Any other players here that use a nice, firm, short, Eastern forehand to success?

[TalkingTennis91]

I'm a low 4.5 junior, obviously growing up in the times of the Western grip and all of that crap, but I find that I do the best with a nice, solid, compact eastern forehand.

Anyone else here?

[dennis10is]

People are in love with the western grip right now and think of all sort of strange reasons for it but it is not the grip it is the player.

I switch my grips depending on the situation and don't even think of it consciously anymore. I've never felt I need more spin or pace because my grip was lacking. As a matter of fact, I've been enjoying hitting heavy topspin with a strong continental :) on the forehand side.

So, if you can hit with an Eastern and I don't see any reason why you or anyone else can't, keep doing it.

[Hot Sauce]

I use the eastern and I've been tempted to try a western grip since people are raving about it.
Do any pros use an eastern fh?

[Andrew]

Federer does.

[dave333]

Federer switches his grips all teh time. Sometimes its eastern, sometimes almost full western.

Semi-western all the way baby!

[Frank Silbermann]

Until he got old, Pete Sampras dominated pro tennis with an eastern grip. On youtube I saw a match from his younger days against Brad Gilbert. Gilbert would have held his own in the match if not for Sampras' superior serve -- despite Gilbert's continental grip.

I think the main reason you see so many western grips these days is that players are starting out at younger ages than they used to. When you're eight years old every ball you receive is super-high, and you don't have the hand strength for anything but a western grip and a two-hander.

[Redflea]

Continental and Eastern all the way for me... :)

But it's mostly old-farts using these grips full time now-a-days. My kids are both semi-western/western.

[cstephenson]

Federer does not use an eastern grip and you can't return high balls with an eastern grip. anything over your shoulder is impossible. Semi-western to western will beat eastern every time.

[tennis_hand]

use the one best for yourself.

[thebigidiot]

wow on my tennis team, almost everybody uses eastern

[FitzRoy]

I suppose it depends on how you want to define "to success". I think the Eastern grip is still a very good grip for the forehand. I use it, and it's certainly my best shot...but then, I'm not playing at all that high a level. ;)

I'd say that the eastern grip could be pretty difficult to use at the very highest levels (ie, Pros) because the ball bounces so high. You'd need really good reflexes and the ability to take the ball very early (like Fed).

It's a fine grip, though, for pretty much anyone at most levels of play.

[Slazenger]

Federer does not use an eastern grip and you can't return high balls with an eastern grip. anything over your shoulder is impossible. Semi-western to western will beat eastern every time.

LOL Are you serious??

I hit with an eastern forehand and regularly hit head high balls for winners. Also these are heavy topspin shots not high floaters. The timing for these shots can be tricky but if I can do it, it surely isn't very hard to do.

Also your comment about semi-western to western beating out eastern everytime makes no sense.

[tennis_hand]

Fed does not use a classic eastern. His swing path is not for classic eastern either. His style is a whole package that works. so u can't simply copy one but neglect another. For a classic eastern, watch Sampras' forehand, classic grip without much laid-back wrist, classic swing path, and these works as package for him at the top.

[cstephenson]

LOL Are you serious??

I hit with an eastern forehand and regularly hit head high balls for winners. Also these are heavy topspin shots not high floaters. The timing for these shots can be tricky but if I can do it, it surely isn't very hard to do.

Also your comment about semi-western to western beating out eastern everytime makes no sense.

How many pro's use eastern forehand grip. And why don't more pro's use an eastern grip if it is so good. My opinion is that there is more potential with the semi-western grip.

[Slazenger]

How many pro's use eastern forehand grip. And why don't more pro's use an eastern grip if it is so good. My opinion is that there is more potential with the semi-western grip.

The number of pros using eastern forehands is besides the issue in this case.
You said it is impossible to hit shoulder high balls with an eastern forehand which is blatantly incorrect.

[bobo4eva]

How many pro's use eastern forehand grip. And why don't more pro's use an eastern grip if it is so good. My opinion is that there is more potential with the semi-western grip.

and yes
fed does use an eastern grip
the extreme eastern

[Noveson]

I use semi-western, but switch towards more western or eastern depending on the situation. For example I usually go western so I can hit big crosscourt lefty forehands:)

[cstephenson]

ok ok I give up, not impossible just very difficult. Why someone would choose to do something that is more difficult is the part I don't understand. If you had a choice to go back and start with a semi western grip would you?

[cstephenson]

and yes
fed does use an eastern grip
the extreme eastern

does anyone really believe that fed uses an eastern grip? Looking at a few photo's of Fed's forehand should answer that question. The only other thing I can think of is that you have eastern and western mixed up.

[tricky]

John Yandell of Tennisplayer.net, who probably offers the most Federer video footage on the net, believes the base grip for Fed's FH is between an Eastern and Agassi SW grip. Heel of hand on bevel 3, index knuckle on the edge betweem bevel 3 and 4. I think JCO and Bungalow Bill agree with his conclusion.

He calls it a "modified Eastern." Some people call it an extreme Eastern; other people call it a "mild SW."

Fed has a unconventional FH stroke. As for the difficulty of hitting balls above his shoulder, that's correct. Federer jumps to get high bounce shots, so that he rarely hits above his shoulder.

It doesn't mean *we* should be using Eastern or SW or whatever. I think it's best to start with the most conservative grip that you can differentiate between flat shots and high topspin shots, and hit on the rise.

[soyizgood]

IMO the Eastern grip is the jack-of-all-trades grip. Good at a lot of things, not great at anything (except flat shots). And about high balls. The bigger challenge is dealing with low balls. Western grip sucks dealing with those, and semi-western players have problems with those too (not as much as Western). You can always run back to counter high balls or hit on the rise.

