I am trying to improve my tennis, and the first thing you hear is that tennis has changed and that you need to change the way you hit the ball. No more flat forehands and sliced backhands… you need topspin and for this you often need a new different grip.

So here are a couple of good videos explaining the different grips to use:

Summary:

Continental Grip – Index knuckle on bevel 2

• Used for volley and serve. Can be used for flat/sliced or for double handed backhand instead of Eastern backhand grip (see below). Was also used for forehand in the “olden” days…

Eastern Forehand Grip – Index knuckle on bevel 3 (large flat)

• Used for topspin forehand (easier for topspin) – preferred choice!

Semi Western Forehand Grip – knuckle on bevel 4 (small one)

• Used by some players to generate even more top-spin on forehand

Eastern Backhand Grip – Index knuckle on bevel 1 (top one)

• Used for topspin backhand – preferred choice!

This second video reinforces in a different way the first video and also talks about the two-handed backhand hand placement:

But the best video is this next one which, towards the end, explains how to go from one grip to the other while you are playing.

If you are like me, and always wondered how you switch between forehand and backhand grips and how you find the time to do it in between shots. This video reveals the secret !

And finally, only if you are not sure about which forehand grip to use and wonder what the difference brings. And provided you can stand this guy’s cheesy attitude (!), go through this last optional video….

Hope you found this video selection useful and join me for further shot specific videos soon.