Start Using A Continental Forehand Grip, Now!

Рет қаралды 5,742

Ай бұрын

Players who learn with a continental grip develop more skills!
The continental grip allows you to hit a variety of shots, including forehand slices, volleys, drop shots, and serves, making it a versatile choice. If you can't control the racket head with a continental grip, it will be challenging to master advanced shots like volleys, slices, and serves. Additionally, a continental grip is essential for effective serves, especially slice and kick serves. Familiarity with this grip is essential for mastering the complex nature of a service motion. Players who can hit good slices usually excel at volleys and slice serves, demonstrating the interconnectedness of these skills. If you're comfortable with semi-western grips but struggle with the continental grip, it's crucial to practice and get used to it for overall improvement in your game. Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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Пікірлер: 70

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

Familiarize yourself with this grip and you'll master so many shots. Nomsayin?

@franksampson477 Ай бұрын

Rod Laver hit his forehand with a continental grip. He was pretty good.

@TomTom-em2xl 28 күн бұрын

Uncommon but great advice, bravo and thank you very much ! (it helps for the 2 hand BH too) And your old YT video Professional doubles drills, one of the best tennis tutorial video I Know, shows that very well 👍 I enjoy doing those games with my kids with the continental grip which gives feel to the player (and surprises to the opponent)

@kiesbett Ай бұрын

absolutely true! in the warm up mini tennis i always start my forehand with a continental grip, just for fun, with no spin, even with slice. later i switch to eastern, then semi western. i think one has to practice this! my son started tennis with a full western forehand grip! he has so many problems to hit a simple forehand without spin, struggling with feel and control, i told him to practice in front of the wall forehands with continental grip...

@miltonparker7241 Ай бұрын

I am amazed how my strokes have improved since using the continental grip. Thanks for the reinforcement.

@almostfancyconnoisseur8929 Ай бұрын

What an eye opener! the continental grip is indeed the cornerstone of tennis … we can’t do without it and that is how tennis should be taught with simplification! Respect 🫡

@semidav1 Ай бұрын

I have been teaching and coaching for over 50 years and you exactly correct! Bravo!

@semidav1 Ай бұрын

Your are …

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

Thanks!

@brettteeter3461 Ай бұрын

@@semidav1Um, “you are”…

@1985markush Ай бұрын

so true! many so called "coaches" cant bring the ball in play with continental. They can´t even ralley in the half court or teach their beginners how to do it, although it is fundamental.

@yakzivz1104 Ай бұрын

this is not good

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

Yep, and they can't feed

@kaialoha Ай бұрын

Tilden said You only need two grips: the driving grip - Eastern on both sides and the Continental aka Universal grip for EVERYTHING else. If you master the Con. you will eventually master every shot naturally with time. Yes even high balls!. Learn extreme topspin sure and then use it as required to counter topspin. There's plenty of time to change grips. Then there's the best reason: variety keeps an opponent unbalanced mentally and physically.

@sebastiandomagala9233 Ай бұрын

Continental on competitive forehand? Srsly? No way.

@PTP4747 Ай бұрын

i learned in the 80s (from vhs tapes!) and i use an eastern FH grip, but i always developed a slice forehand with a continental grip to "chip and charge" for short shots and for doubles. since i've been playing more, i've moved towards the semi-western FH grip to deal with my son's full western topspin shots (and all his friends hit the same way), but i've started to use the continental grip for returning big first serves since it allows me to chip from either side and it's been very effective. for second serves, i can go back to adjusting my grip to hit with more topspin, but the chip return has really been working for me and it throws the server off a little bit when the ball comes back so low.

@kkarx 22 күн бұрын

McEnroe and Connors used continental grip for their forehand their entire careers and they absolutely killed it with it.

@filippovecchiarelli1144 21 сағат бұрын

yeah. in the 80' :). u need to understand the continental grip, but u cannot use it on every shot in modern tennis, it is hard to hit with the usual high spinned balls u get playing

@kkarx 19 сағат бұрын

@@filippovecchiarelli1144 Maybe in pro tennis it is not as good as it used to be but for the rest of us which is 99,9...% who play tennis for fun at lower levels it won't make any significant difference.

@filippovecchiarelli1144 19 сағат бұрын

@@kkarx u need to learn how to use continetal grip, yet is not the best option for ur game, even at fun level. im a recreational player too, i used to learn tennis in my young age using continental/eastern. it helps with touch and feeling the ball, but is bad for ur elbow, shoulder and wrist.

