Talk:Grip (tennis)

1

Geez, someone should have the strength of character to change all the "continental"s and "Continental"s to Continental, or vice versa. Plus the Eastern and "Western"s, of course....

"With the racquet held so that the hitting surface is vertical to the ground"... I'm an absolute beginner at tennis, and I have to ask what "vertical to the ground" is supposed to mean. Wouldn't "parallel" or "perpendicular" be more appropriate?

It's a very badly worded sentence. But it's hard to describe. What is being said, I think, is that the racquet should be held so that the strings of the racquet are perpendicular to the ground, in other words, straight up and down rather than being in a plane as if it were lying on the ground. Hayford Peirce 19:54, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to change the one handed backhand information a bit. The current info is incorrect a bit. 03/06/07

A picture for 1000 words

Wouldn't a picture or two help this article out a great deal? At the moment the words are complex and the overall outcome lost for the sake of a couple of pictures. The article also doesn't mention the Hawaian - Trident13 13:24, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree. A picture is worth a thousand words. The article actually starts out very well, explaining the 8 sides of an octagon, although I think "perpendicular" is a word a lot of readers might not understand. But after that, the article gets very bad. For one thing, since a tennis racket/racquet has some symmetry, grips 1 through 4 seem the same as 5 through 8. So explaining the Western Grip as "5" would not make sense to any but those who know a lot about tennis, since it seems like a "simple" "1" grip. Pictures of the grips and how balls are hit using those grips would greatly add to this article... 173.168.177.217 (talk) 02:56, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

I agree - so why not Be Bold, find suitable pictures (whose copyright conforms to Wikipedia's standards), and include them!

As for the word perpendicular - it's a learning opportunity for readers unfamiliar with it. Trafford09 (talk) 09:37, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

Hope you guys like my bevel diagram Tavernsenses (talk) 07:12, 28 August 2014 (UTC)

I believe the bevel diagram is incorrect. The yellow bubbles should be reversed. For example, the forehand side for a right hander should be on the right-side of the handle. I'd fix it but I don't have access to the diagram. 73.197.191.137 (talk) 13:37, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

Significant omissions

From the lead para: "There are three primary grips, the Western, the Eastern, and the Continental." Yes, fine, but what are they? The word "Western", for example, doesn't appear at all after the lead. The explanations (preferably with pictures) need to be in this article, not just in external links. 81.158.0.109 (talk) 15:59, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Agreed (see prev. paragraphs). Does anyone have any suitable photos? Let me know, or just add them! PS: One can always join & help out at the project:tennis. Trafford09 (talk) 12:45, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

Vandalism in the Evolution of the Forehand section

Check the dates for the data on Bill Johnston.... Hayford Peirce (talk) 16:42, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

Well spotted, have corrected it to "first two decades of the 20th century". Statement still needs a reliable source.--Wolbo (talk) 18:53, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

Well, the second date (1860) is still wrong. It should be 1920s. I saw old-timers at the L.A. Tennis Club in the 1950s still using the Western, but they were leftovers. And basically, until Pancho Segura came along in the 1950s, Billy Johnston's forehand was generally considered the best one ever. From, oh, 1915 through 1950. Shouldn't be hard to document. Hayford Peirce (talk) 20:01, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

Second date now also corrected. Indeed seems to have been deliberate vandalism (edit was made end of December)--Wolbo (talk) 22:01, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

Comments on "The western backhand grip (Bevel #7)"

Here we can read that the western backhand grip "is basically equivalent to the western forehand grip" and "No need to change grips if the forehand is played with an eastern grip". Is this a typo or what? Shouldn't it say that the western backhand grip "is basically equivalent to the eastern forehand grip" instead? Which is why you wouldnt need to change grips...? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.226.202.179 (talk) 20:15, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Indeed, and the statement that "The same face of the racquet as in the forehand is used to strike the ball." is nonsense as well. The only player I know who ever played this way was Berasategui. This kind of statement puts the whole article in doubt. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.84.248.65 (talk) 11:01, 19 February 2015 (UTC)