Forehand Grips

[johnchung907]

Just curious in what you guys think about the different forehand grips. Like pros and cons. Based on my knowledge there are about 4 common grips which are the continental, eastern, semi-western, and western. Feel free to talk about swingpaths and which grip matches to what type of tennis strategy best on this thread. If any other grips should be discussed on the forehand feel free to post your thoughts on that specific grip.

 

[boramiNYC]

ha, good luck...people can't even agree on which grip looking at the same photo.. don't think one thread will be nearly enough!

 

[johnchung907]

ha, good luck...people can't even agree on which grip looking at the same photo.. don't think one thread will be nearly enough!

Maybe you can contribute to this thread then perhaps??

 

[Mikeplaystenniss]

Continental
For old people, predominantly slicing game, or your a monster like Delpo (who sits between conti and east). For volleys and serves and slices.

Eastern
I could be wrong but I think Jerzy Janowicz is ripping the eastern forehand, so take a look at his... if done properly it's a pretty good grip out of the forehand. Not really a fan, though.

Semi-Western
Obviously the best grip in my honest opinion. Most versatile.

Western
Use this if your asian.

 

[BevelDevil]

Don't forget there are the in-between grips, particularly the extreme eastern and the extreme SW.

One thing you should keep in mind when choosing your fh grip is the ease of changing grips to your bh, especially if you have a 1hbh. Switching to slice is also important, though. Make sure you can work out a good grip changing system.

Also, note that you can basically use the same grip for both the fh and bh if you use a western or extreme SW forehand.

 

[TennisCJC]

Conti - good for serve/overhead, hitting topspin on low balls, slicing groundstrokes and volleys. Also good for bottom hand for 2 HBH. Not good for hitting topspin on high bouncing balls. Basically, this is the old grass court grip thus it is good for low bouncing balls.

Eastern - good well rounded grip for FH groundstrokes. Pretty good on low, medium and hi balls. But it is easier to generate topspin with SW or W. Not as good on hi balls as SW or W. Can hit FH slice or top. Can be used for FH volleys but not ideal. Good fast hard court grip.

SW - very good for topspin FH and for returning hi bouncing balls. A little more difficult on low balls than E or Conti. Only good as topspin FH grip. Good clay court and hard court grip.

W - most topspin if timed well. Hi ball grip. Very difficult to hit low balls and only a topspin FH grip. Best for clay and slow high bouncing hard courts.

I think something between an E and a SW is best for vast majority of amateur players but there are always exceptions.

 

[10isfreak]

Your grip will influence your stroke as it determines the relationship between your forearm and your string bed. As a rule of thumb, the further you close the strings, the more spin you get.

A continental grip will make doing the above really hard as the contact becomes increasingly high. It opens your string bed sufficiently to make it hard to keep it closed through contact, especially on high balls. However, it‘s wonderful to have that sort of opening to slice, pick up low balls as you move to the net or to play volleys and overheads.

Eastern
This one can be used in a contemporary game of baseline rallying. A good preparation and take back can compensate the difference between this and a semi-western grip as it can allow you to further close the string bed. This grip also has the benefit of setting youe palm right behind the handle which makes controlling your shots A LOT easier; it‘s not surprisimg that beginners often pick that grip as they start: it seems sound to put your hand behind the handle to hit forward!

Semi-western
The most popular grip of all, forehand wise. As with the eastern, it‘s versatile and convenient in most cases. Personally, I use mild version of it, holding it in a pistol like fashion and all the way to the bottom of my handle... the whole point is that I can play a backhand without changing much my grip since I hit a semi-western one handed backhand.

Western grip
The nightmare of coaches, it‘s really hard to flatten out the ball with it unless you hit really hard and with a double bend position. It closes the racket face a ton... Rare are the bravea who can yield it.

 

[newpball]

Semi-western
The most popular grip of all, forehand wise.

I am curious what you base that on.

By wandering around the many courts I would say it is Eastern by a mile.

