I started semi-western, struggled with timing so I moved to eastern and learnt to hit very flat a la del potro. After a hand injury I went back briefly to semi western but again I had some time issues. Now I use a modified eastern with my index based knuckle very close to the apex between the Eastern and semi western bevels, slightly in the eastern side. I believe this was predominantly what Federer used to enable him to generate more topspin and handle higher balls. A lot of the players I play are older club players who hit flatter with less topspin, grips closer to continental than semi-western so this is a good grip. Allows me to deal with their low balls and making mine kick up enough to be awkward. But then you also have the option to hit much flatter and harder for a pacey winner. But I learnt something last few days that seems to have been a game changer. I learnt about the impact of playing with consideration for your dominant eye. My backhand hand has always been better than my forehand and now it makes sense. I'm right eye dominant and on my backhand that means my dominant eye is more to the court. On my forehand, when I had lessons I was told turn more turn more turn more over and over till I was closing my stance and that is when my timing issues started, because I was turning my dominant eye away from the court and relying on my non dominant eye, which is less accurate. Now I always try to hit open stance with less hip and shoulder rotation. This has made a big improvement overall.
Thanks for sharing your valued experience! I understand the dominant eye concept as well, as I certainly see the ball better on my backhand side! Keep up the great practice and keep me updated on your progress. Best, John
Nice straightforward breakdown. I’ve played a strong sw grip for thirty+ years and need to bite the bullet to edge back to slightly eastern. Just have to summon up the bravery …lol.
Thanks for the feedback....you can do it! I hope you find other content here on the channel helpful in your tennis journey. Please keep me updated on your progress with the forehand. Best, John
Great job on the video Coach, I use an Eastern grip and on some shots I hit in between an Eastern, and Semi Western grip! I grew up playing tennis in the 80s so my guys were Krickstein, Agassi, Mac, and Connors, Ivan, Chang! So my style of play is from that era, which I like because I love hitting with people that hit with a lot of topspin, because I am only 57 the ball sets up perfectly for flat shots. Thank you Coach!
I asked a few coaches whether it’s a good idea to change between various forehand grips depending on the incoming ball. All of them said it was not recommended and I should stick to one prefered drive forehand grip because it would mess up my game, adding one more major variable. I play with eastern grip which feels the most natural to me. But I struggle with the high balls, both behind the baseline and inside in the attacking positions. I have an explanation for that - I spent much of my teenage years playing with worn out balls against the wall, even with a friend, as we couldn’t afford to pay for courts. And the wall is never going to give you a high ball, unless you do some specific drills, which we didn’t do. So even now, when I play on real courts regularly, I am super comfortable with low, medium paced balls, but those slow high mid court balls and also deep high balls are killing me. I will probably try to adjust my grip for semi western for those shots and see if I can make it work. But I wonder if any of your viewers have some experience with switching fh grips within the rallies. Please share your view and thoughts if you do.
Hi Patrik, This is a great question! The short answer is yes, I do believe you can make subtle adjustments in your forehand grip, but it does take years of practice and experience to perform in match play. Regarding the high contact point, I encourage you to set-up with a semi-open or open stance, which makes rotating the shoulders and clearing the torso much more comfortable for the high contacts. Let me know how this works for you. Best, John
@@PerformancePlusTennis Thank you for your advice, I will try to hit the high balls with more opened stance. Another thing I realised with high balls is the different distance between the body and the ball. It’s very important to set up further to the left of the ball (as a right hander) because the arm is “longer” when hitting high ball, compared to low or medium height. I am so not used to it, that I get jammed regularly, but I am working on it.
I very briefly experimented with full western but I found it to be very weak. Maybe it works well on clay with the high kick but I can't imagine hitting winners off it, even on clay. It obviously works well for Swiatek, but Gauff I believe uses it and her forehand sucks. Kyrgios I have heard doesn't use a full western, that he is somewhere between semi and western. Also when I used it I felt a lot of tension in my small muscles, mostly wrist and elbow and I can imagine prolonged use is going to cause injury. Only player I know to really find any success with it, other than Swiatek, is Sock, and his success is mostly as a doubles player where pace is less important and my understanding of this is that Sock forces a weak shot that can either be volleyed away or rocketed by his team mate
Hi! I have played tennis for about 20 years. Im now 30 years old. I play twice a week normaly, so i have played alot. I’ve used western grip all time. Last weeks i have changed to semi-western grip. Do you think its ”to late” for me to change? Or should I keep going? It feels good when I the hit the ball, but my musclememory says it feels wrong in my new grip. Best regards
Thanks for your feedback and questions. I think it’s a good choice to switch, as you see very few people playing with the western grip in later years. so if you’re planning to play when you’re in your 50s 60s and beyond, now is the time to make the adjustment. Best regards, John
Hi John, Especially considering rec players usually hit short or in the net it makes sense for them to switch to eastern from more extreme grips, right? They’re maybe simply not good enough to use extreme grips effectively.
