Tennis Vocabulary Grip Guide
It is very important to hold your racket the right way when you are playing tennis because
the grip you have on your racket has a huge impact on the spin and the pace of each and every tennis ball you hit. There are three most commonly used types of grips in tennis (and then there are others); namely the continental grip, eastern forehand grip and western forehand grip. Before we go on telling you in detail about each type of grip, we would
like to add another word (yay!) to your tennis vocabulary by reminding you that each side of the octagonal handle is called a bevel and the bevels are numbered from 1 to 8.
Bevel #1 is the bevel facing up when you hold
the blade of your racket perpendicular to the ground and bevel #2 is the one on the right to bevel #1 (for right handed players). When we talk about different types of grips we will refer to these bevel numbers a lot. Now
let’s take a look at all different types of tennis grips we have outlined for you below.
You can obtain a continental grip on your tennis racket by placing the base knuckle of your index finger on
bevel #2. Continental grip is the basic grip which was used to be taught to complete beginners as it can be used for a variety of shots. However. It went out of fashion after the 70s and now it is especially used for serves
and volleys mainly because it is very difficult to put topspin on the ball with this kind of grip.
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You can obtain an eastern forehand grip by placing the base knuckle of your index finger right on bevel #3. Eastern
forehand grip is the basic grip that’s taught to the beginner tennis players. This is the kind of grip which allows fast shots and strong topspins and is also preferred by players who can quickly switch to continental grip
for doing volleys before the net. Eastern forehand grip is said to be the preferred grip of Roger Federer.
And finally there is the western forehand grip which you can use to apply more topspin. With
this grip both the base of your index knuckle and your heel pad rest on bevel #5. This grip works best on high bouncing balls therefore it’s mostly preferred while playing on clay courts where the balls bounce higher. It
is difficult to maintain this grip for longer rallies.
Remember that one grip is not necessarily better than the other; the important thing for
you to do is to master your own style which you feel yourself the most comfortable with. Another thing to consider if you want to have full control over your shot is to keep your head motionless when the ball hits the string.
Now, take a look at the videos below to see different grip strokes; and, practice, practice and practice.
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