Babolat Padel: World-Class Grips & Accessories

Babolat is a name that resonates with anyone who has ever picked up a racket. Founded in Lyon, France in 1875, Babolat is the oldest company in the racket sport industry and has been at the cutting edge of innovation for nearly 150 years. They invented the first natural gut tennis string, pioneered connected racket technology, and have sponsored some of the greatest players in history — most famously Rafael Nadal, who used Babolat rackets throughout his legendary career.

Now, Babolat is turning its attention to padel, and while their racket range is still growing, their accessories — particularly their overgrips — have already become essential equipment for padel players worldwide. At Openplay, we stock Babolat's flagship padel accessories, bringing French engineering excellence to the Irish padel community.

Babolat Pro Tour 2.0: The World's Best-Selling Overgrip

The Babolat Pro Tour 2.0 isn't just popular in padel — it's the world's best-selling racket sport grip, period. Used across tennis, padel, badminton, and squash, the Pro Tour 2.0 has earned its reputation through consistent quality and performance that simply works.

What Makes It Special?

The Pro Tour 2.0 delivers an exceptional balance of tackiness, comfort, and durability. From the moment you wrap it around your handle, the grip feels secure and confident in your hand. The surface provides excellent traction even as your hands begin to sweat, which is crucial during intense padel rallies where a slipping racket can cost you crucial points.

The grip's thickness is carefully calibrated — thin enough to maintain feel and handle sensitivity, but substantial enough to absorb vibration and prevent fatigue during long matches. It wraps cleanly without bunching, and the adhesive backing keeps it firmly in place throughout its lifespan.

Durability That Lasts

One of the Pro Tour 2.0's standout qualities is its longevity. While some cheaper overgrips lose their tackiness after a session or two, the Babolat maintains its grip properties for significantly longer. For club players who play two to three times per week, you can expect a Pro Tour 2.0 to last a good number of sessions before needing replacement. That said, we always recommend changing your overgrip regularly — a fresh grip makes a noticeable difference to your confidence and shot-making.

Understanding Overgrips: Why They Matter

An overgrip might seem like a small detail, but it's one of the most important contact points between you and your racket. Here's what separates a good overgrip from a poor one:

Tackiness

The primary job of an overgrip is to keep the racket secure in your hand. A tacky grip prevents slipping and rotation, giving you confidence to swing freely without worrying about the racket moving in your palm. This is especially important in padel, where you frequently need to adjust your grip between forehand and backhand positions quickly.

Moisture Absorption

Padel is an active sport, and sweaty hands are inevitable. A quality overgrip absorbs moisture effectively, maintaining its tackiness even when your hands are damp. Cheaper grips often become slick when wet, which is exactly when you need grip performance most.

Comfort & Feel

The grip affects how the racket feels in your hand and how much vibration reaches your palm. A well-designed overgrip adds a layer of cushioning that improves comfort without deadening the feel of the ball. You want to feel connected to every shot while avoiding the hand fatigue that comes from poor vibration dampening.

How Often Should You Replace Your Overgrip?

As a general rule, replace your overgrip when it starts to feel smooth or shiny. For regular players, this typically means every few sessions. If you play in warm conditions or sweat heavily, you may need to change more frequently. Always keep a spare overgrip in your bag — it's one of the cheapest and most effective performance upgrades you can make.

Compare the Best Padel Overgrips

We stock overgrips from three leading brands, each offering slightly different characteristics to suit your preferences:

Babolat and the Tennis-to-Padel Crossover

If you're coming to padel from a tennis background, Babolat will feel like familiar territory. The brand's DNA is rooted in racket sports, and their understanding of grip technology, string dynamics, and player needs translates seamlessly to padel. Tennis players switching to padel often find that sticking with familiar accessory brands like Babolat helps ease the transition — the grip feel and quality is consistent with what they already know and trust.

While we currently stock Babolat's accessory range, the brand does manufacture padel rackets that are gaining traction on the professional circuit. As the padel market in Ireland continues to grow, we'll be expanding our Babolat offering to include more of their range.

Browse Our Full Range

Looking for rackets to pair with your new Babolat grips? Our Best Padel Rackets 2026 guide covers the top models from Head, Nox, Bullpadel, and more. You can also browse our complete overgrip and grip collection to compare options from every brand we stock.

All Babolat products ship with free delivery across Ireland from Openplay. Questions about grips or accessories? Get in touch — we're always happy to help you find the right setup for your game.