Grip
The way a player holds a racket, club, bat, or ball, which governs the angle of the hitting surface and the shots available.
Definition
Grip is the hand position and hold on an implement or ball, and it is foundational because it sets the face angle and the range of strokes a player can produce. In tennis the continental, eastern, semi-western, and western grips each favour different shots and spins; in golf the interlocking, overlapping (Vardon), and ten-finger grips join the hands on the club; in cricket and baseball the grip on bat or ball shapes control, swing, and pitch movement.
Grip also refers to friction and hold more broadly — the tackiness of an overgrip, chalk on gymnastics apparatus, or a ball's seam grip. Changing grips between shots, as tennis players do mid-rally, is itself a skill. Because grip determines the face angle, small grip errors propagate into slices, hooks, and mishits, which is why coaching often starts here.
Meaning by sport
This term is used differently across sports:
- Tennis
- Named hand positions (continental, eastern, semi-western, western) that favour different strokes and spins.
- Golf
- How the hands join on the club — interlocking, overlapping (Vardon), or ten-finger.
- Cricket
- Hand position on bat or ball that shapes control and swing or seam movement.
Where you’ll hear “grip”
Sports that use this term:
Tennis
A singles or doubles racquet sport that blends agility, strategy and stamina on court.
Golf
A precision target sport played across an outdoor course, blending skill, strategy and a long walk in the open air.
Badminton
A fast indoor racquet sport played with a shuttlecock that rewards agility and touch.
Table Tennis
A fast, low-impact indoor racquet sport that sharpens reflexes and is easy to start.
Cricket
A bat-and-ball team sport where sides take turns to bat and to bowl and field, scoring runs.
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Equipment
- Golf gloveA thin leather or synthetic glove worn on the lead hand to steady the grip.
- Golf clubA shafted club with a specialised head used to strike the ball around a golf course.
- Table tennis batA small wooden blade covered with rubber used to hit the ball in table tennis.
- Cricket batA flat-fronted wooden bat used by batters to hit the ball in cricket, with a curved back that concentrates weight behind the hitting area.
- Baseball batA smooth, rounded club used by batters to hit the pitched ball in baseball and softball.
Skills
- PuttingThe skill of rolling the ball along the green so it drops into the hole.
- Aiming and alignmentThe skill of setting the body and the implement so the shot starts on the line you intend.
- Net playThe skill of controlling points close to the net with volleys and touch shots.
- RallyingThe skill of exchanging shots back and forth to build and win a point.
- DrivingThe skill of hitting a long tee shot that sets up the rest of the hole from a playable position.
Techniques
- Golf Full SwingThe complete rotational swing used for tee shots and longer approach shots, from setup through backswing to a balanced finish.
- Putting StrokeThe short, quiet stroke used on the green to start the ball rolling on a chosen line at a chosen pace.
- Spin in table tennisWhy table tennis is a spin sport before it is a speed sport — how topspin, backspin and sidespin change a ball's flight and its bounce off an opponent's bat.
- One-Handed BackhandA backhand groundstroke struck with a single hand on the grip, driving through the ball with a full extension of the hitting arm.
- Kicking in rugby unionThe kicks rugby union is played with — punt, grubber, box kick, up-and-under, drop kick and place kick — what each achieves and which law governs its use.
Decision making
Facilities
- Driving rangeA practice facility with hitting bays and an open landing area, used to repeat shots without playing a hole.
- Tennis court geometryEvery measurement on a tennis court and the rule that governs them all — court and service-box dimensions, line widths, the centre mark, and why measurements are taken to the outside of the lines.
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- Term
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
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- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
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