The Grip Guide: Continental, Eastern & Semi-Western Explained
Ask a coach why your shots aren't working and 'check your grip' is one of the first things they'll say. Grips sound technical, but the idea is simple: which flat edge of the handle your hand sits on changes everything about the shot you can hit. Here's the whole system, in plain English.
How grips are described (the bevel system)
A racquet handle is an octagon — eight flat sides called bevels. Grips are named by which bevel the base knuckle of your index finger (and the heel pad of your hand) rests on. You don't need to memorise numbers; you just need a feel for a few key grips and when to use them.
Continental — the all-purpose grip
Hold the racquet like you're about to hammer a nail: that's continental. It's the single most important grip to learn because it's used for the serve, volleys, overheads and slice.
It's not ideal for driving topspin groundstrokes, which is why it's rarely used for the modern forehand — but for everything at the net and above your head, it's essential.
Eastern forehand — the honest all-rounder
Rotate your hand slightly clockwise (for a righty) from continental until your palm sits behind the handle — the 'shake hands with the racquet' grip. The eastern forehand is versatile, produces a flat-to-topspin ball, and is a friendly, forgiving grip for beginners learning to drive the forehand.
Semi-Western — the modern forehand
Rotate a little further under the handle and you reach the semi-western — the grip most modern players use. It naturally lifts the racquet face into the ball for heavy topspin and handles high contact points beautifully, which is why it suits today's high-bouncing game.
The trade-off is that very low balls become trickier, but for most players the topspin and margin are well worth it.
Western — the extreme spin grip
Further still is the western grip, favoured by heavy-topspin clay-courters. It generates enormous spin but makes low balls and flat, fast surfaces genuinely awkward — a specialist choice, not a beginner one.
Backhand grips
A one-handed backhand uses an eastern backhand grip (hand rotated over the top of the handle). A two-handed backhand is essentially a continental grip with the dominant hand and an eastern forehand grip with the non-dominant hand stacked above it — which is part of why the two-hander feels natural to so many.
What to actually do
- Forehand: start with eastern or semi-western — both are beginner-friendly and modern.
- Serve, volley, slice, overhead: continental, always. Learn it early.
- Do NOT serve with your forehand grip — it's the number-one thing capping beginner serves.
- Changing grips between shots feels clumsy at first and becomes automatic with reps.
Grips and racquet choice go hand in hand. Find a frame that suits your game and budget.
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