 

[Muppet]

When I moved to a stronger forhand grip, I learned that the further I moved from continental towards western, the more open my footwork had to be at ball contact. Also, my backswing had to be a narrower loop and more linear for conti and eastern and a larger loop the more I went toward a western grip. My follow through has sorted itself out, after I became mindful of continuing with a full follow through. When you strike upon the right combination of grip, footwork, and backswing, your stroke will feel much faster and more efficient.

 

[10isfreak]

I am curious what you base that on.

By wandering around the many courts I would say it is Eastern by a mile.

Most people I have seen or read about use some variation of the semi-western grip. I mostly played and seen younger people, though. So, my claim is as good as yours... we both lack data.

 

[Ash_Smith]

Your grip will influence your stroke as it determines the relationship between your forearm and your string bed. As a rule of thumb, the further you close the strings, the more spin you get.

Slightly OT, but an important point to make nonetheless - spin is determined by swing path, racquet face determines launch angle (as a general rule)

 

[newpball]

we both lack data.

True and I think the issue is more complicated because I have met quite a few people who insisted they had a semi-Western grip while I thought it was an Eastern grip.

 

[sureshs]

Just use SW and be done with it

 

[Overdrive]

Western
Use this if your asian.

What does this mean???

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Western
Use this if your asian.

I'm Asian and I use an extreme eastern/hybrid of eastern and semi-western (whatever they call it), say what now?

 

[hawk eye]

What does this mean???

It probably means forehand grip has a racist component.

 

[bt johnson]

It probably means forehand grip has a racist component.

What is a western grip best for? High balls? I think the OP is trying to say Asians are short. I don't think he is being racist but I do think he was being ignorant and the comment was unnecessary

 

[newpball]

I don't think he is being racist but I do think he was being ignorant and the comment was unnecessary

He wrote the following comment on a video from an Asian person:

I don't honestly see a difference in either video.
The only small difference is in the more conservative style video you're playing girls 12's tennis.
Then in the newer one you're playing a ****ed off girls 12's tennis.

Perhaps it is just coincidence.

 

[johnchung907]

I'm Asian and I use an extreme eastern/hybrid of eastern and semi-western (whatever they call it), say what now?

Yep, I'm also asian and use the modified eastern and heck I'm 5'7 (although I have many more years to grow). Anyways back on topic.

Continental: Good for a slice forehand, good for low shots. There's a lack of topspin however, which requires the player to hit barely over the net. High balls are murder for this grip.

Eastern: Good for moderate topspin hitting, good directional control, easiest forehand grip to learn, really good for flat strokes, and good variety. Good for low balls. However, high balls do pose a problem sometimes for recreational players.

Modified Eastern: Basically keeps the benefits of the eastern grip, but allows you to hit a little more topspin. High balls aren't as difficult to handle then a more conservative grip and low balls are easy to put away.

Semi-western: Allows for a mildly heavy topspin ball but also allows the wielder to also put away balls with flat shots. High balls don't bother this grip to much, but low balls are a little bit more difficult to get over.

4.5 Semi-western: A variant of the semi-western, allowing players to even add a bit more extra topspin. High balls don't pose a threat to this grip. However, balls are harder to put away and low balls are even more troublesome.

Western: Pure topspin hitting. High balls are effortless. Great for clay courts. Balls are really hard to put away though and low balls are really difficult to get over the net.

Hawaiian: The furthest you could possibly go on a forehand grip. Any further would be too extreme. Many players already consider this to be too extreme for the forehand. Even more topspin then a western. Suited best for clay courts. High balls are heaven for this grip, however, low balls are almost impossible to get over. Putting shots away is an almost impossible task.

 

[10isfreak]

Slightly OT, but an important point to make nonetheless - spin is determined by swing path, racquet face determines launch angle (as a general rule)

From tennisspeed, you can see that:
(a) The string bed is slightly closed at contact for average top player rally ball (between 10 and 20 degrees for most rally balls);
(b) The swing path is shallower that expected by most coaches and amateurs (usually less than 20 degrees from the horizontal plane, measuring from the end of the take back to the contact point).

