iQGrip Configurations: 5 Ways to Set Up Your Inserts
A paddle handle is an extrusion — the same cross-section from top to bottom. Your palm is not. It is closer to the shape of an egg, which means that when you close your hand around a handle there is a cavity where your palm and the handle simply are not touching.
That cavity is the whole problem. iQGrip inserts fill it — and because you place them yourself, where the cavity is for your hand and your grip style is the only thing that determines the setup.
There are four or five configurations that come up repeatedly, including several we have watched high-level players arrive at independently. Here they are.
How it goes on
Before the configurations, the basic install — because it is simpler than people expect:
- Leave your base tape on. The paddle's existing tape stays exactly where it is. Nothing gets stripped.
- Place the inserts on top of it, wherever you want support, and secure them with the included adhesive strips.
- Wrap an overgrip over the top — the iQGrip overgrip in your kit, or your own favourite.
Orient each insert so the logo faces towards you. That gives you the intended ergonomic shape.
1. The Ergo Grip — one large insert
Best for: most players, and particularly the 3.0 to 4.0 range.
A single large insert placed on the dominant side of the handle. It is asymmetric by design — it fills the palm cavity on one side and leaves the other alone.
What it gives you is a soft pressure fit against the palm and a clear sense of paddle orientation without having to look or re-set your hand. Because the paddle stays where you put it, you can hold it with less pressure. It also responds well when you pronate to defend at the net.
If you are installing iQGrip for the first time, this is where to start.
2. The Pro Grip — two symmetrical small inserts
Best for: players who spin the paddle in hand, especially anyone from a tennis background.
Two smaller inserts placed symmetrically, one on either side of the handle. The symmetry is the point: players who came from tennis often rotate the paddle between shots, and an asymmetric shape fights that.
The finished handle feels close to a pistol grip. It spins freely in the hand while still giving you a defined shape to locate against, which is a combination the Ergo setup cannot offer. Response time at the net is quick and control is precise.
3. The backhand position — ping-pong style
Best for: players from a table tennis background who hold the paddle like a bat and do not flip it.
Something we have watched 5.0 players work out for themselves at tournaments. If you hold the paddle in a ping-pong style grip and keep the same face throughout, the insert goes where that hold actually contacts the handle — not where a conventional grip would want it.
The payoff is backhand response time. The hand is already located, so there is no adjustment to make before the shot.
4. The low position — down near the butt cap
Best for: table tennis and racquetball backgrounds; players who flick the paddle.
The insert goes low on the handle rather than in the middle of the palm. Players who hold the paddle down at the base use this to keep palm contact while still being able to flick — and that contact is what lets them do it without over-gripping.
This one is a good illustration of why placement is left to the player. No manufacturer would design a fixed grip shape around it, but for the players who need it, nothing else works as well.
5. The tennis dual setup — one large, one small
Best for: players who shift their hand between forehand and backhand.
One large insert in the primary position and a smaller one behind it. Players with tennis backgrounds frequently move their hand between strokes rather than holding one grip, and this gives them a reference point in both positions instead of forcing a compromise between them.
Choosing your overgrip
The insert decides the shape. The wrap over the top decides the feel — and they are genuinely separate choices. Which wrap suits you comes down mostly to hand size and grip strength.
| If you have… | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A large, strong, dominant hand | A thin, hard-edge wrap | You want feel and sensation. A thin wrap keeps the handle edges sharp and crisp, giving a quicker and more precise response at the net. |
| A smaller hand or less grip strength | Inserts over the base tape, then an overgrip | You want support rather than sharpness. Keeping the base tape underneath adds cushioning below the insert. |
If you want a sharper feel
The standard install leaves your base tape on, and that is what we recommend starting with — it is quick, it adds support, and it comes off again easily if you want to change the configuration.
There is one variation worth knowing about. Players with big, powerful hands sometimes strip the base tape off entirely, apply the inserts to the bare handle, and finish with a single thin overwrap. That produces a crisper handle with more defined edges and a very quick response at the net — at the cost of cushioning.
Start with the base tape on. It is the safe way in and it is what most players stay with. If you later want that sharper feel, stripping it back is a ten-minute job.
The point of all this
Every other grip upgrade on the market gives you one shape and asks your hand to adapt to it. What the configurations above have in common is that none of them is the "right" one — a ping-pong player and a former tennis player will arrive at genuinely different setups from the same box of parts, and both will be correct.
You are not buying a shape. You are buying the ability to choose one, and to change your mind.