Photo Tour of Male Pro Forehand Grips

01

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Roger Federer's Forehand Grip

Roger Federer uses a forehand grip halfway between Eastern and Semi-Western that suits his preference for hitting less topspin than most of his more Western competitors. Roger's forehand is widely considered one of the best ever.

02

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Rafael Nadal's Forehand Grip

Rafael Nadal uses a 3/4 Western grip, halfway between Semi-Western and Western. Nadal can whip his racquet up the back of the ball to hit one of the heaviest topspin forehands on the ATP Tour, often kicking the ball high enough to force his opponent into a weak reply. One drawback to Rafa's heavy topspins has been their tendency to fall short, so he has also learned how to flatten his forehands out a bit and thereby get more pace and depth.

03

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Andy Roddick's Forehand Grip

Andy Roddick uses a grip that's roughly 5/6 Western, closer to full Western than Semi-Western. Roddick's forehand is his second-biggest weapon, after his serve.

04

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Fernando Gonzales's Forehand Grip

Fernando Gonzales hits one of the hardest forehands ever in tennis. His Semi-Western grip gives him an ideal combination of impact (for power) and topspin (to help bring his shot down into the court).

05

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Andy Murray's Forehand Grip

Andy Murray's great strengths, versatility, and defense are well served by his Semi-Western forehand grip, which is strong on high balls, tolerable on low ones, and comfortable for generating multiple degrees of topspin, from slight to heavy.

06

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Novak Djokovic's Forehand Grip

Novak Djokovic's forehand grip is roughly 2/3 Western, a little closer to Semi-Western than Western. Djokovic hits with excellent pace, and on his better days, his depth is so consistent, he gives opponents very few chances to attack.

07

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Robin Soderling's Forehand Grip

Robin Soderling takes a gigantic swing at his forehands, and the power he produces is equally huge. His Semi-Western forehand grip gives him plenty of impact and enough topspin to keep his ball in the court.

08

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Andre Agassi's Forehand Grip

Andre Agassi's Eastern forehand grip is well suited to his trademark skill, hitting on the rise, and his preference for hitting with less topspin than most of his peers. The Eastern forehand grip works better with balls intercepted low and early than the more Western grips. When Agassi would hit later and higher, he would sometimes shift his grip toward the Semi-Western.

09

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Fernando Verdasco's Forehand Grip

Fernando Verdasco's Semi-Western grip helps him hit very aggressive forehands even on high balls like the one in this photo.

10

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Jim Courier's Forehand Grip

Jim Courier uses a full Western grip to hit forehands with a higher power-to-spin ratio than most who hit Western. Courier's favorite forehand is the inside-out.

11

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Juan Martin Del Potro's Forehand Grip

Juan Martin Del Potro uses a Semi-Western grip to hit one of the most powerful forehands ever seen in tennis, and he typically gets outstanding depth as well.

12

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Pete Sampras's Forehand Grip

Pete Sampras's forehand, along with his serve, was key to his 14 Grand Slam singles titles. Sampras uses an Eastern forehand grip to hit quite hard and deep, with strong but not exceptionally heavy topspin.

13

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Nikolay Davydenko's Forehand Grip

Nikolay Davydenko is one of the smaller and lighter players to stay in the top ten for long. He uses a Semi-Western grip to hit an exceptionally accurate forehand with more pace than one might expect from a player his size.

14

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Alberto Berasategui's Forehand Grip

Alberto Berasategui made the "Hawaiian" forehand grip famous when he reached the 1994 French Open final, which he lost to Sergi Bruguera. No other Grand Slam finalist had ever used the Hawaiian grip, because it's too extreme for most players to even attempt. If you can manage it at all, it's only well suited for hitting very heavy topspin.