Private Lessons: Understanding The Forehand Grips

Extreme forehand grips make it more difficult to develop the mental image of the hand and racquet face.

In Part 1, we looked at the continental grip, which was once nearly universal, but is under utilized by most
players, both at the pro and the club level. Now let’s take a look at various forehand grips in modern tennis and the key
images associated with mastering them and incorporating them into your game.

As I said in the first article, the most difficult process in understanding grips and grip changes is the
visual or mental aspect. Correlation between the position of the hand and the angle of the racquet face has to be created
visually in the mind’s eye for each grip position.

This is very difficult when transitioning between two extreme positions because visually/mentally they are so
different. One of the best reasons the past generations played with just one grip was the ease of transition between
different shots.

With the rise of semi-western and western grips, developing images to make these transitions is one of the
biggest challenges faced by most club players.

The mental image of the racquet face closed for topspin as it approaches the ball….