Semi-Western Grip

The semi-western grip is one of three primary tennis grips used to hold a tennis racquet when hitting a forehand. While there is no perfect grip, the semi-western grip has become one of the most popular forehand grips in tennis.

It wasn’t all that long ago when the continental tennis grip was the primary grip used by tennis players for all strokes.

At the time, the continental grip was convenient. However, as racquet and ball technology evolved and the sport became more competitive, the use of the continental forehand grip quickly became a thing of the past.

Through the evolution and increased competitiveness of the game, the semi-western grip was born, allowing players to hit highly aggressive shots with a significantly higher margin for error.

Now, years later, the semi-western grip has become one of the most popular tennis grips, and professional tennis players around the world use it.

The handle of a racquet isn’t a perfect cylinder or smooth around the edge of the handle. Instead, the handle of a tennis racquet forms roughly the shape of an octagon, with eight sides. This design allows players to grip the racquet better and prevent it from slipping while hitting, but it also provides a great reference point when learning various grips.

To form the semi-western grip, we place the palm side of our index finger’s knuckle against the fourth bevel if you’re right-handed, or the sixth bevel if you are left-handed.

For many beginners, the semi-western tennis grip might feel awkward at first. That’s fairly natural. However, the less extreme eastern grip may feel more comfortable to start with depending on the player.

Generally, most players will be taught one grip – either the eastern or semi-western – and then slowly progress to a grip that suits them and feels comfortable.

The primary benefit of the semi-western grip is a player’s ability to generate topspin. With the continental grip, the face of the racquet was rather neutral – that is, if you held the racquet out in front of you, the frame would line up perpendicular to the ground.

However, with a semi-western grip, the angle of the racquet face is closed or pointing toward the ground. As a result, when you swing and come in contact with the ball, you can easily brush up and over the top of a tennis ball to produce topspin.

Players using a semi-western grip can hit the ball higher over the net and ensure the ball drops back into the court due to the topspin generated. Ultimately, this allows players to hit much more aggressively and with a higher margin for error.

While the semi-western grip is an extremely common grip for tennis players, there are two potential drawbacks to using it.

First, it can sometimes be challenging for players to transition quickly from a forehand to a volley. For example, if you were to step into the court to hit a forehand approach shot, and then continue forward to hit a volley, you’d need to quickly rotate the racquet handle in your hand as you performed a split step and moved forward.

For most players, this may come as a challenge early on. However, through practice, it’s a relatively easy drawback to overcome.

In addition, it can be challenging for players to hit an extremely low ball that’s only a few inches from the ground, because the semi-western grip forces a player to hit under and over the ball to generate topspin.

Again, over time, this typically becomes less of a concern as most players will feel comfortable hitting a low ball or simply adjusting their grip for that particular shot.