What Is the Proper Way to Hold a Tennis Racket?

There are many ways to hold a tennis racket; it depends on which stroke you are executing. The basic grips in tennis are the eastern forehand grip, eastern backhand grip, continental grip and the two-handed backhand grip. As players become more advanced, they evolved to more advanced grips--ones that allow players to hit with more power and spin. Knowing how to hold a tennis racket requires knowing the hand and racket handle reference points.

Instructions

    • 1

      Turn your hand over with the palm facing up. There are two key reference spots on the palm of your hand that are used to locate the different tennis grips. These are the base knuckle of your index finger and the heel of your hand.

    • 2

      Hold your racket on edge with the head of the racket pointing away from you. Look at the bottom of the handle. Notice that there are eight sides, or bevels, on the handle. For reference purposes, the bevel on top is referred to as bevel number one. Moving clockwise, the next bevel is number two and so on around the handle to bevel number eight.

    • 3

      Place the base knuckle of your index finger on bevel number one and the heel of your hand on bevel number one to hold the racket in an eastern backhand grip. This is the basic grip used for the one-handed backhand.

    • 4

      Hold the racket with the base knuckle of your index finger on bevel two and the heel of your hand on the edge between bevel two and three for the continental grip. This is the best grip to use for the serve; it allows a player to put spin on the ball.

    • 5

      Position the base knuckle of your index finger on bevel three and the heel of you hand on the edge between bevel three and four to hold the racket with an eastern forehand grip. Wrap your fingers around the handle with a space between the index finger and the middle finger, referred to as a modified "trigger finger." This is the basic forehand grip and sometimes referred to as the "shake hands" grip.

    • 6

      Take your right hand and position it on the racket handle for an eastern forehand grip. Take your left hand and position it in a counter position with the base knuckle of your left hand's index finger on bevel seven and the heel of the left hand on the edge between bevel six and seven. The left hand should be placed just above the right hand. This is a common grip used for a two-handed backhand.