Grip Guide

Here is a guide for grips. I believe that the grip you choose to use should be based more on your style of play. If you don't know your style of play you should just learn a grip and then move forward from there. Changing your grip is easy if you practice and you make sure you change it. Its all about the muscle memory. Once the memory is set you will be comfortable again. Trust me.

I got the pictures from Tennis.com. They have a good guide. So lets get to it.

We are going to base all the grips on where the inside knuckle on the index finger should be. The flat sides on the racquet handle are called BEVELS. The STRIKE ZONE is the zone where you should like to hit the ball.

Forehand Grips

Continental Grip

Continental grip was used by John McEnroe for EVERY STROKE. It is normally used for serving and volleying. So if that is what you do, it will be very important.

This is also called the hammer grip. So if you are having troubles finding the grip, pretend you are hammering something with your racquet.

There is an obvious convenience in a grip that you don?t have to change between strokes. The disadvantage is that your strike zone is waist down or extremely high (overhead). Anything from your head to your waist will be hard to control without a REALLY strong wrist. While you can put spin on the ball, your follow through might hit you in the head. OWCH!

Eastern Grip

This grip is used by Roger Federer. It is the grip of the newer generation of serve and volleyer or net rusher. With this grip, you can rip a forehand on the way to the net. Your strike zone goes from knees to stomach height. Making it perfect for approach shots to the net. And since it is one bevel over from the continental grip, it will not be hard to put away that volley.

Most people have this grip already. But if you do not, you would put your hand flat on the racquet string and move it down to the handle. The eastern grip is also called the handshake grip.

Semi Western

The Semi Western forehand is used by most of the players on the tour. It is a good grip for a baseliner. You can hit the ball hard and with spin. The strike zone goes from your waist to your head. Very good for hitting a lot of balls in a long exchange. Most people do not start out with the semi western but as the level of play increases, the balls bounce higher and spin is more important. This grip is a hard one to get used to but it is worth it to be able to attack balls that are head height. The only issue is that this grip makes it hard to transition to volleys.

To find this grip you can put the racket on the floor then pick it up normally. If that doesn?t work, you find the continental grip and turn the racquet 90 degrees.

Western

Rafael Nadal uses this grip. This is a grip for a baseliner who is addicted to topspin. It has a higher strike zone than the Semi Western. So, unless you have a lot of strength, low balls are hard to deal with. The advantage is that you can find angles on the court very easy. So if you are the type of person that likes to run people around with safe shots, this grip will help. But coming to the net will be very difficult.

Backhand Grips

I'll run through the backhand grips faster so as not to be redundant. But the general idea is that if the grip has the same name (eastern, western etc.) that the same properties apply.

Eastern Backhand

Roger Federer uses this grip. There is no trick to this grip. Just turn the racquet until you can see your pointer finger knuckle on the top bevel. Eastern Backhand is the same grip as the western forehand.

Semi Western Backhand

Justine Henin uses this one. It is exactly the same as the semi western forehand. Just turn to the other side. Some people with semi western backhands and forehands never change their grip.

Two handed Backhand

There are a few different ways to hold a backhand. But the main thing to remember is that, if you are right handed, a two handed backhand is a forehand for your left hand. So apply all the forehand grips higher on the racquet handle and rest your right hand on the bottom.

Whew! That took a while. But this is a pretty good reference guide so it is worth it. Keep breaking those strings!!!