Packing for a Tennis Trip: The List That Survives Contact

Racquets and strings

Two frames, restrung a few days before you fly rather than the night before, so the sharpest part of the tension drop happens at home.

A spare set of strings in the bag is the highest-value item on this list relative to weight. Finding a stringer abroad is usually possible; finding your exact string is not.

• Two racquets, strung and settled.
• One spare set of your string, in the bag.
• Vibration dampeners - they fall off and disappear constantly.
• A small roll of lead tape if you play a customised frame.

Grips - the thing everyone underestimates

Overgrips are the most commonly under-packed item in tennis travel, and the gap between home and holiday consumption is large. Heat and humidity turn a grip slick inside a set, and the pleasant seaside destination you have chosen is usually both.

Pack one per playing day. They weigh nothing, they take no space, and running out means either playing on a slippery handle or paying four times the normal price at a pro shop.

A replacement grip, as opposed to an overgrip, is worth having for a longer trip if yours is already worn.

Shoes, by surface

This is the decision most likely to ruin a week, because the wrong outsole is both worse to play in and, on clay, genuinely antisocial.

• Clay - a full herringbone outsole. Many European resorts are clay-only and some will not let you on in hard-court shoes.
• Hard court - a durable outsole with real lateral support. Resort hard courts are often abrasive.
• Both on one trip - if you must choose one pair, an all-court tread is the compromise, but take clay shoes if the majority of play is on clay.
• Two pairs if the trip is a week or longer and you are playing daily. Alternating lets them dry out, which matters more in humidity than most players realise.
• Spare socks well beyond what seems reasonable. They do not dry overnight in humid climates.

Clothing for playing every day

Holiday tennis is a different load from club tennis: you are playing consecutive days, often in heat, often without easy laundry.

Count kit by sessions rather than days, and assume nothing dries overnight if you are somewhere humid. A hat and proper sunglasses are not optional at a sunny destination; a long-sleeved light top is more useful than people expect for midday sun.

The small things nobody packs

These are the items that actually cause the missed session, and all of them fit in a side pocket:

• Blister plasters. New shoes plus daily play plus heat is the classic combination.
• Tape - for fingers, for a grip, for anything.
• Anti-inflammatory gel or tablets, if you normally use them. Pharmacy hunting abroad is a waste of a morning.
• A resistance band for warming up shoulders before an early session.
• Electrolyte tablets. Far lighter than sports drinks and far cheaper than buying them at a resort.
• A spare dampener and a nail clipper for string ends.

Admin to sort before you leave

The non-physical packing matters as much as the bag, and it is destination-specific:

• Court bookings, where booking is the only way in. London pay-and-play and Singapore's public centres both need sorting in advance.
• Permits, where they apply. New York requires one in season and buying it before you arrive saves a detour.
• Your airline's sporting equipment policy, confirmed rather than assumed.
• Photographs of your frames, in case of a damage claim.
• Any club or resort dress code - some are stricter than you expect about colour.

What to leave behind

Balls, unless you are going somewhere remote or need high-altitude ones. Your ball machine accessories. A third racquet, unless you are competing. A full stringing kit, which almost nobody uses on holiday and which weighs more than everything else on this list combined.