@kkarx 18 сағат бұрын

@@filippovecchiarelli1144 In 90s I was taught semiwestern grip for forehand and continental for the rest of the shots. I ended up using grip right between semiwestern-eastern grip for forehand and between continental-eastern for the rest. Nevertheless I have a good time experimentïng playing with different grips.

@davidhall5364 Ай бұрын

Great advice as always Tom.

@JohnSchloss Ай бұрын

100% spot on

@julianpenfold1638 Ай бұрын

Years ago a coach I had made me learn to hit a forehand slice as good as my backhand slice. That was a good call and it has come in handy ever since. My feed is not great - not coach level - but it's better than it was and being able to feed the ball in reliably is also a handy skill.

@FirePistoI Ай бұрын

good advice for those starting out and looking to get some more variety in their game!

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

It's not just for players starting out

@mrperezmailperez3818 Ай бұрын

Whenever I am helping my tennis friend improve or practice their volleys at the net, I hit the ball back at them with a continental grip. This routine has also helped me develop good feel and faster reaction to incoming balls. This recommendation from Tom will change your game and you will see a significant improvement.

@jawsjawsjawsjaws Ай бұрын

Good point

@vanlendl1 Ай бұрын

Yes, it is a good idea for beginners, which have problems with modern topspin grips.

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

Not just for beginners

@Keroppikun Ай бұрын

This is refreshing to hear, the majority of coaches wouldn’t advise this. Most talented juniors are useless around the net with or without the conti - not forgetting the ability to hit a good rising ball using the same grip. And, most hard hitting baseline players can be nullified with a conti if practiced enough - takes good all-court coverage and fitness, mind you. And losing a little weight perhaps, Mr Tom?

@peachman5698 Ай бұрын

I agree.....You need to be able to kinda scoop ball back, or shovel it deep .....not to mention try hitting a drop shot with a western grip....This is tennis 101

@jaquevius Ай бұрын

I’m gonna exclusively use this grip today when I hit with my son. I’ve never tried to hit a baseline for hand with it, but every other stroke (serve, volley, overhead, 2hbh) I use it so why not try it?

@SuperCookla Ай бұрын

Passing into the wind😂

@operation2096 24 күн бұрын

The ball goes straight out for me due to hitting too flat on the forehand. I have a great slice serve and can volley and slice well generally.

@Dasato123 Ай бұрын

Everyone likes to talk about modern tennis grips. But aside from topspin forehand grips and deep eastern topspin backhand grips on the OHB. Todays Pros use the same grips to hit all the other strokes involved in playing tennis as Pros of the wood racket era, the Continental grip. One easy way to size up a opponent is to see what his Continental skills are during warm up. If he substitutes forehand or backhand grips on strokes where a Continental grip should be employed you know he’s not that good a player even if he displays a great topspin forehand.

@mon-vc4tu Ай бұрын

Im just a recreational player. My FH grip is Semi western but not to far from Semi eastern. I use full eastern when its a high ball with no momentum and decided to use a FH. Full Eastern to continental is usefull for high balls for me Imo

@mon-vc4tu Ай бұрын

My first grip was Semi eastern to full eastern. i think this helped me a lot. I adjusted to semi western ( not to far from semi eastern) to get more spin

@craigroyle860 Ай бұрын

Eastern all way like fed

@OfficialWorldChampion Ай бұрын

my slice is a lot better than my volleys and possibly better than my serve when compared to others’ slices/ serves, as a result of baselining

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

Players have better slices because they hit more than they do volleys. But if you can slice you have all the ingredients to volley.

@sebastiandomagala9233 Ай бұрын

The video title sounds a bit like switching technique. For someone who feeds balls the continental forehand might sound natural. But I am not sure if I can teach my 10 y.o. son this swing. Maybe I'll try, but not too intensely.

@akifm6160 Ай бұрын

This drill is excellent to learn and develop fast hands. Hit the slice but hit forehands at mini tennis. It’ll help you find you your preferred grip!!

@nicscherzinger4238 22 күн бұрын

So I am one of those people who uses a continental grip for everything, I have a lot of spin on my serves, I can volley well, I can slice forehand and back hand well. What I struggle with is I can’t get any topspin on my forehand!! Any suggestions?