Given the above, I am very tempted to say that the opposite of your contention is true: spin is mostly determined by the angle of your string bed and the launching angle is mostly determined by the swing path.

We know that most pros rarely go past 30 degrees of swing path and hit varying levels of spin with similar increments. What do you conclude then?

 

[10isfreak]

True and I think the issue is more complicated because I have met quite a few people who insisted they had a semi-Western grip while I thought it was an Eastern grip.

Never seen this, but it's surely funny.

 

[johnchung907]

True and I think the issue is more complicated because I have met quite a few people who insisted they had a semi-Western grip while I thought it was an Eastern grip.

I have no comment for this... I mean I have to look close up at everything to see what other people are using but... if people don't even know there own grip well that's kinda sad. Here's the bevels, and which bevel your palm should be on (there's another method to also figure out which grip you have but I'm to lazy to write it out ) to determine your grip.

Bevel 2: Continental
Bevel 3: Eastern
Bevel 4: Semi-western
Bevel 5: Western
Beyond Bevel 5: Hawaiian

 

[The Isomotion31]

Western
Use this if your asian.

 

[rkelley]

From tennisspeed, you can see that:
(a) The string bed is slightly closed at contact for average top player rally ball (between 10 and 20 degrees for most rally balls);
(b) The swing path is shallower that expected by most coaches and amateurs (usually less than 20 degrees from the horizontal plane, measuring from the end of the take back to the contact point).

Given the above, I am very tempted to say that the opposite of your contention is true: spin is mostly determined by the angle of your string bed and the launching angle is mostly determined by the swing path.

We know that most pros rarely go past 30 degrees of swing path and hit varying levels of spin with similar increments. What do you conclude then?

Just a note, Ash coaches pros and I also believe plays at very high level himself. He's one of the folks that make this board more than a bunch of dudes who know just enough to be dangerous - like me for instance

To the specific point, check out this Fed video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmhvKafCYsk

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Semi-western: Allows for a mildly heavy topspin ball but also allows the wielder to also put away balls with flat shots. High balls don't bother this grip to much, but low balls are a little bit more difficult to get over.

4.5 Semi-western: A variant of the semi-western, allowing players to even add a bit more extra topspin. High balls don't pose a threat to this grip. However, balls are harder to put away and low balls are even more troublesome.

Oh snap, 4.5 semi-western yo. I ain't ready that.

 

[newpball]

A 45 semi-Western is that a gun? :grin:

 

[boramiNYC]

When I moved to a stronger forhand grip, I learned that the further I moved from continental towards western, the more open my footwork had to be at ball contact. Also, my backswing had to be a narrower loop and more linear for conti and eastern and a larger loop the more I went toward a western grip. My follow through has sorted itself out, after I became mindful of continuing with a full follow through. When you strike upon the right combination of grip, footwork, and backswing, your stroke will feel much faster and more efficient.

I also found this to be true. a lot of times people mix these up and have poor techniques.

 

[johnchung907]

Oh snap, 4.5 semi-western yo. I ain't ready that.

Djokovic, Roddick, and Nadal use it. It's in between a western and semi-western

 

[johnchung907]

Lol. I choked.

 

[johnchung907]

Semi-Western
Obviously the best grip in my honest opinion. Most versatile.

Are you basing this off yourself or do you actually have proof?

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

I am curious what you base that on.

By wandering around the many courts I would say it is Eastern by a mile.

The SW appears to have replaced the the Eastern as the de facto standard on the pro tour in the past decade (or more?). Sampras & Agassi used a SW on high shots, I believe. Nadal and Roddick employ extreme versions of the SW grip. Murray, Djoko, Del Potro, Gonzales, Ferrer, Tsonga, Verdasco, Davydenko, Soderling, and countless other ATP players employ a SW grip. It is very common on the WTA tour as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forehand#Semi-Western
http://tennis.about.com/od/playersmale/ss/photo-tour-male-pro-forehand-grips_2.htm

On the public courts, I've seen everything from the Conti grip to the Western grip (with an occasional Hawaiian). I would say that majority that I've observed use either an Eastern or SW grip. The modified Eastern or extreme Eastern, Federer's primary FH grip, appears to be a version of the Eastern that is quite common with many players on public courts from what I've seen. Some of my students use a standard Eastern but most use either an extreme Eastern or SW on the FH.

