Grip for return of serve

I have a semi western forehand and a 1handed backhand using an eastern backhand grip. I slice with the continental grip.

How should i hold the racquet when i return serve?
 

Wes_Loves_Dunlop

Professional
Well, hold it with your forehand grip, and keep your left hand on the throat of the racket so you can change the grip quickly.
Also, when you make your short takeback, make sure you change your grip in that same motion
 
It depends on both you and your opponent.
Have you already developed a pattern of how you hold your racquet on neutral points, and find it easier to change to the grip on the other side? Are you much more consistant with your backhand slice return, and is this true for both first and second serves? Do you have a dominant forehand or backhand, and find you can attack second serves consistantly? Are you playing an opponent who consistantly attacks your weaker side? Are you playing an opponent who likes to consistantly serve wide?
 

sh@de

Hall of Fame
Probably hold it around Eastern forehand grip. That means a quick change to conti for slice backhand and also to SW for your forehand. You'll have to move a bit more for BH drive tho... Alternatively, you could choose to use conti grip, and then for your forehand returns, use an Eastern instead of SW. That's what I do, although my forehand is an extreme east, not SW.
 

subaru3169

Semi-Pro
personally, and this is just me, but i will always be prepared to hit a backhand.. i have a 2hand backhand and i'm right handed btw.. my logic is that it will take time for my left hand to come down and correctly grip my racket, much longer than if my left hand changed my racket face by the throat to a forehand.. however, if i had a 1hand backhand, i'd imagine that i'd use a continental grip
 

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
What's the plan?

If I decide to block my return - often the case against a hotter first serve - I like continental. That lets me punch my return much like a long volley on either wing with good control. I also use that grip when I want to chip 'n charge the net off my return.

If I plan to crack a return with more of a drive, let's say against a slower second serve, I like to take one grip or the other (fh or bh) as I wait for the ball. That way I either have to change my grip or I don't. If my 2hbh grip is all set to hit, I'm ready, but I can also make the quicker transition to my fh grip if I've guessed wrong.
 

sh@de

Hall of Fame
If you use a 2hbh, during your prep, you should hold the racquet with both hands, your non dominant hand on the backhand grip and your dominant one on the forehand grip. I'm pretty sure that's the best way to do it for 2hbh people.
 

MTXR

Professional
Switching to holding my 2HBH while waiting for the serve has dramatically increased my return percentage. Before I used to wait with my dominant hand in a continental grip with my other hand at the throat to change the grips. I found this destroyed my returns if it came anywhere to my backhand side, I didn't have enough time to slide my hand down to get into a backhand grip.
 
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