I'm pretty new to tennis, but I've been playing a lot and improving quite a bit. Thing is I have no consistency with any of my shots. At this point I'm quite lost and I'm really hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
One of my biggest problems is that the racquet seems to move around in my hand a lot, even on basic forehand groundstrokes. I think there is a fundamental problem here.
For a basic forehand groundstroke, I use a semi western grip. I can't figure out if it's a problem with my racquet grip being too big or too small, if I'm totally mishitting the ball a lot, if I'm holding the racquet too tight or too loose, or what it is. It's driving me crazy.
I've tried several different racquets with various head sizes, various weights, etc. A heavier (12-13 oz) racquet with a smaller head (currently using a 93) generally feels better overall. I've tried various overgrips, etc.
People have suggested that I slow down my swing, and focus on looking at the ball longer to help keep my head still. It's too early to tell if this will help, I guess I need to practice more to know one way or another.
I started with a 4 1/2 grip, which was definitely too small. I went up to a 4 5/8 which still feels too small. I put an overgrip on it, so now it's a little bigger than 5/8s, and truthfully it still feels too small. My hands aren't monsterous, but I guess they are bigger than most men.
People I've asked said the general rule of thumb is that there should be 1 thumb width of space between your palm and fingers when holding the racquet. I definitely don't have that much space, even with the 5/8s grip + overgrip. So I want to try a 4 3/4 with or without an overgrip and see how that feels. Thing is, it seems like nowhere stocks these and I have to special order it. I find that odd since I definitely don't have HUGE hands and I can't imagine people with hands like mine use a 1/2 or 5/8. My next idea was to just wrap 3 or 4 overgrips on my 5/8s and see what it feels like. Obviously the grip will be pretty much round at that point and I wouldn't play with it that way for long, but it might help judge the size difference.
One thing I haven't actually tried yet is using a super tacky or contoured overgrip, which I am going to try later today, but I can't imagine it will make that big of a difference. All this time I've been trying different "absorbant" grips, assuming my hand was getting sweaty and causing the problem. But no matter which overgrip I use, it doesn't make much of a difference.
I said OK this is crazy and I signed up to take a few lessons from a pro. We had 1 lesson so far, and it was great. Thing is he wants to focus on teaching me proper footwork, positioning etc. and deal with form and other issues later. He said we won't be caring too much about how I actually hit the ball for awhile. His teaching method seems logical and I'm going to stick with it, but at the same time I would like to figure out this problem so I can keep practicing on my own and getting better overall.
I guess I'm just looking for some direction here. Is there some way to figure out what my problem really is? There are obviously a lot of variables and I'm having a hard time pinpointing the problem. I do know with 100% certainty though that the racquet moves around in my hand too much (as evidenced by the constant blisters I get lately) and that has to be a serious problem.
So I guess to boil it all down my primary question at this point is, what is the biggest or most common reasons that the racquet would move around in my hand a lot?
Finally, can anyone recommend any good books or online video courses etc. for learning the basics? Or should I just stick with my weekly lessons?
If you've read this far, thanks!
One of my biggest problems is that the racquet seems to move around in my hand a lot, even on basic forehand groundstrokes. I think there is a fundamental problem here.
For a basic forehand groundstroke, I use a semi western grip. I can't figure out if it's a problem with my racquet grip being too big or too small, if I'm totally mishitting the ball a lot, if I'm holding the racquet too tight or too loose, or what it is. It's driving me crazy.
I've tried several different racquets with various head sizes, various weights, etc. A heavier (12-13 oz) racquet with a smaller head (currently using a 93) generally feels better overall. I've tried various overgrips, etc.
People have suggested that I slow down my swing, and focus on looking at the ball longer to help keep my head still. It's too early to tell if this will help, I guess I need to practice more to know one way or another.
I started with a 4 1/2 grip, which was definitely too small. I went up to a 4 5/8 which still feels too small. I put an overgrip on it, so now it's a little bigger than 5/8s, and truthfully it still feels too small. My hands aren't monsterous, but I guess they are bigger than most men.
People I've asked said the general rule of thumb is that there should be 1 thumb width of space between your palm and fingers when holding the racquet. I definitely don't have that much space, even with the 5/8s grip + overgrip. So I want to try a 4 3/4 with or without an overgrip and see how that feels. Thing is, it seems like nowhere stocks these and I have to special order it. I find that odd since I definitely don't have HUGE hands and I can't imagine people with hands like mine use a 1/2 or 5/8. My next idea was to just wrap 3 or 4 overgrips on my 5/8s and see what it feels like. Obviously the grip will be pretty much round at that point and I wouldn't play with it that way for long, but it might help judge the size difference.
One thing I haven't actually tried yet is using a super tacky or contoured overgrip, which I am going to try later today, but I can't imagine it will make that big of a difference. All this time I've been trying different "absorbant" grips, assuming my hand was getting sweaty and causing the problem. But no matter which overgrip I use, it doesn't make much of a difference.
I said OK this is crazy and I signed up to take a few lessons from a pro. We had 1 lesson so far, and it was great. Thing is he wants to focus on teaching me proper footwork, positioning etc. and deal with form and other issues later. He said we won't be caring too much about how I actually hit the ball for awhile. His teaching method seems logical and I'm going to stick with it, but at the same time I would like to figure out this problem so I can keep practicing on my own and getting better overall.
I guess I'm just looking for some direction here. Is there some way to figure out what my problem really is? There are obviously a lot of variables and I'm having a hard time pinpointing the problem. I do know with 100% certainty though that the racquet moves around in my hand too much (as evidenced by the constant blisters I get lately) and that has to be a serious problem.
So I guess to boil it all down my primary question at this point is, what is the biggest or most common reasons that the racquet would move around in my hand a lot?
Finally, can anyone recommend any good books or online video courses etc. for learning the basics? Or should I just stick with my weekly lessons?
If you've read this far, thanks!
