I tried this the other day and my serve totally rocked out. I experimented by holding as little of the grip in my hand as possible on the serve and just slamming it. I actually hit the person returning in the chin when one of my first serves came up off the court at an unexpected angle.
Anyone else hold reaaally low down on the grip?
- Thread starter Charles
- Start date
Think he means the opposite.
You'll get more wrist snap into the ball by doing this but be careful you don't injure the wrist in the process. I think having half of the fatty portion of the hand off the racquet works well like it does in most strokes. However, I think its a preference thing that varies among players.
E
eliza
Guest
could you please elaborate more? What kind of grip, exact position of palm/fingers....thanks
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
My dubs partner may only have one ear after that grip change.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Forefinger and thumb only. Snapintoaserve
lodeen
New User
Some people choke up very high on the handle and they still hit their dubs partner when serving!
lodeen
New User
Your forefinger and thumb must be huge and powerful!
And your gf/wife told you so too, right?
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Your forefinger and thumb must be huge and powerful!
Was strong a longtime ago. If you knowwhatImean. Btw, looking for a doubles partner with two ears.
GetBetterer
Hall of Fame
I can't do this because I fear my racket will just leave my hand on a hit.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
At my age, we call em callouses. Better seealice
lodeen
New User
I have 3 calluses on my right hand that I've accepted a long time ago as the price for playing tennis; just like having one arm bigger than the other due to playing tennis for years.
dak95_00
Hall of Fame
I used to hold it like many of you have described w/ my pinky barely on or dangling off. I'd always and still do take time off and that blister comes back and hurts on the palm. I could get past that one. It was the losing of the fingernail on my pinky that got old. It would always get seperated from my finger from the stress of being on the grip and then sliding off an supporting the racquet, etc., etc.
After reading some of these posts, I think I'm going to go back to trying it again. I always had better touch when I hit like that. My volleys were more crisp and my serves were harder and more accurate. Groundstrokes were harder too. We'll see. Tomorrow is going to be my first time playing in a week and a half. MELT SNOW MELT!
After reading some of these posts, I think I'm going to go back to trying it again. I always had better touch when I hit like that. My volleys were more crisp and my serves were harder and more accurate. Groundstrokes were harder too. We'll see. Tomorrow is going to be my first time playing in a week and a half. MELT SNOW MELT!
lodeen
New User
I wouldn't do anything that would cause me to lose my fingernail!!!!:shock:
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
You got 9 more
dak95_00
Hall of Fame
I know. I also have tape or a bandaid to help it stay on!
The worst thing that ever happened to me was playing a match right after clipping my toenails. I didn't file them down afterwards and each time I had to stop suddenly while charging the net, my big toes would catch in my shoes. They both eventually got caught enough that they were pushed back and lifted. They both turned black and fell off a couple days later. I won the match! It hurt really, really bad for a few days or more!
dak95_00
Hall of Fame
After walking around the house and disturbing my wife and kids by spinning and swinging my racquet until I felt adjusted to this new/old grip for me all week, I got to try it out tonight.
My thoughts:
Neutral Points:
* It made my shots flatter w/ similar control. I couldn't just hit the high spinner over the net w/o it going long on the forehand side. I could smack a flatter lower ball anywhere I wanted though.
*I'm sure it will improve w/ better timing.
*It took away the loopiness of my swing; otherwise, I'd frame it.
Pros:
*My backhand was way better. I mean WAY better! It allowed my left hand to take over on my 2HBH and allowed for me to just take the racquet back and bring it through very solid. It allowed me to swing and roll over the ball in the ol' under and over swing that was very natural and even thoughtless. I could hit it both directions and place the ball easily and deep whether I received a high or a low ball. My backhand was better than my forehand (at first)!
Cons:
*I needed less loopiness to my swings. At first this through off my timing. Then I just started pulling the racquet back and setting it as the ball came. I'd then just step in and smash it! It require that I hit a lower ball on the forehand side which left less margin for error. I'll work on this. It was getting better by the end of the session when I was more tired and concentrating on just hitting the ball.
*New blisters! All fingernails are intact and I didn't even get sore. I did start getting a new one on my left hand on my middle finger at the second digit from the top. I don't think I've gotten a blister on my left hand before. My right palm is getting one where I'd expect to get one from the buttcap.
Overall:
This is the grip I used when I played my most and best tennis overall. I believe I'll stick with this as it gave me better touch on my volleys tonight. I may only use it on the backhand side as my forehand was getting really good the other way too. It's hard to say as I was smashing some really flat shots w/ this grip and an Eastern FH set-up. It wasn't working as well for the semi-western grip that I'd been using for quite a while. I'm also wondering if I should go back to a smaller grip as the feel is enhanced for me this way. I went to a bigger grip with the up the handle grip because I was having trouble feeling the bevels w/ smaller grips. With my pinky nearly dangling, it is hard not to feel the buttcap digging into your palm and not know where the grip is positioned.
We'll see. I played really good tonight. My footwork was solid. I think that P90 crap is working.
My thoughts:
Neutral Points:
* It made my shots flatter w/ similar control. I couldn't just hit the high spinner over the net w/o it going long on the forehand side. I could smack a flatter lower ball anywhere I wanted though.
