By Paulo Walsh
Tennis rackets do not have the spherical handle that you would perhaps expect to find. Instead they have an eight sided octagonal shape that aids both grip and comfort. Every player will find their own most preferred grip but it will change constantly throughout the course of a match when different shots are played. There are a number of standard grips that can be used on the 8 sides of the handle and each one of these sides is called a bevel.
The Continental grip is the most basic grip that is suggested and recommended for beginners and allows many of the shots to be played without changing the hand position on the handle of the racket. With the evolution and increased use of top spin this is a grip that is rarely used by the professionals of the modern game, except when serving and volleying. This is also known as the Chopper or Hammer grip due to an axe being held in a similar way for chopping.
There are a number of other grips that allows different types of shot to be played at different speeds and on different surfaces. The grip also has a big influence when a player is attempting to generate different types of spin as the position of the wrist and its ability to twist and follow through is of paramount importance. There are subtle differences in the grips of left and right handed players but both types of player an easily incorporate all the different possibilities into their game with training and practice.
In the professional game today the most popular grip is the Semi-Western grip, as it gives the ability to generate both spin and pace on the forehand and a quick and easy transition to the backhand. The Western grip has become much more prevalent on the clay courts as it can be used to create highly effective top spin that is difficult for an opponent to return successfully.
Serving on the professional tour is primarily carried out with the Eastern backhand grip for top spin serves and the Continental grip for the slice serve. This is potentially the one area that the grip changes most frequently and it is important to be able to master all the different types of service grip to allow variety and an unpredictable nature to the start of each point.
Grip tape and weighting can also be used to further improve the feel of each individual tennis racket and this can be changed as frequently as required to find the perfect combination of weight, comfort and grip.
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