 

[Frank Silbermann]

Eastern (especially "modern eastern" used today only by Delpotro) has the moral advantage of being the _correct_ forehand grip (or so I was told by coaches of my youth).

But nowadays limiting oneself to tennis-correctness is as foolish as concern for _political_ correctness. With today's rackets the semi-western, adjusted by individual players either a bit this way or that way, seems to be the most effective.

 

[10isfreak]

Just a note, Ash coaches pros and I also believe plays at very high level himself. He's one of the folks that make this board more than a bunch of dudes who know just enough to be dangerous - like me for instance

To the specific point, check out this Fed video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmhvKafCYsk

No offense, but coaching and research differ; sometimes an image works to get the job done, regardless of its veracity. The only source I have which showed me data is the tennis speed blog and they lead to the conclusion I gave, but, as you might guess, it's only one source nd it may be wrong. However, if it is, show me something else than a simple claim which says, it's wrong...

Besides, my reply to Ash wasn't meant to put in doubt his expertise; I stated the nature of our disagreement and gave him my source and reasoning. If anyone disagrees, they can do the same.

With that said, we'll try not to highjack this thread.

 

[NLBwell]

Love that people are using the term "Hawaiian grip," which I game name to many years ago on this forum (on the previous software).

 

[KayFactor]

Western
Use this if your asian.

Logged in just to acknowledge this.

 

[Mikeplaystenniss]

Are you basing this off yourself or do you actually have proof?

Most of all the players I have ever met hit a SW or a W. These are mostly 4.0-5.0 teenagers though. It varies I think more with age, but mostly with play style, of course.

 

[Mikeplaystenniss]

Lol. I choked.

Lol I died.

Also I wasn't necessarily being racist or at least that was not my intention. It seemed comical at the time, and was influenced from a conversation I was (at the time) having with a friend. Who claimed he had never seen someone asian...not use a western grip.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend!

 

[Mikeplaystenniss]

He wrote the following comment on a video from an Asian person:



Perhaps it is just coincidence.

It was just a coincidence.

 

[anubis]

... Then there's the whole pistol and hammer grip argument too. I prefer pistol myself.

 

[johnchung907]

... Then there's the whole pistol and hammer grip argument too. I prefer pistol myself.

I used to use hammer then I switched to pistol. Most pros with great forehands tend to use pistol grips. I believe pistol allows you to have more control. Hammer... Well idk.

 

[Ash_Smith]

... Then there's the whole pistol and hammer grip argument too. I prefer pistol myself.

Which is an argument that only exists in TTW land...

 

[10isfreak]

Which is an argument that only exists in TTW land...

What does it looks like outside TTW land; how does a world class coach advises to held a racket? I never heard of that debate here or elsewhere, but I am curious.

 

[watungga]

What does it looks like outside TTW land; how does a world class coach advises to held a racket? I never heard of that debate here or elsewhere, but I am curious.

World-class coach, talking to a beginner, would use the most fundamental and versatile grip in tennis. The Semi-Western.

World-class coach, talking to an ATP grade player, wouldn't talk about grips.

 

[Ash_Smith]

^^^Actually this coach (be he world class or otherwise) would likely as not talk about grips at all - he would set the contact point, which allows the grip to develop quite naturally

 

[Ash_Smith]

What does it looks like outside TTW land; how does a world class coach advises to held a racket? I never heard of that debate here or elsewhere, but I am curious.

It's been debated here over a number of threads, with plenty of the usual photo's, graphs, charts and convoluted explanations as to why one is better than the other. I have never heard such a debate (or even had a basic conversation about it) in the coaching circles I move in, only ever on this forum.