Tourna Grip Review

Tourna grip is one of the most prolific overgrips on the pro tour, and for good reason.

Famously endorsed by tennis legends like, Pete Sampras, The Brian Brothers, Dominic Thiem and John Isner, just to name a few, it is commonly referred to as “the grip that doesn’t slip”.

With that in mind, I (Tom) was delighted to take this review, as I had some real problems with overgrips in the past.

You can imagine my despair when I had purchased a beautiful new Babolat racket, only to have it fly out of my hand on a first serve and go shattering across the hard, unforgiving tarmac court.

From that day forward, I swore I was going to find the one, true grip that wouldn’t let me down when things started to get sweaty.

Tourna grip is one of the most prolific overgrips on the pro tour, and for good reason.

Famously endorsed by tennis legends like, Pete Sampras, The Brian Brothers, Dominic Thiem and John Isner, just to name a few, it is commonly referred to as “the grip that doesn’t slip”.

With that in mind, I (Tom) was delighted to take this review, as I had some real problems with overgrips in the past.

You can imagine my despair when I had purchased a beautiful new Babolat racket, only to have it fly out of my hand on a first serve and go shattering across the hard, unforgiving tarmac court.

From that day forward, I swore I was going to find the one, true grip that wouldn’t let me down when things started to get sweaty.

You may have read other tennis bro, Will’s review on the Wilson Pro Overgrip where he drops in a bit of healthy banter about my supposedly flawed “grip theories” and how Wilson Pro Overgrip is the best.

The Wilson grip is indeed a superb overgrip and is definitely the right choice in the right situation. But let me balance that out by telling you about the best situation for Tourna grip.

Do you sweat a lot?

If so, the Tourna Grip “Dry Feel” is probably the only grip out there to stop the racket flying out of your hand.

If you don’t sweat a lot, I would probably consider using a softer, slightly tackier grip like the Wilson Pro Overgrip.

In my own game, I had tried all kinds of other grips before using Tourna.

This ranged from the Babolat overgrips to Karakal replacement grips and I just couldn’t find anything that made my racket feel secure in my hand.

It was incredibly frustrating, as it sometimes prevented me swinging through the ball properly, as I was scared of letting the racket go.

Inevitably, this just leads to tension in one’s technique.

That was when I started to be aware of Andy Roddick’s swimming pool level sweat and wondered how on earth he got through a tennis match without sending his racket crashing across the line.

I noticed he had this blue/purple looking grip that he wrapped each ball change, and not only did it look trendy against the racket, it clearly worked!

Excited, I started researching on the online forums what this could be.

That afternoon I discovered the answer to all my problems in Tourna’s Dry Feel XL Overgrip.

I was delighted to give it a try and I haven’t looked back since. Here’s why…

Softness

5out of 10

I’m sure you’ve probably had a look at Will’s review of the Wilson Pro Overgrip by now and laughed at his interesting choice of vocabulary. Tourna Grip hasn’t been designed to feel like a “soft kitten”, like Will prefers for his grips to feel.

Tourna Grip is designed for extreme durability and the ability to soak up A LOT of sweat.

A lot of people outside the Tourna Grip camp often refer to it as sandpaper.

If that is scaring a few of you off, I can assure you that this is a gross exaggeration.

The people who tend to say this are always the ones who have been playing with delicately soft grips their whole life and can’t properly draw a fair comparison.

Tourna Grip actually does start to feel a little softer once you have played with it for a few games.

As it absorbs moisture it naturally takes on a softer form and loses its initial dry feel.

When I say, “loses its initial dry feel”, I should point out that I don’t mean this as a negative thing.

You’ll discover later in the article that the more you sweat, the more it sticks!

This is truly awesome news for you heavy sweaters (like Andy Roddick and myself)!

That’s probably the first and the last times our names will ever coincide on the tennis court!

Tourna grip also has two sides to it.

Normally with overgrips, only one side is suitable for use, but not so with Tourna Grip.

If you want a little more comfort out of your grip, then use the softer side!

Absorbency

9out of 10

You guys who follow (and hopefully enjoy) my reviews will know that I don’t give out 10/10s as I think there will always be something new and improved in the future of tennis evolution.

However, when it comes to absorbency of a grip, Tourna get pretty damn close. It has an unbelievable level of absorption.

*** Insert Money Saving Tip! Get 4 Tourna Grips For The Price Of 1! ***

The manufacturers certainly won’t thank me for this one, but allow me to let you into a little secret.

I use the same Tourna Grip 4 times…

Okay so some of you girls may be shouting “Ewww” at the computer screen, but hear me out!

I will use one side of the Tourna Grip until it starts to feel a little slippy (this takes a while compared to other grips, which is great!).

Once the grip has dried, I’ll then turn it around and use the back side of the grip.

The next session, I will flip it back over and put the top end of the grip at the bottom.

Lastly, I’ll flip it back over and repeat the previous step.

Additionally, by using a band to secure the overgrip to the replacement grip, rather than the tape they provide, this ensures you can continually re-use the grip.

Tape tends to tear the grip once you remove it, so always use a band if you want to utilise this method.

That all sounds pretty cool, right?

It will certainly save you some unnecessary expense.

Not all of you will want to do this in a match, but for training, it’s ideal.

Let’s face it.

Grips aren’t cheap, and tennis isn’t a cheap sport to play, so make every penny count!

The fact that reusing the grip is possible just proves the unbelievable levels of absorption and versatility (dual sides) that Tourna Grip has to offer.

None of this would be possible with virtually any other grip in the world.

I’ll carry on using Tourna while our other Tennis Bro, Will, continues to burn a hole in his pocket…

Non-Slip Effect

9out of 10

I have said it before and I will say it again, Tourna Grip is THE BEST non-slip grip in the world.

Don’t just take my word for it – switch on your TV and see just how many pros are using them. It really is a staggering amount.

On a painfully hot day, where I’m drenched through and gasping for air, playing tennis is hard enough.

The last thing I want to be doing is worrying about the racket sailing away out my hand and across the court.

Tourna Grip gives you the peace of mind to attack your strokes and swing with confidence.

In fact, up to a certain point, the more you sweat, the more it sticks to your hand! I found this grip performed at its absolute best several games into the set!

I’m pleased to say that I’ve never had a racket fly on me with Tourna Grip, therefore it gets a 9/10 for me for its non-slip effect.

But again, it’s knocking on the door of a 10.

I’d also like to mention that Tourna comes in a few product variations, from the Original Dry Feel (which is what this article was been about) to ultra-tacky.

There is a common misconception in tennis that tacky equals non-slip. In my own experiences, I’ve found this to be completely untrue.

When you sweat, the tackiness of the grip actually ends up making the handle slippier!

In the winter, on an icy December morning’s doubles match, a slightly tacky grip might make more sense, as you won’t be sweating anywhere near as much as usual.

But obviously, we don’t play the majority of our tennis in these conditions.

So, if you are a heavy sweater, only ever look for a slightly tacky grip in extremely cold conditions.

This will ensure the racket sits tight in a dry, cold hand.

Overall

9out of 10

In my opinion, the range of Tourna Grips offers the most versatility out of any other grips out there.

For the player that sweats buckets, this is the only grip that’s worth thinking about. Just make sure you buy the “Dry Feel” version.

Tourna Grips also come in very generous sizes, meaning they are suitable for conventional length rackets and also extended length rackets.

There’s nothing more frustrating than buying a grip to find it won’t fit over your stick!

Hey, I may even buy Will a couple of these for Christmas!

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Softness

5

out of 10

Absorbency

9

out of 10

Non-Slip Effect

9

out of 10

Overall

9

out of 10

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