Grip strength

[gzhpcu]

Perhaps another myth in advanced tennis is that of grip strength increasing the speed of the ball off the racket. How tightly you grip the racket has no significant effect on the speed or accuracy of the ball hit at impact. This has been shown by many, Vic Braden, Elliott, etc. Keeping a "firm" grip is counterproductive on the serve and on the groundstrokes (restricts wrist movement) .

[johnyandell]

Agreed. Hold the racket just tight enugh that it doens't fly out of your hand!

[maverick1]

Agreed. Hold the racket just tight enugh that it doens't fly out of your hand!

DO you literally mean that? I do that(barely enough grip to prevent the racket from flying out) with serves. But I had always assumed I needed a tighter grip for a forehand.
If I keep my grip totally loose, won't the racket tilt on slightly off center hits and send the ball in the wrong direction? Or does the tilting happen after the ball leaves, and not have much effect on the trajectory?

[johnyandell]

Tight enough to control the racket face, which is looser than most people think.

[maverick1]

OK, thanks.
I think I am Ok, then. I hold it looser for serves than for a forehand.
Even my forehand grip is fairly loose. The reason I started to do that is because a tight grip hurts my arm on off-center hits.

[gzhpcu]

The ball is in contact with the racket for only about 3-5 milliseconds.

Racket tilting on off center shots? This occurs after the ball leaves the racket. Watch Roger Federer here:

Federer

[maahou]

Hi,

I don't understand how you can do a one hand backhand with a strong wrist and a poor grip strength.

I have a poor backhand and i try to keep a straight arm with the wrist not moving , i thought i had to keep my grip very firmly in order to control the swing.

I find it difficult to understand the role of the wrist, because the racket's head has to be lower than hand before contact , and nearly the same height at contact, that's why i try to have a strong grip.


Maahou, from France.

[gzhpcu]

Try gripping the racket primarily with the last three fingers of your hand. The strength in the wrist depends on the last three fingers. This allows your stroke to be more relaxed, yet the wrist firm.

For the serve, just the opposite. Grip primarily with your thumb and index finger. Because you want to be "wristy"...

[johnyandell]

Maahou. You are probably over exaggerating the low position of the racket face. It's not how low it starts, it's the path it travels on at contact.

[maahou]

Thank you for answers,

i actually used the index and the thumb for the backhand, and switching to the last three fingers really improved the shot with more comfort.

I think it's usefull for volleys too .

I also tried to adjust the racket ' height. I used to have the upper board of the racket at the hand level before contact .

Maahou.