Having annoying forehand trouble

[GOOOOOGA]

OK, so I've been playing with a Semi-western forehand grip for as long as I can remember, and my forehand definitely became my weapon in no time. I used it effectively during the spring tennis season, going into the summer.

Something happend to my forehand, though. Normally, when I warm up with whoever I'm playing with, we start with a modified mini (he hits relaxed, controlled groundies to me while I'm up at net volleying them back to him, then we switch). And typically, me and him can keep this up for a good 80 to 100 hits. But a couple of days ago, my forehands were either spinning up and over his head or bouncing just short of his shoes. We later realized that I had somehow switched to a full western forehand grip.

I found out how this change happened. THe people I am used to playing with hit just as hard and as well as me. But I signed up for a camp that had me playing with people ranked in the top 20 or 30 in the region, so I tried gripping and ripping a little too much on my FH side. And during my backswing, I would accidentally regrip my hand onto my racquet into a more western grip. It didn't give me problems until my wrist started hurting last week and ppl starting saying my FH looks crazy.

I'm fixing the problem now, and I'm pretty sure I'm back to normal. I kinda went back to the basics. My question: how can I tell after the swing that I'm not hitting a full western, b/c when I had the problem, I thought I was doing fine up until the end of the backswing. Also, are there any slow-mo or any other type of video clips of the full western FH? I want to compare the roddick slo-mo video with a full westerner's FH. Sorry for the long post. All help would be appreciated.

[MTChong]

I'm thinking... your grip will show you whether or not you're hitting full western... that's what western refers to, anyways. It may be natural for you to move over to the western to handle better players though so you might want to still practice it a bit in conjunction with your normal forehand as it'll come in handy I'm sure; versatility is key. Also, your wrist will hurt if it's not used to it; or your mechanics may be off as it's not your normal forehand.

[limitup]

Doesn't Roddick pretty much use a full western?

I agree with MTC - I use a SW and a full western about half and half, and my wrist never hurts. What are you doing with your wrist? My wrist action and followup through is practically identical with either grip ...

Agree again with MTC. Sort of a strange question about how to tell what grip you're using. Can't you feel the grip in your hand?? Maybe your grip is too round. Try putting your non-dominant hand on the throat - you can feel it that way too. Or maybe you should try expirementing with that Power V grip? It's very helpful if you are having grip issues ...

[shawn1122]

Semi-Western is sooo annoying. I used to hit well with it, and then slowly, I began subconciously switching to Western. And my Western forehand sucks. So now Im trying to go back to semi-western, but I'm not getting good stability. The racket just slips sometimes. There must be a way to fix this without using a V-grip or whatever its called.

[limitup]

Are you using a Head racquet by any chance? Some racquets have less than optimal grip shapes for a SW forehand, most notoriously the Head racquets.

[str33t]

Are you using a Head racquet by any chance? Some racquets have less than optimal grip shapes for a SW forehand, most notoriously the Head racquets.
i hate Head's grip shape. it is really hard to use especially like you said, when using a semi-western grip. :mad:

[Jonny S&V]

Dunlop grips are pretty bad as well when using a SW grip. Eastern is very comfortable however.

[FH2FH]

I would say use whatever grip is comfortable and effective for your game. Changes may lead to temporary pain or injury. Take it easy and try not to "grip and rip" right after a major change.

As for the awkward grips... what I do sometimes is remove the base grip and build up areas with thin, stiff cardboard. It adds up quickly, so only make small changes. I'm talking about stuff say, credit card thickness. Keep it close to the edges, but not overlapping the other bevels. Building up the flat edges helps me use more SW/W grip.

I've also sanded some racquet handles but I wouldn't recommend this - too easy to screw up, esp the more you take off.

[GOOOOOGA]

it's just confusing me, though. I've had a semiwestern grip for years, and over a course of a month, i subconsciously started hitting a more fullwestern forehand, similar to what shawn1112's talking about. now I'm trying to re-learn my SW forehand, and I'm having wrist soreness.

I hit the ball cleanly when I'm hitting the Semiwestern now, but it just feels so AWKWARD in my hands. I think this might be due to the fact that I'm worried I'm gripping it too far western, and overshifting my grip to something closer to an eastern grip. Just to reclarify, the SW is on the 4th bevel clockwise, right? Is there something special I should keep in mind as I hit my FH?

My coach told me he's never seen this happen to anyone my age who's been playing tennis competitively. It's frustrating the hell outta me.

Also, since you guys mentioned the actual physcial grip of the racquet, I might be using a too big of a grip. How can I tell if it's too big? It feels fine in my hand, but sometimes a little bulky. I have a 4 5/8" with an overgrip.

[blue03]

I've been asked twice to change to eastern grip by 2 different coaches. ALthough i'm having trouble when i tried eastern last time, i give it a try this morning againts a wall. Surprisingly, i can hit BETTER, non loopy groundstrokes with much pace compare to my SW-W.

I wonder how it would be when playing games. BTW, my wrist is a little bit sore and a new blisters are coming out when using eastern. Doesnt happen when i use SW or W

[The Vitamin L]

Perhaps a nice tacky overgrip will help stabilize your grip so it won't shift as much?

[limitup]

I'm having a similar problem. Been trying to stick with SW but find that I revert to a full Western more often than not. It doesn't help that I have Head racquets with the oblong grip. I honestly don't know how anyone hits with a SW grip using a Head racquet. It's so awkward and uncomfortable - only Eastern and Western are comfortable. I need to get serious about modifying the shape of these grips because I don't want to switch racquets again. Ugh.

[FH2FH]

Yeah, the Head grip is wierd. Build up the flat part so it fits better in your hand with a SW, but don't make it huge. A few very thin strips of cardboard will do fine.

You'll have more options with a variation of a SW grip. I tried W and a true SW, but it feels like I'm slapping at the ball. Now, my knuckle isn't quite at SW, more like the extreme Eastern/SW. I don't like taking the ball behind me as I would have to with a true eastern grip.

[looseswing]

Sometimes when I was experimenting with new grips I would hold the grip at home the way I wanted to on the court. It seemed to help me adjust faster.

[MoneyBall]

Are you using a Head racquet by any chance? Some racquets have less than optimal grip shapes for a SW forehand, most notoriously the Head racquets.

I disagree, I think the rectangular head and volkl grips will help you with your SW and W grips. You can easily reconize what grips you are using more so than wilson grips. I thought it would be annoying at first, but after getting used to it, I can't go back. It's a personal thing really.

[Tim Tennis]

I disagree, I think the rectangular head and volkl grips will help you with your SW and W grips. You can easily reconize what grips you are using more so than wilson grips. I thought it would be annoying at first, but after getting used to it, I can't go back. It's a personal thing really.

Hello MoneyBall, I think I would have to disagree with that statement, the more rectangular the handle shape is the smaller bevel 4 has to be which is where you place the knuckle on the base of your index finger to find the SW grip. The largest bevel on these handles is bevel 3 which is where you place the knuckle on the base of your index finger for the EF which really fits well, as soon as you move to other grips the handle does not feel as comfortable in you hand IMO.

http://www.tennisgeometrics.com