HANDLE THIS! {1997}

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

Handle is really the proper word. A grip is something you put on a handle, in this case a racquet handle. In the thousands(?) of requests for information that I've received, one gentleman pleaded with me to do an article about handles. That doesn't seem like much of subject, but when you start thinking about it, the handle is one of the most critical parts of a racquet. It is the connection between you and all the technology science can put into the game you play. Actually there are many different sides to a handle (pun intended). In general, a racquet handle has 8 sides--2 wide, 2 a little narrower and 4 quite small. Several years ago there was a push to change racquet handles to only 6 sides, but it didn't seem to catch on. At this writing, I don't know of any manufacturer that still makes them.

Shape

One factor that few people even know about is the differences in the shape of the handle. Different manufacturers make different shapes. Most people may not be able to feel the difference, but some handles are more square than others (like Wilson and Prince) and some are purposely made more rectangular (Head comes to mind). Some have very sharp edges to the bevels, and others are slightly more rounded. Find the most comfortable one for you, and it could help in shot placement. Shape can be changed, but you need to find a person with the knowledge and experience to do it right or you may wind up with an unusable racquet.

Construction

Next are the types of handles. A racquet made 75 years ago most likely would have had no grip on the handle! You had to hold on to the wood. A big improvement came with the advent of leather grips. Metal frames added a lot more vibration and that's when technology really came into play. The first frame I can remember with an attempt to dampen vibration was the Wilson T-5000. Similar in appearance to the racquet Jimmy Conners made famous, it boasted a rod in the center of the handle with a ball on the end, so the some of the vibration would dissipate. With the introduction of fiberglass and graphite frames, handles were molded out of a tough dense foam material, which is still used on many racquets today.

Prince's Cushion Grip System started out in the mid to late 80's and is still used on some frames. It has a molded synthetic rubber pallet fastened to the graphite stem with a slightly softer synthetic grip. Spalding's attempt to make things more comfortable was a handle made from a material (Sensathane) which gave it a small amount of compressibility, allowing for a little give when you squeezed it.

Other innovations have come and gone, but here are the current ones, some which have been on the market almost as long as the Prince Cushion Grip:

>The ISIS (Impact Shock Isolation System) from Dunlop attempts to block vibration and shock by a 2-piece handle. The bottom part is connected to the top two graphite rods which are suspended with ?o' rings and covered in a shock absorbing material. Since some of the pros have said this system also reduces the feel, they have developed a molded honeycomb handle made of space age materials which they claim dampens vibration without deadening the feel.

>Volkl introduced their Dual Dampening handle several years ago with the V1 racquet. Under the molded pallet, a vibration dampening sleeve encases a 2-part handle which looks like a tuning fork. The handle twists in the opposite direction of off-center hits which is said to absorb up to 80% of the shock.

>Because of drastic weight reductions in the last decade, many racquets are now molded in one piece including the handle. This has created more frame vibration. Wilson has recently added the "In-Tune" system to several of their latest models. Designed to reduce what they call "Lingering Vibration", it incorporates a suspended rubber insert into the butt cap. According to Wilson, this is tuned to the frame, allowing vibrations to pass out of the handle instead of into your arm. This sounds to me like an update of the old T-5000 technology.

Many of the innovations currently in use to add comfort to your game are incorporated into other parts of the frame. Perhaps this would be a good subject for a subsequent column.

Size

Probably the most important thing to consider is having the proper size handle for you. There are several ways to measure your hand, and you should seek out a store that takes the trouble to fit you properly. I know I'm going to get in trouble here with some of the teaching professionals, but a good rule of thumb is to play with the largest size you can comfortably hold. Too small a handle will cause you to grip the racquet too tightly, causing excess pressure on your arm. The result can be tennis elbow. Some people contend, and maybe rightly so, that a smaller grip allows you to whip your wrist more, thereby putting more spin on the ball. For my money, I'd rather get a little less spin and play without pain.

Vince Chiarelli, CRT, Owner, String Along With Vince
Copyright 1997 (Previously published in THE LATEST RACQUET - Nov/Dec, 1997