The Tennis Grip – based on feel

As a tennis coach, I noticed that the simpler I keep the instruction for my students, the better.

One of the aspects of teaching tennis is knowing the correct grip for every tennis shot.
This subject has always puzzled me and the reason is that some tennis coaches tend to explain it in a too complicated way.
(Video Tennis Lessons)

We have many names for the grips: semi-western, western, full-western, continental, eastern forehand, eastern backhand etc. Some coaches insist that the certain parts of your palm should be positioned on specific areas of the racquet grip (base knuckle on the bevel 3, etc.).
Ask most of the tennis pros and they will tell you that they don’t even know nor care what grip name they use. They will tell you they use the grip that FEELS RIGHT for a particular shot.

What RIGHT means?

The grip should be something that feels comfortable for each player individually. The proper grip should be the way a player holds the racquet to give her/him a good combination of control and comfort which can translate into ball speed, consistency and accuracy.

An easy way to understand how to hold the racquet is to recognize what happens at contact with the ball… Considering that at contact the racquet should be facing (more or less) the target and the hand/racquet is at a considerable distance from the body, begin understanding the grip by positioning the strings where the contact should be and hold the racquet in the most comfortable way at the grip. Then ask yourself: even though this feels right, will I be able to impart power and desired spin on the ball?

In conclusion, the proper tennis grip is based on the FEEL, which means the way you hold the racquet should provide you with effortless power and control.


Cosmin Miholca