Finding the best grip for your situation can be challenging. Some players' hands sweat continuously, others do not sweat at all. Some players like to feel the racquet 'glued' to their hands, others make a ton of grip changes, and want the racquet to easily move in their hands.
Courts can be outside (uncovered), outside (covered), and inside (with and without air conditioning). The weather can be a major factor too. Hot, humid conditions are especially challenging. The last thing you need is the grip to feel like grabbing a bar of soap. And, some players like using additional products like talc and roisin. Frankly, if your hands are always sweaty then you'd likely be better off with a dry overgrip. Our Tennisletics Lab conducted a field test to help and created a shortlist of the best eight tacky grips for your racquet or paddle.
Criteria
We evaluated each overgrip against four criteria: 1) comfort, 2) performance, 3) durability, and 4) value, scoring 0 (lowest) - 5 (highest), which we then added into an overall rating. Our field testers used their experience to evaluate the overgrips on a wide variety of tennis racquets that have synthetic original grips. If you have a grip with a different material like leather, then it may affect the overall result you experience.
Lab Results
Tourna Tac XL
Made: USA
Manufactured: Unique Sports
Color: White, Blue, Pink
Tourna Grip has been around since 1977. Tourna Tac offers more tack than Tourna Grip with a similar feel. It is moderately tacky, slightly tackier than Tourna Grip with a similar feel. Unlike most modern grips, the overgrip is not tapered at one end and doesn’t have an adhesive strip to help a player re-grip. This grip is better in for non-humid, cooler temperatures In use, like the original, the grip starts out comfortable but that initial luster fairly quickly disappears. We have tested the XL length here in blue (3-pack for $4.75) because the standard length is very short.
Performance: 4
Comfort: 4.0
Durability: 3.7
Value: 3.9
Overall: 3.8
Head Prime Pro
Made: USA
Manufactured: Head Sports GmbH
Color: White
This grip is made from an engineered elastomer material that has a decent dry, tacky feel which gives some moisture absorption. It is only available in white but a solid choice within the Head range.
Performance: 4.1
Comfort: 4.0
Durability: 4.2
Value: 3.9
Overall: 4.0
Babolat Pro Response
Made: China
Manufactured: Babolat
Color: White or Black
The Babolat Pro Response overgrip is a new addition. It is very thin, like the long-standing VS Original, but delivers plenty of tack with some absorption. This 0.45mm thickness high-quality grip won't add much to the size of your grip and provide supreme feel. It has a tapered start and silver Babolat branded finishing tape. At $6.95 for a 3-pack, the Babolat Pro Response grip is more expensive than most. It performs OK in mild humidity and heat but, because it is so thin, it will struggle to cope in extreme conditions.
Performance: 4.0
Comfort: 3.9
Durability: 4.0
Value: 3.7
Overall: 3.9
Dunlop Gecko-Tac
Made: Taiwan
Manufactured: Dunlop Slazenger Group
Color: White and Black
Dunlop’s Gecko-Tac is available in white and black, in 3 packs ($5.99) and 12 packs. It is ultra tacky with good comfort and some absorption.
Performance: 4.1
Comfort: 4.0
Durability: 3.9
Value: 3.7
Overall: 3.9
Technifibre Pro Contact ATP
Made: Taiwan
Manufactured: Technifibre
Color: White, Red, and Black
The Technifibre Pro Contact ATP overgrip is 0.6mm thick, It uses a special wax resin coating that doubles that increase tackiness by 50% to give you confidence with your strokes. At 0.6mm thick it provides decent comfort.
Performance: 3.9
Comfort: 4.1
Durability: 4.0
Value: 3.4
Overall: 3.8
Yonex Super Grap
Made: Japan
Manufactured: Yonex
Color: Black, Deep Blue, Citrus Green, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, White, and Yellow
The Yonex Super Grap is an extremely popular and best-selling tacky grip for good reason. It performant extremely well in moderate humidity and temperatures but can become slimy in hot, humid conditions. Some players overcome this with talc, roisin, or similar products. If you're after a comfortable, tacky grip, then this should be on your shortlist. It is 0.6mm and available in all kinds of colors. You can purchase in 3-packs for $5.50, 12-packs for $16.95, and 30-packs for $39.00.
Performance: 4.5
Comfort: 4.4
Durability: 4.3
Value: 4.1
Overall: 4.3
Alpha Excel II
Made: China
Manufactured: Alpha Sports
Color: Multiple Colors
The Alpha Excel II overgrips are a great choice if you're on a budget. You can purchase buckets of 24 pieces and 60 pieces ($50). It is a thin tacky overgrip with solid durability at an affordable price.
Performance: 4.0
Comfort: 4.0
Durability: 4.0
Value: 4.4
Overall: 4.1
Volkl Super Grip II
Made: Germany
Manufactured: Volkl
Color: White, Yellow, Black
The Volkl Super Grip II is a tacky cotton overgrip with a PU-coating that provides improved comfort, slip resistance, and some sweat absorption. Thes grips are available at $4.99 per 3-pack, $16.99 per 12-pack, and around $30.00 per 30-pack. This Volkl Super Grip II performs well in moderate conditions by can become slippery in the hottest and most humid conditions.
Performance: 4.0
Comfort: 4.1
Durability: 4.0
Value: 4.0
Overall: 4.0
Winner
The best eight tacky overgrips are good options. If you're after a tacky overgrip, the Tennisletics Labs team considers the top three to try are the last three - Yonex Super Grap, Alpha Excel II, and Volkl Super Grip II. Happy hitting.
