In the world of racquet sports, and many other sports that involve holding something, three things are more important that anything else if you want to be the best at your game: grip, grip, and grip. A strong body, good technique, fast reflexes, and excellent endurance are useless if you can’t keep a good grip on whatever it is you are holding. But after a couple of hours of good hard play oily sweat can start to roll down your arms and make gripping your racquet, club, or bat very difficult. Because of this, it is often advisable to swear a sweat absorbing wristband to keep sweat from reaching your hands.
The invention of the sweatband is widely attributed to the tennis great Fred Perry. Perry had been approached by Tibby Wegner, an Austrian footballer, with and idea for an anti-perspirant device worn around the wrist. With a few modifications to Wegner’s design, Perry created the first sweatband, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The sweatband has since played an important role in many sports — particularly in racquet sports where maintaining good grip on the racquet is important. In fact, if you try to do a quick search of all the tennis players who play at the professional level, you’ll find that nearly all of them use a sweatband when their out playing on the court. Serious tennis players all know that sweatbands are important part of proper court apparel if you really care about being at your very best on the court, and it’s really no wonder why sweatbands were originally intended for tennis players when Fred Perry invented them in the first place.
Sweatband use in professional level badminton is not as prolific as it is in tennis — due to the fact that badminton players have more opportunity to towel down and because sweat absorbent powders may be used to help keep the racquet handle dry. However, there are still quite a few professional players who use them, and some beginner players may also find them useful.
But how do you use a wristband correctly?
There really is no wrong or right way to use a wristband, however, there are some basics to them that you might want to keep in mind.
- First, always remember that sweatbands are not intended to help avoid or reduce injury. The elastic nature of wristbands means that they will offer minimal support against hard hits that have the potential to cause broken bones or a sprained wrist. They can, however, help to support a previously injured joint by partially immobilizing it — but you’re better off using a tightly wrapped elastic wrap instead. They can also help to keep mentholated plasters in place during activity.
- On an uninjured wrist, you will want to position the wristband higher up your arm — especially in racquet sports — because positioning the wristband right over your wrist restricts the movement and can feel rather uncomfortable. Look at the way that most tennis players position the wristband and you will them sitting just above or a little higher than the bend of the wrist.
- A wristband doesn’t only help to keep your hands dry, it can also be used to wipe sweat off your face. In fact, in racquet sports, it is encouraged to use the wristband for this purpose to avoid getting facial oils on your hands. This aspect also makes wristbands practical for many other sports.
- Take into consideration how much you sweat when buying a new wristband. If you don’t sweat a lot a thinner wristband might suffice, however, if you sweat profusely during play, opt for a double-width wristband.
- It is also a good idea to have more than one wristband with you when you play or train. After several hours of playing or training, the wristband will start to become soggy and heavy with perspiration, which cause the wristband to loosen up slightly. This can cause the wristband to slide out of place and the additional weight of perspiration can not only feel uncomfortable, it can also feel quite alien and ruin your ability to concentrate on the game.
Wristband can help you maintain a good grip on your racquet, and thus help to improve your game. Here at Bigboxsave, we have a great collection of wristbands available. Click here to see the collection. We also have a wide variety of different sports equipment. Check out the relevant sports categories on our website to see everything we have to offer!
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