What kind of grip does federer use

Once a player gets the hang of it, they can begin to experiment with the western grips to see what works best for them. There has been some study of tennis injuries that have found what appears to be a correlation with the type of grip and likelihood of injury, such as the paper titled Wrist Injuries in Tennis Players: A Narrative Review.

Furthermore, the article seems to suggest that overuse and repetition may be the culprit, which the type of grip might amplify. Many players struggle with their backhand because it requires that you hit across your body, and historically it has been the weaker shot for most players.

When it comes to the backhand, there are two varieties: the two-handed and the one-handed, both of which are prevalent.

These days, the two-handed backhand is by far the most popular backhand across the sport. In effect, your dominant hand is using the continental grip, while your non-dominant hand is using the eastern grip. Despite the popularity of the two-handed backhand, the one-handed topspin backhand is still alive and well with players on the ATP and WTA Tour using it.

Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Richard Gasquet, and Grigor Dimitrov are a few tour veterans that are well-known for their one-handed backhand and up-and-comers like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov also make use of it. Often, players will begin by learning a two-handed backhand and then experiment with a one-handed backhand once their skill level and coordination allows them to make the transition.

Next, make sure the handle of the racquet runs roughly parallel to the rest of the knuckles, minus the thumb. Although we recommend you use the first bevel of the racquet as a starting point to position your hand for the one-handed backhand, you may want to experiment with rotating the grip a bit further.

Doing so will close the racquet face slightly and offer up a bit more topspin potential, but it can be tricky for players initially. When it comes to the serve, the continental grip unlocks various types of serves , including the flat, slice, and the topspin or kick serve. The grip, of course, works perfectly for the overhead too. At the same time, the open racquet face complements volleys, slice groundstrokes, and the drop shot.

Jump back to the continental grip section earlier in this guide for a refresher on how to form this grip. Ultimately, players and coaches should work together and be willing to experiment to find out what feels natural and performs best for their style of play.

Be wary of coaches or instructors who take a one-size-fits-all approach without considering the uniqueness of each player. Each player has a slightly different build, and those nuances are important to take into consideration. For proof, pros like Federer and Nadal teach us that players can have dramatically different grips and still find success. One of the factors that come into play with the different types of grips is how quickly you can change from one grip to another.

A player using the two-handed backhand should hold their forehand grip with their dominant hand but also hold the racquet handle with their non-dominant hand already on the correct bevel for their backhand. Doing so allows a player to release their forehand grip and rotate the racquet quickly to find the continental grip so they can execute their backhand without also having to change the position of their non-dominant hand.

The different grips players use on the pro tour is a hotly debated topic with many differing opinions. In our view, the reason fans come to different conclusions is twofold. Many players to ride the edge of a bevel with their knuckle, which puts them between grips and makes it harder to decipher. Second, players make small tweaks and adjustments to their grips on the fly without even thinking about it.

On the forehand wing, Federer uses a modification of the eastern grip, but rotated slightly further, not quite halfway toward the semi-western. The grip suits his all-court style of play very well. He also uses a one-handed backhand with an eastern grip.

Nadal has one of the most lethal forehands in the game, and his grip is often the topic of debate. Regardless, we think it suffices to say it falls somewhere between the two. For his two-handed backhand, Djokovic grips his dominant hand with a continental grip and his non-dominant hand with an eastern grip, which is typical of a two-handed backhand. Discussion Boards Join the conversation with other members of the community. There are several options for your forehand grip in tennis.

Roger Federer uses what is called an eastern grip while Nadal uses a semi-western grip. This comes down to personal preference but most recreational players who have good forehands use an eastern to semi-western grip.

This used to be the most common tennis forehand grip. Roger Federer and several other pro tennis players still use the eastern forehand grip. It allows for a good combination of power and spin on your forehand. To try the eastern grip, lay your dominant hand out with your palm facing up. Then, lay the racquet in your hand with the strings facing up.

Your palm should be on the side of the grip when you are in ready position — strings facing to the side. The Semi-Western grip is the most common forehand grip in tennis. Andy Murry and Rafael Nadal have some of the best semi-western forehands on the pro tennis tour. The full western grip is a difficult grip to use for recreational tennis players. Although it is used by some pros, you need to play a lot of tennis to use this grip because it requires excellent timing and precision.

This grip will provide the most spin of any grip in tennis. To grip the racquet with a full western grip, hold the racquet with your left hand at the neck of the racquet with your strings facing down.

Roger can also vary how quickly he turns his hand over and the length of his extension allowing him to create a wide array of angles and spins, from crosscourt passes to precise topspin lobs.

Because of his eastern forehand grip, he is able to do this while still hitting taking the ball early well inside the baseline. Combining the modern and classical components of tennis technique gives him a variety of options which is unrivalled on tour. The Federer forehand is a shot that has defined tennis for the last decade. Unlike some professional ATP players the Federer forehand is a great shot to try and imitate because it's so technically sound that very little can go wrong. He utilises simple mechanics and a traditional grip which gives players the flexibility to handle a range of spins and trajectories compares to the more extreme and modern type grips.

Federer's forehand also allows a player to impart their own spin on the ball whilst still hitting through the ball to generate depth and pace meaning it's an ideal shot for players of all levels and all abilities. Of course, Jonathan has kept it non-technical to cover a broader audience.

But, patience and perseverance will pay off eventually. Federer Forehand Overview If you've ever watched Federer live or on TV then you'll no doubt have noticed how effortless he makes the game look but he's only able to achieve that due to the way he executes the shot from start to finish which is actually quite complicated. Federer uses an Eastern Forehand Grip Federer uses a slightly modified eastern grip, it lies somewhere between the traditional eastern forehand grip and the standard semi-western grip.

Vast amount of torso and shoulder rotation Without body rotation the Federer forehand wouldn't be anywhere near the weapon it is today, he uses his full core strength to generate the high level of racquet head speed that translates through to the pace of the ball. Contact Point When you play aggressively like Federer it's important you give yourself enough room to hit the ball freely and make contact with it as far out in front of you as possible.

Windshield Wiper Finish A classical eastern grip combined with a windshield wiper style finish is a rare combination and it's not often a player can fuse traditional and modern yet still be hugely successful.

Conclusions on the Federer Forehand The Federer forehand is a shot that has defined tennis for the last decade. Should you try and copy the Federer Forehand?