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GUIDE TO GRIPS |
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> General Advice for tennisman Seeking technical tips |
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Western Grip
The Western grip places your palm on the bottom plane of your handle, a full 90 degrees clockwise from the plane of the string bed. This makes the racquet face tilt downward severely, and you must meet the ball even farther forward (at a given height) than you would with a Semi-Western grip to get the string bed into a vertical plane. The most natural swing pattern with a Western grip is sharply upward and very fast, which explains why most Western hitters generate heavy topspin.
The Western grip handles high balls much better than low ones, in large part because a higher point of contact need not be as forward. It is possible for some players to hit flat with a Western grip, but doing so forces your wrist into a very awkward position. Hitting slice Western is only for the true contortionist.
Semi-western Grip
The Semi-Western grip places your palm on the lower right slant bevel, the plane 45 degrees clockwise (for a righty) from the plane of the strings. To counteract the resulting natural downward tilt of the racquet face, you must meet the ball slightly farther forward (at a given height) than you would with an Eastern grip, and while it's possible to hit flat, you will generally need to swing upward more sharply, which encourages you to hit topspin.
The average grip among the pros now is Semi-Western, primarily because of the importance of topspin in the modern, advanced game. The Semi-Western grip does well both at generating topspin and handling the high bounces from the opponent's topspin. It is not well suited to hitting slice, and it's less comfortable on low than on high balls.
Eastern Grip
The Eastern forehand grip is the classic grip most often taught to beginning students, and although it has been largely displaced on the pro tours by the Semi-Western grip, it is still used by many advanced players. It places your palm on the side plane of your handle, parallel to the plane of your strings. With your wrist straight and relaxed, the Eastern grip results in a vertical racquet face when your racquet is even with your front hip.
For a classic swing style, this is the most natural and physically most secure relationship between body, racquet, and point of contact. The Eastern is also the most versatile forehand grip, because you can easily tilt upward for slice or keep the racquet face vertical to hit topspin. Many players find that they can hit heavier topspin and better handle the high kick of the opponent's topspin with the more western grips, though, which accounts for the reduced popularity of the Eastern at the pro level.
Continental
The Continental grip places your palm on the upper right slant bevel, 45 degrees counterclockwise from the Eastern. This makes the racquet face tend to tilt upward, which is especially appropriate for hitting slice. You can hit flat with the Continental, but you must meet the ball in a weaker position, slightly farther back, than with the Eastern.
The Continental grip can be used for both forehands and backhands, but it's rarely used anymore for forehands, because it's poorly suited to hitting topspin. It was popular until the early 1970s, when the US Open and the Australian Open stopped playing on grass and left only Wimbledon to be dominated by the low bounces for which Continental grips are best adapted.
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