Measuring Your Grip Size

Here is an old trick among tennis pros: determine your grip size using height (works for both men and women):

Height..............Grip Size
Under 5’ 2”.......4 1/8
5’ 3” to 5’ 5”.....4 1/4
5’ 6” to 5’ 8”.....4 3/8
5’ 9” to 5’ 11”...4 1/2
6’ & taller..........4 5/8

Manufactured tennis racquet grip sizes range from less than 4" for juniors to 4 7/8" for the largest adult hands. This might not seem like much of a range, but the difference even an eighth of an inch makes is surprising. Too large a grip can strain your hand, and prolonged use of too small a grip can injure your hand, wrist and elbow.

Method of Measurement

The most commonly used method for finding your exact grip size is as follows: On your dominant hand, note that your palm has three main creases. Hold your hand flat, with the fingers alongside one another. Measure from the middle crease of your palm, up the line between your middle and ring fingers, to a point equal to the height of the tip of your ring finger.

If you don’t have a ruler handy, Wilson has a printable grip-sizer that you can pull-up or print out. Click on the link: https://www.doittennis.com/downloads/gripsize_9861.pdf (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print out.)

Generally, if you're between eighths when you measure, you'll be better off going with the larger grip. A grip 1/16" too large will be comfortable, while a slightly small one might not be. However, a slightly smaller grip can be easily fattened up with an over grip, whereas a too-large grip would have to be shaved down – something not so easy to do. Over grips can't fatten a grip effectively more than 1/8", though, because each layer of over grip adds to the rounding-off of the bevel edges on your handle.

Grip sizes between 4-1/8" and 4-5/8" are easy to find in adult racquets. Larger and smaller grips are made for some racquets, but not all. Players with unusually small or large hands often have their racquet handles custom-sized, which costs between $5 and $15.

Junior Tennis Racquet Grip Sizes

Juniors will usually measure less than 4". For junior racquets, exact size matching can be difficult. Most junior racquets are quite inexpensive, and the manufacturers don't find it economical to produce a wide range of grip sizes. Junior rackets 26-inches in length will have a 4-inch grip size. Junior rackets shorter than 26-inches will have a 3-7/8 grip size.

If the grip is not a perfect fit for the child, often the best you can do is to get a racquet that's fairly close and then use over grip to adjust thickness. For juniors, a grip slightly large is preferable to slightly small both for the reasons stated above and because, as we all know, kids will eventually grow into things that are too big for them at the start.

Visit our junior tennis racquet buying guide for more information about choosing the right racquet for your junior player.