Your tennis grip is very much a personal thing, however there are recommended grips for certain shots, and this is demonstrated by the professionals who mainly use the prescribed grip for each shot.
In this blog we look at some of the grips you can use with the forehand and hopefully you can select the one that is right for you. Many students use the wrong grip because they have never been properly coached of the recommended grip to use.
Eastern Grip
The Eastern Grip is the most popular as it is mainly the first grip that tennis students learn. You can still see Pro’s using this grip with a slight modification to a Semi-Western grip. To effectively use an Eastern Grip place the palm of your hand on the side part of the handle of your racket, parallel to the face of the racket.
The base of the knuckle should be on the same plane, making it vertical to the racket. This is it, the Eastern Grip. This grip is easily adaptable for tilting for slice shots, or to keep the racket vertical for topspin.
Semi-Western Grip
With your palm on the lower part of the slant bevel, (45 degrees clockwise from the plane of the strings). This will naturally give your racket a downwards tilt, which means that you will have to address the ball further forward than the Eastern Grip.
To execute this grip properly you will need to swing upwards quite sharply, this will produce natural topspin. The Semi-Western grip is good also for high bounces but not for slices or low balls. This grip is the most popular with professional players.
Continental Grip
Place the palm of your hand on the upper right slant bevel, 45 degrees counterclockwise from the Eastern Grip. Now you will find the racket naturally tilting upward. This grip is great for slice shots, it is also possible to hit flat shots but they would be less powerful than if you used an Eastern Grip.
The Continental Grip is not as popular as it once was as topspin seems to be heavily favoured in the modern game.
Commonly Used Forehand Grips
In latter days matches have become fairly predictable in terms of play, watching the top players it is almost like two boxers trying to slug it out. This is because they are using the same grip.
This in turn influences the lack of slice in today’s professional game and why players cannot deal properly with low balls. If you want to play like the pro’s then a Semi-Western grip is advised. But if you want to play a more tactical game and use slice then the Continental grip is probably the best option.