There are technically 3 main types of a tennis grips:
1. The Grip (The Handle). This is the grip that the tennis racquet comes with. It is great to start, but a lot of players prefer to put another grip (overgrip) on especially after it gets dirty or frayed.
2. The Replacement Grip. You can take off the original grip and see the Graphite or Wood Handle and where the original grip was glued on. The Replacement Grip is sticky on the whole backside as it is meant to last a long time on your racquet.
3. The Overgrip (Overwrap). This Grip is usually a thinner material as it goes over the original grip or even the replacement grip. These grips don’t usually last as long and professionals tennis will typically use a new overgrip for every match. There are different types of over grips likes tacky overgrips, dry overgrips, or perforated overgrips. These tennis grips come with a tennis grip tape to make sure these grips stay in place.
Reasons why You would use each version of a Tennis Grip:
The main reason you would play with the original grip is because you just bought a brand new racquet and you want to play with it before you add on your over grip. Or you have no other choice and stuck with the original grip from way back when.
Some people like the main grip especially because they buy a tennis racquet handle at a specific size and an overgrip might affect that. When you putt on a overgrip it adds volume to the grip and makes it bigger. Smaller grip sizes are becoming more popular in the world of tennis as are Tennis Shock Absorbers.