I use a semi-western forehand, but because I played Eastern for so long it might not be a true semi-western. Because Eastern is a jack-of-all-trades grip, you can't really specialize in the pros with it (Sampras aside). Western and semi-western have stereotypes to go with them (lots of topspin, more offensive). Eastern has the stigma of being the basic/classical grip players use until they find something better to work with.

[mucat]

ok ok I give up, not impossible just very difficult. Why someone would choose to do something that is more difficult is the part I don't understand. If you had a choice to go back and start with a semi western grip would you?

Because eastern grip can hit any height ball with any kind of spin. All people who said eastern grip is no good for topsin and/or high ball are because THEIR eastern grip are no good and they don't know how to hit high ball and/or topspin with the grip. Which is a shame. I use eastern grip with low tension string and I can hit with my maximum swingspeed on highball and they stay in (pass the net at a few feet above it), and that's my regular FH.

[tennis_hand]

if you are a short guy, use some extreme grip such as western or semi western.

if you are a tall guy over 1.8m, you can use some more traditional grip such as the extreme eastern or eastern. u can just jump a little to get to most high balls. and it helps u on the low balls.

and why are you so stubborn to always fix your palm on the same place? be flexible and hit different balls with slight twist of the grip, but don't go too far away.

[mucat]

if you are a short guy, use some extreme grip such as western or semi western.

if you are a tall guy over 1.8m, you can use some more traditional grip such as the extreme eastern or eastern. u can just jump a little to get to most high balls. and it helps u on the low balls.

and why are you so stubborn to always fix your palm on the same place? be flexible and hit different balls with slight twist of the grip, but don't go too far away.

No need to jump with eastern grip, jumping is not a good idea anyway. You just have to hit when your racket is pointing upward instead of parallel to the ground. You will hit head height ball with ease.

Why not switch grip. Because some of us can handle and hit well with any height ball with one grip, why switch? The more you use the grip, the better you will get. Also, it simplifies your game, the simpler your groundstrokes, the less chance it will break down.

[TalkingTennis91]

Federer does not use an eastern grip and you can't return high balls with an eastern grip. anything over your shoulder is impossible. Semi-western to western will beat eastern every time.

Wrong. With correct technique and decent forearm strength with the Eastern grip, high balls aren't much of a problem.

Also, for the record, I don't have a Federer swingpath. I tried it, it didn't work. I've got a classic swingpath. The only reason that I can use this grip to success is that I have an instructor that knows this very well, and also has a beastly Eastern forehand :)

[jaisrh]

I have a full eastern forehand. High balls aren't a big deal with good footwork and timing. It also helps if you strengthen your upper body from your core (abs/back) to forearms. With practice you can consistently hit balls before they bounce above your chest or shoulder height. You should almost never have to hit forehands above your shoulder as long as you develop good early recognition of ball spin and trajectory. That's an underrated and overlooked skill because it allows you to more easily step in and take balls earlier on the bounce. Most of the people having trouble with high bounces wait for the ball to come to them and also tend to have poor footwork and body positioning.

The eastern is superior in handling low balls compared to the semiwestern and western grips. I can hit and handle hard flat balls easily and with the full eastern most of my shots have moderate spin with pace and depth. I occasionally hit heavier spin by increasing the steepness of the angle in the forward motion of the swing. The more extreme grips make it tougher to hit low balls and a lot of the lower level players I see have trouble flattening the shots without missing most of the time. More advanced players can flatten their shots with more consistency although they still have some trouble on low balls.

You also have to factor in that most of us don't play in the ideal conditions that pros play in. We don't use new balls every 9 games and most of us play on public courts that are usually somewhat worn out and/or dirty. Those are factors that tend to make for lower bounces.

[kevhen]

high 4.0 here with eastern grip forehand. Old school flat and slice strokes can work fine against western grippers who over hit the ball and have a hard time getting under low balls. To each their own.

[SFtennisGG]

To chime in on Feds forehand... he uses an eastern grip for short balls he wants to just flick short over the net.

[Andres]

Taught when I was younger to play with a Western, to fit the claycourt style, as everyone else. Got sick of it, specially cause I got bored of baseline rallying, and I volleyed better than most of the kids around, so changed the coach, changed the grip, changed the style, grew taller, stronger, improved the serve, net game, and made the transition from baseline basher to a S&Ver.

I'm pretty tall, so high balls to the forehand usually don't bother me. Anyway, I'm not that long at the baseline to get bothered. A couple of strokes, bam, bam, and take the net.

A S&Ver in a circuit filled with another 149 baseline bashers on clay disrupts everyone's rhytm. I guess than can explain my """"""success"""""" on the AAT. :)

[VaBeachTennis]

I use a semi -eastern grip. When replying to high balls to my forehand I slice down and through the balls and it's a hard shot that skids on the ground with good pace. Other times i will switch my grip to a western/semi-western and hit a hard topspin shot. I think each grip has their place for different circumstances.

[donnygg]

I have a full eastern forehand. High balls aren't a big deal with good footwork and timing. It also helps if you strengthen your upper body from your core (abs/back) to forearms. With practice you can consistently hit balls before they bounce above your chest or shoulder height. You should almost never have to hit forehands above your shoulder as long as you develop good early recognition of ball spin and trajectory. That's an underrated and overlooked skill because it allows you to more easily step in and take balls earlier on the bounce. Most of the people having trouble with high bounces wait for the ball to come to them and also tend to have poor footwork and body positioning.


Thanks for pointing that out. I have been playing with a new partner who hits looping shots with heavy topspin, which I'm unfamiliar to, and it annoys the hell out of me. Now that you mention, I think I know what I should do.