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How exactly you hold the tennis racket during the game will determine the accuracy and strength of your punches. Let’s see what Types Of Tennis Racquet Grips for You to Master exist, and what is the advantage of each of them.
Forehand tennis grips
The forehand is often the more natural basic stroke for players and therefore tends to become a player’s favorite stroke
Let’s see the different types of forehand tennis grips.😀
Continental tennis grips
As we described in the history of tennis grips, the continental grip dominated the early years of competitive tennis, but it has disappeared from the modern sport as far as the forehead is concerned.
That said, we’d like to share how to shape it to give players a context in which to develop the handles. You can also use this grip on a handful of other shots to cover it up later.
advantages
- Easy to handle balls with little bounce
- For other strikes, little to no grip change is required.
- disadvantage
- Lack of topspin
- Lower performance potential
- Difficulty handling balls that bounce off
How to make continental grips
To form the continental grips, place the palm of the lower knuckle of your index finger against the second level if you are right-handed or the eighth bevel if you are left-handed.
Then position the plunger of the racket grip at the base of your palm, then wrap your fingers around the grip.
Eastern tennis grips
The eastern forehand grip may have peaked in popularity in the late 80s and 90s, with Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf serving as excellent examples of players using this grip for dominance.
These days the eastern grip is still very popular with touring and recreational players, but most players who appear to have an eastern grip use a slightly modified version.
advantages
- Quick grip change, ideal for serving and volley
- Sufficient topspin production
- Works well on faster playing fields
- Easier to learn for beginners
disadvantage
- Less topspin compared to western counterparts
- Difficulty handling higher bouncing balls
- Not ideal for aggressive baseline play
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How to make eastern tennis grips
To form the eastern handle, place the palm of the lower knuckle of your index finger against the third level if you are right-handed or against the seventh bevel if you are left-handed.
Then position the plunger of the racket grip on the base of your palm and wrap your fingers around the grip.
Semi-western tennis grips
The semi-wester tennis grips lie neatly between east and west and have become the most common forehand tennis grips in modern tennis, as it enables excellent topspin and quick grip changes.
In the 90s and the new millennium, players like Andre Agassi and Martina Hingis used the semi-western grip. Nowadays, however, it is the most widely used grip that you will find in all ranks including top professionals like Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic.
advantages
- Excellent topspin
- Quick handle changes
- Ideal for baseline and all-court games
- Excellent defense against higher bouncing balls
- Works well on all court surfaces
disadvantage
- Some difficulties with low balls or shots cause players to stretch far beyond their hitting zone
Western tennis grips
The western tennis grips are the last of the four primary forehand tennis grip that takes a step beyond the semi-western one and allows players to generate maximum topspin.
The western grips are present on the Pro-Tour and you will find plenty of amateur players – especially players from Europe where sand is a popular playing field surface, such as Europe and Latin America.
Clay creates the slowest surface of the field and the ball bounces higher, which is reinforced by the topspin of more extreme tennis grip.
While you can find a handful of Tour-level players, this is a bit too extreme for many players. For beginners, it can be difficult to figure out how to hit a forehand with this grip.
advantages
- Maximum topspin
- Works well on slower pitches
- Ideal for baseline games
- Well suited for strongly bouncing balls
disadvantage
- Its Difficult to change handles quickly
- Very Difficult to learn for beginners
- Difficult to handle low balls or shots that cause players to stretch far beyond their striking zone.
How to make western tennis grips
To form the western handle, place the palm of the lower knuckle of your index finger against the fifth bevel if you are right or left-handed – this is half the point around the handle.
Then position the plunger of the bat handle at the base of your palm and wrap your fingers around the handle.
Hawaiian tennis grips
Last, and in this case least of all, Hawaiian or Extreme – The Western tennis grip makes a regular appearance but has never seen a wide variety of widespread use.
In essence, it has the disadvantages of the western tennis grips but magnified. Also, it can be difficult for players to flatten and float the ball, which adds another challenging layer to the equation.
Topspin is beneficial, but players must be able to regularly hit their opponent and put away shots to compete at higher levels of the sport.
advantages
- High topspin values
disadvantage
- Challenging to change handles quickly
- Very Difficult learn for beginners
- Increased likelihood of injury
- Difficult to drive the ball and play offensively
How to Make Hawaiian tennis grips
To shape the Hawaiian, hold the palm of the lower knuckle of your index finger against the sixth bevel if you are right-handed or the fourth level if you are left-handed.
Then position the plunger of the racket grip at the base of your palm and wrap your fingers around the grip.
Which forehand tennis grip is the best?
Many would argue that the semi-western is the best forehand hold and are quick to dismiss all other holds in its favor. However, this neglects the tendencies, comfort, and preferred playing styles of each player.
Therefore, players and coaches should be willing to experiment and find the grip that best suits the player as a whole, which may involve a slight change or variation in many of the tennis grips that we discussed.
With this in mind, we’d like to encourage new players to stay away from the Continental and Hawaiian forehand tennis grip to avoid the expanse of the majority of players failing to reach their full potential.
Players looking for an easy grip at first should consider the eastern forehand grip. Once a player gets the hang of it, they can experiment with western tennis grip to see what works best for them.
It’s also worth noting that many of the best tennis players don’t rely solely on a particular grip, and they’ll make minor adjustments in the blink of an eye to achieve the desired effect, be it more topspin or a flatter shot.
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Injuries
Some studies have been done on tennis injuries that found a correlation with the Types Of Tennis Racquet Grips and the likelihood of injury, such as the 2016 paper entitled Wrist Injuries In Tennis Players: A Narrative Review.
However, while the study abstract appears to suggest an increase in total wrist injuries or the percentage of most common injuries, it is inconclusive.
Additionally, the article seems to suggest that overuse and repetition may be the culprit that the nature of the grip might be reinforcing.
With this in mind, we would like to encourage players to listen to their bodies and allow themselves adequate rest and rest when needed and, most importantly, speak to their doctor if they experience pain or discomfort while using a certain type of grip.