turn the racket, not the other way round. Stretch it in jerks and the material deforms unevenly, which is where the creases come from.
- Keep the overlap identical on every turn. This is what decides the final thickness. More on it below.
- Cut and finish at the top. When you reach the end of the handle, cut the excess on the diagonal, following the angle of the last turn, and secure it with the tape. Never keep wrapping past the handle: if the overgrip creeps onto the throat of the racket, you'll feel it on every high shot.
Right-handed or left-handed: which way to wrap
This is the step most people get backwards without realising. The rule is simple: the overgrip has to climb in the same direction your hand closes around the handle.
If you're right-handed, hold the racket as if you were about to hit a forehand and wrap from left to right. If you're left-handed, right to left. The reason is purely mechanical: wrapped that way, each turn covers the edge of the previous one in the direction your fingers press and twist. Do it the other way and your palm pushes against the edge of the overlap, turn after turn, until it lifts. That's the classic overgrip that peels at the edges after two weeks and gets blamed on sweat.
A two-second check before you start: put your thumb on the handle and slide it in the direction of the stroke. The edges should feel closed under your thumb, not catch on it.
How much to overlap
The overlap is the only real adjustment you have over handle thickness. The more you overlap, the thicker it ends up.
| Overlap | Result | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 mm | As thin as it gets; keeps the octagonal shape of the handle | Small hands and players who want to feel the bevels |
| 2-3 mm | The middle ground, and the most common | Most players; this is what we'd suggest if you don't know which is yours |
| Half the band (5-6 mm) | Adds noticeable thickness and rounds off the handle | Large hands, or anyone squeezing too hard because the handle is too small |
If you need a lot more thickness, overlapping by half a band isn't the best answer: you use up the overgrip halfway along the handle and the feel comes out uneven. Adjust the layer underneath instead.
The five most common mistakes
- Starting at the top. Wrap from top to bottom and the overlap edges face your palm, so they lift on their own.
- Leaving the protective plastic on. We've said it already, but it happens more than you'd think, especially with overgrips that come neatly rolled from the factory.
- Uneven tension. Tight at the bottom and loose at the top creates a soft patch exactly where your index and middle fingers sit on the bandeja. That's where it fails first.
- Going past the handle. Wrapping up to the throat adds weight where it doesn't belong and shifts the balance.
- Fitting it with sweaty hands. If you've just come off court, dry off first. The adhesive on the starting strip doesn't hold the same on a damp surface, and that end is what holds everything else in place.
What about a silicone grip?
With the Helix Pro Grip the procedure is the same, with two practical differences. First, silicone doesn't absorb sweat, it repels it, so it doesn't saturate, doesn't loosen mid-match, and you don't have to re-tighten it between games. Second, frequency: a conventional cloth overgrip lasts between 4 and 8 matches, and this one lasts around ten times longer, so you'll be repeating everything you've just read far fewer times a year.
Each Helix Pro Grip is 30 cm, the standard length of a padel handle, and goes on in under a minute with no tools. If you want to try one before buying a pack, it's also available as a single unit. And if you're setting a racket up from scratch, the padel collection has both layers of the system, overgrip and undergrip.
When the next one is due
A well-fitted overgrip doesn't last longer for being well fitted: it lasts as long as the material allows. What it does prevent is early failure, the kind that shows up after two or three matches because an edge has lifted. For when to actually change it, the criterion is feel rather than the calendar; we go into it in how often you should change your overgrip.
One last thing. If you find yourself squeezing the handle hard to stop the racket moving, the problem is rarely your wrapping technique: it's that the grip has stopped gripping. That extra force travels up the forearm and is one of the common causes of elbow and wrist discomfort. If the pain persists, see a physiotherapist or a sports doctor: this is an article about equipment, not a diagnosis.
Helix Pro Grip is a Spanish brand of silicone grips with a design registered at the EUIPO. Over 100,000 grips sold.