Your grip is where your hand sits on the racket handle. It sets the angle of the strings and the kind of swing that feels natural. Learn four: the Continental for serves, volleys and slices, the Eastern and Semi-Western forehand grips for groundstrokes, and a backhand grip for one or two hands. Grip is a close-up hand detail, so it's best learned through coaching and feel rather than from a swing video.
Continental (the all-rounder)
Learn the map. The handle has eight flat sides called bevels. Hold the racket out in front with the frame edge-on to the floor. For a right-hander, bevel 1 is the flat top and the numbers run clockwise: 2 is the top-right slant, 3 the right side, 4 the bottom-right slant. Each grip is named by the bevel your index-finger base knuckle and heel pad sit on. Left-handers use the mirror image.
two landmarks on one bevel: the big knuckle and the heel of your hand.
Continental: knuckle and heel pad on bevel 2. An easy way in is to stand the racket on the edge of its frame and grab the handle naturally, the way you'd pick up a hammer. Use it for serves, volleys, overheads and slices, and for your bottom hand on a two-handed backhand.
like holding a hammer, racket edge leading.
Eastern / semi-western forehand
Eastern forehand: knuckle and heel pad on bevel 3. Your palm faces the same way as the strings, which makes it easy to control. It suits balls you meet around waist height and flatter shots with a little topspin.
your palm behind the handle, facing where the strings face.
Semi-Western forehand: knuckle and heel pad on bevel 4. It suits contact above the waist and makes topspin easier. It is the forehand grip coaches report teaching most often.
your palm a little under the handle.
Western (know it, don't start with it): your hand turns further under the handle than Semi-Western. It gives lots of topspin but works less well on fast courts.
Backhand grips
Two-handed backhand: bottom (dominant) hand in Continental, knuckle on bevel 2. Top hand above it in its own Eastern forehand grip, which is bevel 7 on the mirror map for a right-hander's left hand. Keep the hands touching so they work as one.
the top hand hits a left-handed forehand while the bottom hand steadies.
One-handed backhand: Eastern backhand grip, knuckle and heel pad on bevel 1, the top of the handle. Use your free hand on the throat of the racket to turn the handle and take the racket back.
your knuckles on top of the handle.
Feel it
Stay relaxed while you wait for the ball and hold the racket firmly as you hit. Between shots, your free hand cradles the throat and turns the handle to the next grip, so your hitting hand never has to hunt for it. A new grip usually feels awkward at first. Coaches say the main reasons players slide back to an old grip are hand discomfort and habit, so give a new one time before judging it.
Fix-its
- You serve with a forehand grip Switch to Continental (bevel 2). It is the serve grip nearly all coaches teach because it lets you hit flat, slice and kick serves.
- You use one grip for every shot Learn Continental plus one forehand grip (Eastern or Semi-Western) first, then add a backhand grip.
- Your knuckle is on one bevel and your heel pad on another You're between grips. Reset until both landmarks sit on the same bevel.
- Your forehands fly long or dump in the net Check your grip against the height you usually hit. Eastern suits waist-high balls; Semi-Western suits higher balls and more topspin.
- Grip changes feel slow Let your free hand hold the throat and turn the handle during your preparation, not at the last moment.
Drill
- Hammer pick-up: stand the racket on its frame edge, grab it as you would a hammer, then check your knuckle and heel pad are both on bevel 2.
- Bevel walk: from Continental, turn the racket with your free hand one bevel at a time (Continental, Eastern, Semi-Western) and check both landmarks at each stop. Repeat until you can find each grip without looking.
- Called grips: a partner calls 'serve', 'forehand' or 'backhand' and you set the matching grip with your free hand on the throat.
- Drop-feed forehands with your chosen forehand grip, letting the ball reach the height that grip suits (waist for Eastern, a bit higher for Semi-Western).
- Approach and volley: hit a forehand from the baseline, then switch to Continental as you move forward for the volley.
Sources
- Busuttil, Roberts, Dunn, Hyunh & Middleton — Perceptions and Practices of Accredited Tennis Coaches When Teaching Foundational Grip Development, Applied Sciences (2024)
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Physical Education Unit — Tennis course notes (2025)
- Mouratoglou Tennis Academy — The hammer grip in tennis
- Hatch, Pink, Mohr, Sethi & Jobe — The effect of tennis racket grip size on forearm muscle firing patterns, Am J Sports Med (2006), Europe PMC record
Last checked 2026-10-25.