Is your grip the same after you hit the ball?

[limitup]

So I've hit a western FH for the longest time and I really have a love/hate relationship with it. But I'm done, and I'm trying to switch to a SW.

To say I'm having a helluva time would be an understatement. I've never hit so many balls long, all landing about 6-12" out. I obviously need more spin, and I'm not sure why it's taking me so long to figure it out. It's only been about 10 days so maybe I just need more time.

But I have another "problem" and I'm wondering if this is normal or not. I've never noticed it or even thought about it before ...

Basically I will attempt to hit a FH with a SW grip but after my follow-through I look down at my hand and most of the time I'm holding my old western grip. WTF?!

Am I holding the grip too loose and it's rotating while or after I hit the ball? Everyone generally says to grip the racquet relatively loose, and as a lefty if I hit the ball on the bottom half of the stringbed I could see it causing the racquet to twist a little from SW towards western ... but is this normal??

Am I subconsciously adjusting my grip right before contact so I'm not actually hitting with a SW grip at all? It feels like a SW - I'm not hitting the ball as far in front, I'm making pretty clean contact and I'm hitting with more pace/depth and less spin.

I gotta figure this out it's driving me crazy. Short of finding someone with a slow motion video camera, anyone have any ideas?

Overall I've found it pretty tough to make the switch from western to SW. I guess it's just hard to overcome years of muscle memory. I've even tried to exaggerate the change and hit an eastern forehand and I swear half the time I look down after hitting a ball I'm back in a western grip again.

 

[Nefarious_Ly]

i've experimented with learning different grips this past spring during my senior year of being on my tennis team. i'm right-handed btw. i originally started with a SW FH, then switched to a Western, then to a Eastern (which i failed to comprehend, hah. my cousin said i was hitting it too flat, not enough topspin). I tried the Eastern for a day in a school match, and lost obviously.. lol.

But I went back to a Western, but now i change it up when i play. on approaching mid-court balls i use a SW FH cause i can typically flatten out the ball easier than a Western. Although i typically use the SW more dominantly because i think its a bit more consistent for me, but when i want to hit moonballs or hit a fast angled topspin fh crosscourt i use a Western.

Like you said, as a Western user switching to a SW, i've also noticed before that the grip rotates back to a West grip. For me though, as i gradually used the SW more again it stays in that grip most of the time. it should'nt be too much of an issue. just keep using the SW til it feels natural.

 

[limitup]

Yeah maybe I just need more time, but I'm curious/concerned about the way the grip is changing and I don't even realize it. That can't be good!

In addition to matches I've been hitting against the wall or ball machine pretty much every day for the past 10 days or so. As is almost always the case the SW grip and stroke feel pretty good against the wall or ball machine, but it just seems to break down under pressure and it somehow ends up being my old western grip when I look down at my hand. GRRRRR!

 

[toly]

Yeah maybe I just need more time, but I'm curious/concerned about the way the grip is changing and I don't even realize it. That can't be good!

In addition to matches I've been hitting against the wall or ball machine pretty much every day for the past 10 days or so. As is almost always the case the SW grip and stroke feel pretty good against the wall or ball machine, but it just seems to break down under pressure and it somehow ends up being my old western grip when I look down at my hand. GRRRRR!

You are not alone. See please http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?p=6156679#post6156679 post #57.

 

[limitup]

Cool. At least I'm in good company huh? Just gotta work on hitting cleaner I guess ...

 

[Rjtennis]

I made the change from western to semi a year and a half ago and it has been a blessing. I just kept on slowly adjusting my grip to get to a SW. It probably took me 2-3 months before i got there. I know what you are talking about when you describe your grip slipping. Its not easy to change, but it definetly can be done. I also just walked around my house shadow swinging a SW grip so it felt more comfortable when i was on the court. Since I made the switch my FH has improved leaps and bounds. I probably cant generate as much spin, but my ability to attack and finish points is way better. Overall, my FH is much more dangerous today.

 

[Limpinhitter]

You have to video yourself and see what you're doing. Obviously, your racquet face is too open at contact. In order to determine why your racquet face is too open you have to see what's going on before you can fix it.

 

[limitup]

Yeah I have a buddy with a slow motion camera, I really want to borrow it and record myself. I guess I'll have to do it!

 

[raemuel9323]

happened to me aswell changed from sw to extreme eastern, i noticed that it kept moving aswell coz i could feel the bevels in my hand, changed my overgrip to a tackier one and held the racket abit more tighter. and to answer one of your other questions about hitting it in the bottom half, its normal if you have a loose grip as the force of the ball will cause your racket to turn...

 

[limitup]

^^^ Yeah I dunno ... I have a pretty loose grip on the racquet most of the time ... maybe I'm hitting the ball on the lower half of the string bed a lot for whatever reason.

 

[Limpinhitter]

^^^ Yeah I dunno ... I have a pretty loose grip on the racquet most of the time ... maybe I'm hitting the ball on the lower half of the string bed a lot for whatever reason.

Loose grip is good. Squeezing the grip slows racquet speed and alters the racquet path. I should have also said that it's very normal for the grip to shift a little at contact. Federer's racquet often shifts from Eastern to semi-Western at contact.

 

[limitup]

^^^ ok cool thanks for chiming in. Glad to hear it's normal. I had just never noticed this or thought about it before.