by Zeke Allen

Created on: May 04, 2009

For many people picking up the game of tennis, no one is standing there to help them learn how to play. They find an old racket in the garage or a friend invites them to come and play and they pick up a racket and do their best to get the ball over the net. Unfortunately, this can lead to some bad habits, and one of the best ways to start to combat the formation of those habits is to learn the best way to hold a tennis racket.

There are a variety of different grips including continental, eastern forehand, semi-western forehand, western forehand, and then also various modes for the backhand as well: western backhand, extreme eastern or semi-western backhand, and the two handed grip. Some of these will help you have more control over your shots, some will add to your ability to put various types of spin on the ball, topspin, backspin, etc. and some are more versatile and will work in a variety of situations.

Once you have a handle, literally, on the various different kinds of grips, you can get an idea of which one is the most comfortable for you. You may also find that you like one grip for some situations and one grip for others. Most tennis players do not always hold the racket the same way. You will have to practice moving your hand so you are comfortable preparing for different shots and different situations. Hopefully you have a patient partner who won't mind you launching a few balls in all the wrong directions while you master your grips. Even better is to have a partner that knows a few of these grips and can help you get a feel for how they work and when to use them. If you are holding the racket the wrong way, it will forever limit your ability to improve which could very well ruin the game for you.

So take some time to get to know the various ways to hold your racket!

There are some great places to get diagrams and explanations of the various tennis grips. These experts will be able to tell you more than me, particularly since I am a hack at best when it comes to tennis. A few years of lessons when I was young didn't leave me with a pro's knowledge of the game. Check out tennis.com for a great guide with graphics and explanations. You can also check out tennisgeometrics.com for some more advanced ideas about grips and how to manipulate them according to your preference. They also claim they can get you a competitive edge by modifying your grip, I'll leave it to you to see if that is true.

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