Excellent point. In my experience it is best for students to learn how to square-up on on the ball through contact, and truly hit through the ball. Then focus on spin that is a natural product of more extreme grips. Thanks for your contribution to the video! Best, John
Thanks for the great question. The height and age of the player is a consideration. Young players can play with SW or even Western, which I would not recommend for adults playing recreational tennis. There is no pathway to competitive senior tennis with a SW or Western grip. Best, John
I want to know why in the other older video about the forehand that was 2 years ago you suggest more to play with a semi western grip and in this video that is 1 month ago with an eastern!¡ Why is that change?¿
why most pro players are choosing the semi western grip for today's game?? in my opinion is because gives you more top spin than the eastern!! what about you?? for what other things that grip is most use on the pro tour at today's game??
Balls are bouncing (spinning) higher than ever with the strings and racquet head speed. The SW is very comfortable for high contacts. Also SW is a natural compliment to the core rotation in the modern forehand. Best, John
This is such a well-explained video! Thanks a lot!
Thank you! I hope you benefit from all the content here on the channel! Best, John
I started semi-western, struggled with timing so I moved to eastern and learnt to hit very flat a la del potro. After a hand injury I went back briefly to semi western but again I had some time issues. Now I use a modified eastern with my index based knuckle very close to the apex between the Eastern and semi western bevels, slightly in the eastern side. I believe this was predominantly what Federer used to enable him to generate more topspin and handle higher balls. A lot of the players I play are older club players who hit flatter with less topspin, grips closer to continental than semi-western so this is a good grip. Allows me to deal with their low balls and making mine kick up enough to be awkward. But then you also have the option to hit much flatter and harder for a pacey winner. But I learnt something last few days that seems to have been a game changer. I learnt about the impact of playing with consideration for your dominant eye. My backhand hand has always been better than my forehand and now it makes sense. I'm right eye dominant and on my backhand that means my dominant eye is more to the court. On my forehand, when I had lessons I was told turn more turn more turn more over and over till I was closing my stance and that is when my timing issues started, because I was turning my dominant eye away from the court and relying on my non dominant eye, which is less accurate. Now I always try to hit open stance with less hip and shoulder rotation. This has made a big improvement overall.
Thanks for sharing your valued experience! I understand the dominant eye concept as well, as I certainly see the ball better on my backhand side! Keep up the great practice and keep me updated on your progress. Best, John
Nice straightforward breakdown. I’ve played a strong sw grip for thirty+ years and need to bite the bullet to edge back to slightly eastern. Just have to summon up the bravery …lol.
Thanks for the feedback....you can do it! I hope you find other content here on the channel helpful in your tennis journey. Please keep me updated on your progress with the forehand. Best, John
Great job on the video Coach, I use an Eastern grip and on some shots I hit in between an Eastern, and Semi Western grip! I grew up playing tennis in the 80s so my guys were Krickstein, Agassi, Mac, and Connors, Ivan, Chang! So my style of play is from that era, which I like because I love hitting with people that hit with a lot of topspin, because I am only 57 the ball sets up perfectly for flat shots. Thank you Coach!
Hi Shaun, Thanks for your comments, experience and contribution to the video! I think you and I are from the same school of thought! 🙂Best, John
@@PerformancePlusTennis I appreciate all your hard work on your channel and teaching Coach!
Thanks Shaun! @@ShaunSweeney71
I asked a few coaches whether it’s a good idea to change between various forehand grips depending on the incoming ball. All of them said it was not recommended and I should stick to one prefered drive forehand grip because it would mess up my game, adding one more major variable.