*I'm sure it will improve w/ better timing.
*It took away the loopiness of my swing; otherwise, I'd frame it.
Pros:
*My backhand was way better. I mean WAY better! It allowed my left hand to take over on my 2HBH and allowed for me to just take the racquet back and bring it through very solid. It allowed me to swing and roll over the ball in the ol' under and over swing that was very natural and even thoughtless. I could hit it both directions and place the ball easily and deep whether I received a high or a low ball. My backhand was better than my forehand (at first)!
Cons:
*I needed less loopiness to my swings. At first this through off my timing. Then I just started pulling the racquet back and setting it as the ball came. I'd then just step in and smash it! It require that I hit a lower ball on the forehand side which left less margin for error. I'll work on this. It was getting better by the end of the session when I was more tired and concentrating on just hitting the ball.
*New blisters! All fingernails are intact and I didn't even get sore. I did start getting a new one on my left hand on my middle finger at the second digit from the top. I don't think I've gotten a blister on my left hand before. My right palm is getting one where I'd expect to get one from the buttcap.
Overall:
This is the grip I used when I played my most and best tennis overall. I believe I'll stick with this as it gave me better touch on my volleys tonight. I may only use it on the backhand side as my forehand was getting really good the other way too. It's hard to say as I was smashing some really flat shots w/ this grip and an Eastern FH set-up. It wasn't working as well for the semi-western grip that I'd been using for quite a while. I'm also wondering if I should go back to a smaller grip as the feel is enhanced for me this way. I went to a bigger grip with the up the handle grip because I was having trouble feeling the bevels w/ smaller grips. With my pinky nearly dangling, it is hard not to feel the buttcap digging into your palm and not know where the grip is positioned.
We'll see. I played really good tonight. My footwork was solid. I think that P90 crap is working.
cigrmaster
Semi-Pro
I have always played with the butt of the racquet in the palm of my hand. I have a large callous there from all the years of playing like this. The advantage for me is I can generate a ton of spin using my wrist. It really helps on short low balls to be able to snap off a power shot without using a huge WW motion on the forehand side.
On the backhand side it is a big advantage to be able to hit a nasty slice and at the end of the shot snap my wrist and the ball will jump hard to the right when it hits the ground. I am a lefty and this really messes up the righties I play with.
On my top spin back hand I can generate a lot of extra spin by holding it in my palm and taking my thumb and putting it on the side of the racquet and snapping my wrist similar to a back hand in table tennis.
On the backhand side it is a big advantage to be able to hit a nasty slice and at the end of the shot snap my wrist and the ball will jump hard to the right when it hits the ground. I am a lefty and this really messes up the righties I play with.
On my top spin back hand I can generate a lot of extra spin by holding it in my palm and taking my thumb and putting it on the side of the racquet and snapping my wrist similar to a back hand in table tennis.
Groundstrokes and serves I can understand with this grip, but volleys are about the last place I'd expect a loose wrist with a choked-down grip (and effectively bigger swingweight) to be a help. If anything, I choke up when returning and/or approaching the net. Anyone else do this as well?
dak95_00
Hall of Fame
My volleys were better because I was controlling the racquet w/ my first two or three fingers rather than my last two. It is also because I used to play w/ this grip for years and I used to be a serve and volley player. It just felt more natural and I had better control of the racquet head w/ an enhanced touch or feel of the racquet.
The last few years I've held the racquet more choked up in a semi-western grip. I've had a tendency to lay back w/ my weight and swing more upward in a WW style. With this grip, I really had to step into and hit through and over the ball as I was really flattening out my shots. The same swing effort led to a very hard penetrating shot even when I held it in a semi-western position. I eventually had to go to a more eastern position as was more natural back in the day for me. Again, it was a swing that I was used to hitting but hadn't used in years. I've played many, many hours of tennis in my life and also quit playing at times for years at a time. I was once a very good player and I'm slowly getting back to form; as much as is possible at my age w/ my time constraints.
The ball flight that I hit had a big affect on my footwork. It really made me step into the shots and shift my weight forward rather than stay back. That footwork also helped w/ my volleys and overall concentration.
The last few years I've held the racquet more choked up in a semi-western grip. I've had a tendency to lay back w/ my weight and swing more upward in a WW style. With this grip, I really had to step into and hit through and over the ball as I was really flattening out my shots. The same swing effort led to a very hard penetrating shot even when I held it in a semi-western position. I eventually had to go to a more eastern position as was more natural back in the day for me. Again, it was a swing that I was used to hitting but hadn't used in years. I've played many, many hours of tennis in my life and also quit playing at times for years at a time. I was once a very good player and I'm slowly getting back to form; as much as is possible at my age w/ my time constraints.
The ball flight that I hit had a big affect on my footwork. It really made me step into the shots and shift my weight forward rather than stay back. That footwork also helped w/ my volleys and overall concentration.
Yup, right here - 4 fingered grip, pinky off the grip on serves, groundies but not volleys.
Say Chi Sin Lo
G.O.A.T.
Semi-western forehand and full eastern one-hander. I've always played towards the very end of the handle. The lower part of my palm does hang off of the handle.
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