Grip size calculator: how much does an overgrip actually change your handle?

One layer of a 0.50 mm overgrip adds about 3.1 mm of circumference, and one tennis grip-size step is 3.17 mm. In other words a single standard overgrip moves you almost exactly one full size — usually without anyone noticing. Enter your handle below and see where you actually end up.

The arithmetic is simple geometry. An overgrip is a thin sheet wrapped around the handle, so each layer adds one thickness on each side of the handle, and the circumference grows by 2πt (t = sheet thickness). A grip-size step in tennis is one eighth of an inch, which is 3.175 mm of circumference.

Worked example: a 4 3/8 handle measures 111.1 mm. One 0.50 mm overgrip adds 3.14 mm, which lands at 114.2 mm — that is 4 1/2. Two layers of the same grip take the same handle to 117.4 mm, closer to 4 5/8. Strip the original 1.5 mm replacement grip first and the two layers net out 3.14 mm smaller instead, at 108.0 mm.

Sport / handle sizing

Your fitted grip size

Overgrip thickness

How many layers

I removed the original replacement grip first (about 1.5 mm)

Reference: what each thickness does

Overgrip thickness	Circumference added per layer	Equivalent grip sizes (tennis)	Two layers
0.40 mm	2.5 mm	≈ 0.8 size	≈ 1.6 sizes
0.45 mm	2.8 mm	≈ 0.9 size	≈ 1.8 sizes
0.50 mm	3.1 mm	≈ 1.0 size	≈ 2.0 sizes
0.60 mm	3.8 mm	≈ 1.2 sizes	≈ 2.4 sizes
0.65 mm	4.1 mm	≈ 1.3 sizes	≈ 2.6 sizes
0.80 mm	5.0 mm	≈ 1.6 sizes	≈ 3.2 sizes
1.00 mm	6.3 mm	≈ 2.0 sizes	≈ 4.0 sizes
1.90 mm	11.9 mm	≈ 3.8 sizes	—

That table is the whole answer in one place. If you want the reasoning behind the numbers — where the formula comes from, what it assumes, and where it breaks down — it is written out in Grip thickness vs grip size: the arithmetic nobody publishes.

How to measure your handle in two minutes

1. Wrap a strip of paper around the handle where you actually hold it

2. Mark where it overlaps, lay it flat, measure the length in millimetres — that is your current circumference

3. Add 2πt per layer (or read it off the table above) and see which size step you land on

When you should not add thickness

Your fingertips already touch your palm when you grip the racket

Your contact point is consistently late — a larger handle slows hand rotation and makes it later

You are at the top of your size range and considering a third layer to make it feel solid — that is usually a tension problem, not a size problem

Frequently asked

Does an overgrip change the balance of the racket?Only slightly. You are adding a few grams at the handle, which is the least influential place for swing weight, so the size change is the noticeable effect rather than the weight.

Will two layers slip?Not if each layer is wrapped with consistent overlap and finished with tape. The usual failure is the outermost layer rotating at the butt cap, which comes from a loose starting wrap rather than the number of layers.

Can thickness fix a handle that is too small?Yes — that is its most practical use. Keep in mind that soft PU compresses and rounds the bevels slightly, so a handle built up with overgrips feels softer and less angular than the same size in a moulded grip.

Why do manufacturers not publish this?Because the number works in both directions. Publishing that a grip adds 1.6 sizes tells some players exactly what they want and warns others away. Our own range lists the thickness on every product page so you can do the sum yourself.

Method note: 2πt is ideal geometry. In practice the overlap compresses, the material is not perfectly incompressible and wrapping tension varies, so the measured gain is slightly under the calculated figure. Treat the output as “about one size”, not a tolerance. Replacement-grip thickness is assumed at 1.5 mm when you tick the strip-down option; check your own grip if precision matters. Built by the FANGCAN product team — we make overgrips in 0.65 mm, 0.80 mm and 1.90 mm, which is why the sum matters to us.