I play with eastern grip which feels the most natural to me. But I struggle with the high balls, both behind the baseline and inside in the attacking positions. I have an explanation for that - I spent much of my teenage years playing with worn out balls against the wall, even with a friend, as we couldn’t afford to pay for courts. And the wall is never going to give you a high ball, unless you do some specific drills, which we didn’t do. So even now, when I play on real courts regularly, I am super comfortable with low, medium paced balls, but those slow high mid court balls and also deep high balls are killing me. I will probably try to adjust my grip for semi western for those shots and see if I can make it work. But I wonder if any of your viewers have some experience with switching fh grips within the rallies. Please share your view and thoughts if you do.
Hi Patrik, This is a great question! The short answer is yes, I do believe you can make subtle adjustments in your forehand grip, but it does take years of practice and experience to perform in match play. Regarding the high contact point, I encourage you to set-up with a semi-open or open stance, which makes rotating the shoulders and clearing the torso much more comfortable for the high contacts. Let me know how this works for you. Best, John
@@PerformancePlusTennis Thank you for your advice, I will try to hit the high balls with more opened stance. Another thing I realised with high balls is the different distance between the body and the ball. It’s very important to set up further to the left of the ball (as a right hander) because the arm is “longer” when hitting high ball, compared to low or medium height. I am so not used to it, that I get jammed regularly, but I am working on it.
Hi Patrik, You are absolutely right. I will produce a video on this very soon! Kindly, John@@patrikmarflak6559
I very briefly experimented with full western but I found it to be very weak. Maybe it works well on clay with the high kick but I can't imagine hitting winners off it, even on clay. It obviously works well for Swiatek, but Gauff I believe uses it and her forehand sucks. Kyrgios I have heard doesn't use a full western, that he is somewhere between semi and western. Also when I used it I felt a lot of tension in my small muscles, mostly wrist and elbow and I can imagine prolonged use is going to cause injury. Only player I know to really find any success with it, other than Swiatek, is Sock, and his success is mostly as a doubles player where pace is less important and my understanding of this is that Sock forces a weak shot that can either be volleyed away or rocketed by his team mate
Hi Paul, Thanks for your feedback and contribution to the video. Bottom line: stay away from the Western Grip! Best, John
Hi! I have played tennis for about 20 years. Im now 30 years old. I play twice a week normaly, so i have played alot. I’ve used western grip all time. Last weeks i have changed to semi-western grip. Do you think its ”to late” for me to change? Or should I keep going? It feels good when I the hit the ball, but my musclememory says it feels wrong in my new grip.
Best regards
Thanks for your feedback and questions. I think it’s a good choice to switch, as you see very few people playing with the western grip in later years. so if you’re planning to play when you’re in your 50s 60s and beyond, now is the time to make the adjustment. Best regards, John
Hi John,
Especially considering rec players usually hit short or in the net it makes sense for them to switch to eastern from more extreme grips, right? They’re maybe simply not good enough to use extreme grips effectively.
Excellent point. In my experience it is best for students to learn how to square-up on on the ball through contact, and truly hit through the ball. Then focus on spin that is a natural product of more extreme grips. Thanks for your contribution to the video! Best, John
so the eastern is the grip that you recommend more than the other grips for anyone!! dosent matter the heigh weight of the player??
Thanks for the great question. The height and age of the player is a consideration. Young players can play with SW or even Western, which I would not recommend for adults playing recreational tennis. There is no pathway to competitive senior tennis with a SW or Western grip. Best, John
As a pro coach thank you thank you thank you EASTERN all day kid,,,, Thank you
Thank you so much for the great feedback! Kindly, John
I want to know why in the other older video about the forehand that was 2 years ago you suggest more to play with a semi western grip and in this video that is 1 month ago with an eastern!¡ Why is that change?¿
But the answer
why most pro players are choosing the semi western grip for today's game?? in my opinion is because gives you more top spin than the eastern!! what about you?? for what other things that grip is most use on the pro tour at today's game??
Balls are bouncing (spinning) higher than ever with the strings and racquet head speed. The SW is very comfortable for high contacts. Also SW is a natural compliment to the core rotation in the modern forehand. Best, John
@@PerformancePlusTennisnow that dosen't mean that the eastern is not gonna be use and that some pro players are using it at today's game
The eastern forehand grip will always be used by some pros due to its versatility. @@sebastiansantos5561
Great to meet you John! Was at BBD live with you!
Hi Jenny, Great to meet you as well! Please contact me through this link, and let's stay in touch! Kindly, John performanceplustennis.com/contact-us/
strong eastern/soft semi-western is the best in my opinion
👍 *Promosm*