@TomAllsopp 22 күн бұрын

@@nicscherzinger4238 it’s just swing path and racket angle 🤷🏻‍♂️

@GDP-hm5ey 11 күн бұрын

Angle racket more

@franksauerwald Ай бұрын

Interesting and unusal topic. Learned to play Tennis in the begining 1970ties with a wooden stick and a continental grip for each ball. Learned about an eastern/semiwestern forehand and an eastern backhand grip in 2002/2003 to better utilize topspin and it took minimum 2 years to adapt to it. Still today I am not sure if it was really a progress or at last worth time and money I spent to do so... 🤔. Not convinced that whole topspin hype is far better than the old school methods of playing for amateur / recreational players. Is it more fun? Not really... In my Tennis club we have a former Davis Cup player from Libanon in my age (around 60) who still uses an "iron continental grip" for each stroke. By far he ist the best player in his age group of my state in Germany and he can perform absolutely everything. But to be honest he is not only gifted in feel and performance of his strokes - he is also the best mover in his age I've ever seen.

@hrjohannesburg5478 Ай бұрын

Wat is that stencil, omega 🔥

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

It’s my TPA tennis logo

@GDP-hm5ey 11 күн бұрын

Ultimately people focus too much on all these different grips and techniques to generate spin. To be good at tennis you need to understand the fundamentals. Continental gives you great feel for the ball and the fact that some people can't/won't use it and then complain about not improving is comical.

@yakzivz1104 Ай бұрын

once you learn how to use the continental grip- it is the absolutely best grip for serves and overheads!!!!

@yili9725 Ай бұрын

no only that. I suspect MEP uses continental or eatern grip (or somewhere in between) for his forehand, he can easily beat most 4.0s. I noticed that his forehand is very strong, in the sense of placement control and topspin/underspin variety, but not speed. however his opponent needs to get used to it if his 4.0 opponents are so used to semiwestern topspin style, because they used to expect topspin but not an incoming underspin.

@luckyuliveHI Ай бұрын

This video is for beginners. That should be stated at the beginning. EVERY advanced player knows when/how/where to use a Continental grip.

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

This is false. Firstly, there's not just beginners and advanced players is there? I coach many 4.0 USTA players and high-level junior players who can't use continental. Also, I have college players who can't feed properly because they can't hit with this grip, and it's not a surprise to me that they don't have much feel.

@luckyuliveHI Ай бұрын

@@TomAllsopp 4.0 isn't advanced. D1 can't hit with C grip? How do they serve, volley, slice? Not sure which college players you're dealing with.

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

@@luckyuliveHI Exactly, 4.0 isn't beginner or advanced. The college players serve with continental. Good job missing every point

@luckyuliveHI Ай бұрын

@@TomAllsopp yea, agreed, i missed every point since you didn't make a valid one.

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

@luckyuliveHI sorry you weren’t able to understand. Try reading some of the comments. That should help.

@twinwankel Ай бұрын

The problem with the continental grip as a baseline grip is that it's nearly impossible to handle heavy topspin balls. It's probably OK to start with but rather quickly, when you play at more advanced level, you will just have too many unforced errors. I would suggest the Eastern grip first because its not that far from the continental and switching to a continental for volleys/slices/serves is not that foreign. Then if the player decides they need more spin, move to the semi-western.

@mayabergom Ай бұрын

Fair point...but I don't think he was saying you should use it all the time as your preferred grip for groundstrokes in matchplay? I think it was more about developing familiarity with the grip as a skill-building exercise. I don't know, I was more focused on the stencil

@KubiCash-pi5sy Ай бұрын

Iagree

@sarkology Ай бұрын

Slice may be my best shot and serve is my worst shot by far 😂

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

Send me your slice forehand video

@user-rl6vc8vp4b Ай бұрын

don't agree.. I like your videos generally but this time I disagree .. Continental FH grip? .. just for beginners or low level players .. Best regards!

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

You missed the point. I never said that

@user-rl6vc8vp4b Ай бұрын

@@TomAllsopp Thank you for your reply, Tom! .. But the title is misleading then .. and I get your idea but you can say just Continental grip, not FH continental grip .. as CG can be used for volleys, service, slice but to use it for FH is not relevant, for me, and as I understand, for you as well

@TomAllsopp Ай бұрын

@user-rl6vc8vp4b you should be able to hit a forehand with one. What about feeding a ball in with a continental grip. If you can’t do it you should figure it out