Why is this?

[a guy]

When I hold my grip tighter, I seem to be able to serve harder and more accurately, there's a similar result with my groundstrokes.

I 'naturally' just tend to grip my racket with very little pressure at all, but i'm starting to think I should hold it a bit firmer with some 'authority', but could this lead to wrist pains?

Any imput on this?

[chrisak47]

Well, gripping harder will give your racquet more stability for you to drive through your shots whether it is the serve or forehand.

Just be careful not to grip too hard. I learned the hard way with getting trigger finger in which was awful.

[Bagumbawalla]

There have been several questions lately about how tightly to gtip the racket. Obviously it depends on the shot and the situation, but in general, a firm grip wil transmit more energy/force to the ball and a loose grip will tend to absorb/waste the momentum.

Of course you don't want to hold overly tight. Anything tighter than just tight enough is a waste of energy and will also tent to make your swing overly still and awkward.

So for the serve, hold firmly-- but not so firmly that you inhibit the natural flexing motion of the wrist.

Good luck,

B

[Koaske]

You shouldn't grip the racket too tight, but not too loose either. If you grip too loose, it's only natural not to have that much control. I try to hold my grip with 30% of my maximum squeeze(it's tough to exactly measure that though).

[Breakaz54z]

Originally Posted by chrisak47

Well, gripping harder will give your racquet more stability for you to drive through your shots whether it is the serve or forehand.

Just be careful not to grip too hard. I learned the hard way with getting trigger finger in which was awful.

i get the same problem. though it's in my ring finger. i hold my racket like the pros do(i think). all the way at the bottom so my pinky and ring finger are on the butt cap. i don't think i grip too hard.. but maybe i am?

[Bodacious DVT]

hold it like you're holding a girl's hand. not hard enough to squeeze it off, but not loose enough to let it slip

[mucat]

Originally Posted by Bodacious DVT

hold it like you're holding a girl's hand. not hard enough to squeeze it off, but not loose enough to let it slip

Some like to be squeezed hard though......

[zapvor]

Originally Posted by Bodacious DVT

hold it like you're holding a girl's hand. not hard enough to squeeze it off, but not loose enough to let it slip

LOL....thats funny

[Kevo]

Are you sure it's the grip making the difference? Maybe there is something else your doing that is allowing you to hit it harder. There is also a tendency to think you're hitting the ball harder when the shock of the hit increases, but many times I find that the softer the hit feels the more pace I have on the shot. My best serves are the ones that feel pretty much effortless.

[Jyles]

ya x_x gripping to hard does give you wrist pain (take advice from me, overworked my muscles in my hands / wrist 2 much lol, exercise your hand and wrist area with those little exercising things that u push together, overtime it will allow you to keep a firm grip, even tight and not have that much wrist problems. but you wont have to worry about damaging your wrist totally, unless you play on that Wrist when its already burned out lol.