How to Apply A New Wrap To My Racquetball Racquet [Do THIS First]

Racquetball – How to Replace a Worn-out Racquetball Racquet Grip with New Wrap Grip or Tape 

If you have played racquetball for any amount of time, either your grip will begin to unravel or wear out and a replacement grip wrap will be needed.

Regularly checking this should be part of your normal maintenance schedule on your equipment, namely your racquet.

This article will explain the process and show you how to replace the wrap tape on your racquet with directions and a video. The method of replacing the wrap on your racquet handle should only take about thirty minutes with very few tools.  

How Will I Know When My Racquetball Racquet Grip Should Be Replaced? 

The most obvious way to know when your racquetball racquet grip wrap needs to be replaced is when the wrap begins to unravel like it did on my racquet. There really is no repairing the wrap when it gets to this point, especially when it begins to unravel at the butt end of the grip.

This is where the wrap is first applied and getting it tucked back in is impossible.

The second way to know that the grip needs to be replaced is that the area of the grip that covers the sharper edges of the handle of the racquet will begin to wear through. This is usually most apparent where your thumb and pointer finger make contact with the racquet handle.

This happens because most racquetball players rotate the racquet in their hand when switching from the forehand grip to the backhand grip.

This rotation of the handle of the racquet in the player’s hand causes friction and wears out spots on either the grip or wrap covering the handle.  

 

Tools Needed to Wrap a Racquetball Racquet Handle 

To apply a new wrap to your racquet handle only a few tools can be needed. It would be handy to have a razor knife, a pair of scissors, and something very skinny like small tweezers or a thin knife. 

 

Here Are the Steps To Replace the Wrap on a Racquetball Racquet Handle.  

Remove the safety wrist cord.

This is done by untying the knot at the butt end of the racquet and pulling the string through. This string can easily get in the way if not removed when applying the wrap to the handle. 

Clean off the Racquetball Racquet Handle.

Remove the old grip or wrap, any glue or residue using the razor knife if need be.  Make sure the handle is smooth. If there are bumps or glue on the naked handle, a rag and razor knife can come in handy to clean the handle up. 

Unpackage the new wrap tape and finishing tape.

Take off a small piece of the end of the finishing tape and stick it to a clean table or whatever surface you’re working on. This way it will be ready when it is needed.

The wrap will have one thick end and another end that is kind of tapered. Pull back the paper on the tapered end of the wrap about twelve inches to unveil the adhesive side of the wrap. 

Begin by placing the tapered end of the new wrap on the handle…

Do this at an angle (up the shaft) and start to wrap the new grip tape along the butt end of the handle.

The tapering of the new wrap allows for the new grip tape to wrap around the handle and form an angle from the butt end toward the stringed end of the racquet.

Be sure to pull the wrap tape tight and to slightly overlap the grip tape as you ascend towards the top of the handle. It’s common to wrap the handle in the counterclockwise direction if the player is right-handed, and clockwise if the player is left-handed.

The direction is determined by looking down the butt end of the handle as if holding it in front of you with the handle close and the stringed end further away.  

Cut off the Extra Wrap

Once the wrap reaches the top end of the handle, extend the unused wrap tape about eight inched at the angle used when wrapping (see picture). Now if the extra wrap is cut straight across, when the remainder is wrapped around the handle, it will form a straight line across the top of the grip and handle.  

Apply Finishing Tape

At this point, use the finishing tape set aside earlier to hold the top of the wrap in place. Use this tape to wrap around the handle and wrap two or three times to hold the wrap in place so the top end will not unravel.  

Retie the Safety Wrist Cord

The last thing to do is to tie on the safety cord. This is where the tweezers or skinny knife comes in handy.

Feed the unlooped end of the wrist cord into the hole on the butt end of the handle and use the tool to work it back up and through the hole on the other side of the separator.

This is where the tools may be needed, Its a pretty tight fit in most cases. Now use a knot or double knot to tie it on securely. Using the racquetball racquet without this wrist safety cord is not recommended.  

Now you have a racquet with a wrapped grip that is just like new.  Give it a few squeezes and make sure there are no bubbles or gaps in the wrapping. Give the glue at least a few hours to let it set up and get out and play!