How hard should you sqeeze?

[babolat141]

How hard should you squeeze when your hitting a forehand? i know some people think it should be really loose so it will recoil when you slow down the swing but how hard does a pro hold it at impact when they are hitting a ball 90 mph?

 

[LeeD]

As usual, depends....
Since only a few hard hitting pros actually hit 90 mph forehands regularly, those that do would be trying to hit especially hard ...harder than normal groundie speed, so they tend to grip tighter.
But remember, the tighter you grip, the more you whole kinetic swing get's off it's axxis, and some tend to arm thru on those shots.
A generally flowing forehand can easily go 85mph, when everything is working, so maybe it's not too important to go for that extra, as that extra 5-15 just might go out more often, hurt your arms, or even ruin your confidence.
How hard? Hard enough not to allow the racket to spin, but not hard enough to ruin your full swing.

 

[SethIMcClaine]

Thread Jack: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=273893&highlight=Serve

Somewhat true. The grip force for all shots should start out loose/relaxed (perhaps a 1 or 2 on a 0-10 scale). As the racquet head is accelerated forward or upward (on the serve) to meet the ball, the hand should be allowed to tighten up naturally (ie, not a forced, conscious effort for the most part). Don't think that I characterize the grip force for a volley as a 10. On the volley, you should squeeze firmly just prior to contact or as the racquet head moves forward -- but this does not need to be a death-grip.

Hmmm. My coach said it was more like 5-6 for volleys, 2-3 for groundstrokes, and as loose as possible for serving.

 

[SethIMcClaine]

Sorry Qouted the wrong first one

My coach said: on a scale of 1-10,
grips on serves are about 2
grips on groundstrokes are about 5
grips on volleys are about 10

 

[tacotanium]

i think the faster your swing on that stroke is, the more loose it should be. at volley for instance should need the hardest grip since the racket speed is at its slowest.

 

[SethIMcClaine]

Seems like your racquet swing weight would play a decent role in your grip too