Tennis Grip Guide: When to Change and Why

Grip is the single most fundamental technical choice in tennis. It changes what the racquet face does at contact, what spin is possible, and what shots are available. Understanding the grips — and knowing when to switch — makes every stroke easier.

The bevel system

Look at the butt cap of your racquet. It has eight sides, called bevels. Grip changes are described by which bevel the base knuckle of your index finger sits on. Bevel 1 is on top; the count goes clockwise for right-handers.

The main grips

Continental (bevel 2)

Used for serves, volleys, overheads, and slices. Racquet feels like a hammer.

Eastern forehand (bevel 3)

Used for forehands — traditional, flat-with-some-topspin. Excellent for beginners.

Semi-western forehand (bevel 4)

Used for modern topspin forehands. Most professional forehands live here.

Western forehand (bevel 5)

Extreme topspin. Rare, mostly seen in players who grew up on clay.

One-handed backhand (bevel 1)

Eastern backhand. Base knuckle on top of the handle.

Two-handed backhand

Bottom hand continental (bevel 2), top hand semi-western forehand (bevel 6 for a right-hander). Effectively a left-handed forehand with a right-handed brace.

When to change grips

Between forehand and backhand

The non-dominant hand does the work. As you turn your shoulders, the off-hand cradles the throat of the racquet and rotates it. Your dominant hand grip changes almost automatically as your fingers reset.

To continental for volleys / serve / slice

Everything at the net or above shoulder height goes to continental. Approaching the net? Switch on the way in.

Practice the change

Stand still. Hold the racquet in forehand grip. Toss it up two inches and catch it in backhand grip. Twenty reps. Do the same catching in continental. Do this daily for a week and grip changes become subconscious.

Common mistakes

• Forehand grip on volleys — the ball floats and sits up.
• Continental grip on modern forehand — no topspin, ball flies long.
• Grip changes with dominant hand only — always late.

The right grip does not make the shot for you, but the wrong grip makes it impossible. Get these right and the rest of tennis gets easier.