Tennis Overgrips on a Badminton Racket: Do They Work?

Your grip has gone slick halfway through a session, the shop has none of your usual badminton overgrips left, and the only pack on the shelf is marked for tennis. Do you grab it, or wait for the right label? For a badminton racket the answer is almost always grab it. An overgrip is an overgrip, whatever sport is printed on the wrapper.

Why the sport on the label barely matters

An overgrip is the thin outer layer you actually hold: it wraps over the base grip fitted to the racket and gives you a fresh, dry surface to grab. The material is much the same across the racket sports. Whether a pack says tennis, badminton, padel or squash, you are almost always buying the same slim polyurethane wrap, cut to a similar width, with either a dry or a tacky finish. The branding sells it to a particular aisle. The physical product does the same job on any handle.

This is why plenty of badminton players quietly use tennis overgrips and never give it a second thought. If the feel suits your hand, the sport on the sleeve is marketing, not spec.

What genuinely differs: the handle, not the grip

The real difference between the two sports is the handle the grip goes onto, not the grip itself. A tennis handle is thicker than a badminton one, and its gripping section is longer. On a badminton racket the part you actually hold is thin and short, which is part of what lets you switch between forehand and backhand grips so quickly.

Because the badminton gripping section is the smaller of the two, a full length overgrip has more than enough to cover it, and you will usually finish with a little length to spare. That is not a problem. It simply means you have a bit of grip left when you reach the top of the wrap, which you deal with in seconds.

Wrapping a tennis overgrip on a badminton handle

Start at the bottom of the handle, peel the backing, and anchor the tapered starting end at the butt. Wrap upward at a slight angle, overlapping each turn by two or three millimetres so there are no gaps. Keep a light, even tension: pull too hard and the grip stretches thin and wears out faster.

When you reach the top of the handle, you may have some grip left over. Trim it off at an angle with scissors so the end sits flush, then seal it down with the finishing tape that comes in the pack. That is the whole job, and it works exactly the same as it would with a badminton labelled grip.

Dry or tacky: pick by how much you sweat

Overgrips come in two feels. A tacky grip is slightly sticky and locks the hand in place, which suits players who like a planted, secure hold. A dry grip has a chalkier surface that stays comfortable when your hands get damp, so it tends to win for sweaty palms and long sessions. Neither is better in the abstract; it comes down to your hand and the conditions in the hall. If you are torn, a mixed pack lets you try both without committing to one.

When a tennis multi pack is the better buy

This is where the tennis aisle pays off. Overgrips are a consumable: they flatten and lose their tack, and anyone playing a couple of times a week gets through them steadily. Buying them one or two at a time is the expensive way to keep a fresh grip on your racket.

The HEAD overgrip six pack is a good example: six grips in one pack at £10.99, in a choice of dry and tacky finishes and several colours. Six at once brings the cost per grip well below buying singles, and you always have a spare ready for when the current wrap goes slick. For a badminton player who re-grips often, a tennis multi pack is frequently the best value on the shelf.

Have a look through the grips collection to compare dry against tacky, or line the tennis packs up next to badminton favourites like the Yonex Super Grap.

Related reading: 15x HEAD Badminton Tennis Racket Grip Tape - Non-Slip Sticky Handle Review and Forehand and Backhand Grip: The Foundation of Better Badminton