Leather grips are synonymous with a bygone era of tennis – a time of wooden rackets, serve & volley, and dreadful haircuts.
But despite the dated nature of old-fashioned leather grips, they are still being used by a lot of professional players today. So, what’s going on? There are a few physical differences between leather grips and their synthetic counterparts, aside from material.
For one, leather grips are slightly thinner, not to mention a good bit heavier. If you decide to go down the leather grip pathway, be prepared for a significant bump-up in your racket’s mass, as well as the balance of the frame brought much lower.
Believe it or not, leather grips hold a few advantages over synthetic replacement grips. Namely, the feel when hitting the ball is firmer, which some players report helps minutely with the racket’s control. Also, a correctly wrapped leather grip will make the bevels of the racket handle feel much more defined, which again is beneficial to some players.
Many professional tennis players use leather grips for these reasons. Federer for one, along with Djokovic, but it’s not just the older guys. Younger players such as Nick Kyrgios, Alexander Bublik and many in between use a leather grip also; and because of the prolific use of leather grips on the pro’s rackets, I do recommend to advanced players to at least try out these old-style grips.
That being said, leather grips certainly aren’t for everyone – especially those with softer skin, or who blister easily. The feel of a tennis racket with a leather grip is a little harsher than usual, and can result in muscular stress in some cases. Even the famously traditional-style Pete Sampras switched from a leather to a synthetic grip in the last few years of his career.
It’s not recommended to use a leather grip on it’s own. It has to be teamed with an overgrip for best results, as this supplies the tackiness and sweat absorption the leather can’t.
When it comes to leather grip brands, virtually any of them will perform well. I have tested leather grips from Prince, Wilson, Head, Babolat and even Fairway. All of these leather grips are great options, with the Fairway leather grip being of slightly nicer quality – however, this is an almost imperceptible difference over the other brands, plus the lack of adhesive backing and short length of the standard Fairway grip makes it difficult to install on the handle, simply not justifing the price.
My go-to leather grip brands for customer’s rackets are Babolat and Head, as both are much better value, and are of great quality.
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