| To hit different types of spin or even different shots you must use a variety of grips. Here are some of the most common grips and what they are used for. When you say where a grip is on your racket you say what bevel the base knuckle of your index finger is on. There is two pictures to help you locate your base knuckle and to identify and name the 8 bevels on the racket |
 |
 |
|
Eastern Forehand Grip |
 |
For this grip right-handers should place their base knuckle on the right bevel and left-handers should put their base knuckle on the felt bevel. This shot is good for beginners because it is easy to learn. It is also good for hitting balls flat or with a bit of topspin. It is easy to switch from an Eastern grip to other grips, but it is an inconsistent shot so it is bad for longer points. |
|
Semi-Western Forehand Grip |
| When using a Semi-Western grip people who are right-handed should put their base knuckle of their right hand on bevel two. People who are left-handed should put their base knuckle of their left hand on bevel three. This grip is better for hitting shots with topspin than an eastern grip. It is also good for being more aggressive when returning high shots. Unfortunately, the strike zone with this grip is to high to comfortably hit low balls. | 
 |
|
Western Forehand Grip |
 |
Both left and right-handed players should put the base knuckle of their dominant hand on the bottom of the racket. Having you hand down so far makes this a very extreme grip. This is a great grip for hitting balls with a lot of topspin. However it takes a lot of racket and wrist speed to hit a shot using this grip, so it is a very hard grip for beginners to use. It is also very hard to hit low balls with this grip. |
|
Eastern Backhand Grip |
| When using this grip both right and left handed players should put the base knuckle of their dominant on the top bevel. This is a good grip for hitting flat shots or shots with only a little spin. On the other hand it is hard to control your shot when hitting higher balls with topspin. | 
 |
|
Semi Western (also called Extreme Eastern) Grip |
 |
When using this grip right handed players should place their base knuckle on bevel four. Left handed players should place their pace knuckle on bevel one. This is a great grip to use for hitting strong shots with a lot of topspin, but it is an extreme grip and only more advanced players use it. Also, it is very hard to hit low shots using this grip. |