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 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.
- Tennis racquetA strung frame with a handle used to hit the ball in tennis.
- Baseball batA smooth, rounded club used by batters to hit the pitched ball in baseball and softball.
- Padel racketA solid, stringless perforated racket used to play padel.
Techniques
- 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.
- Topspin ForehandA forehand groundstroke hit with a low-to-high swing that puts forward spin on the ball so it dips and kicks up on landing.
- VolleyA shot played near the net by blocking the ball out of the air before it bounces, using a short, firm punch rather than a full swing.
- PlankA static core exercise that holds the body in a straight line supported on the forearms and toes.
Decision making
- Shot selectionChoosing which shot to play from the options available — weighing the situation, the risk and what you are trying to achieve.
- Adapting to conditionsAdjusting your decisions as the conditions around you change — weather, surface, equipment, fatigue or an opponent's style.
- Option recognitionSeeing what actions are actually available in a moment — the passes, shots or moves on offer — before choosing between them.
- Positioning choicesDeciding where to place yourself — often before the ball arrives — to cover space, stay ready to act and shape what an opponent can do.
Skills
- 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.
- ServingThe skill of putting the ball or shuttle into play to start a point or rally.
- Ball controlThe skill of receiving and settling the ball quickly so it is ready to use.
- ThrowingThe skill of propelling the ball accurately and with control using the arm.
Officiating
- UmpireA match official who rules on lines, serves and dismissals in racket, bat-and-ball and net sports such as tennis, cricket and baseball — and, in racket sports, also keeps the running score.
- Out-of-Bounds CallAn official's ruling that the ball or a player in possession has left the legal playing area, stopping play and handing a restart or possession to the opponent.
- Line JudgeA boundary-line official who calls whether the ball or player is in or out and flags foot faults, working under the head referee across many sports.
Playing surfaces
- ClayA soft, granular racquet-sport surface of crushed brick, stone or shale that slows the ball, gives a high bounce and lets players slide into shots.
- GrassNatural turf grown on soil — the traditional surface for many field sports and, in tennis, a fast court with a low, skiddy bounce.
- Hard courtA rigid acrylic, concrete or asphalt court that gives a true, consistent, medium-paced bounce — the standard multi-use outdoor surface.
- Synthetic trackAn all-weather rubberised athletics running surface — firm, springy and high-grip — giving sprinters and distance runners fast, consistent, predictable footing.
- GravelLoose crushed stone over a firm base — an unpaved middle ground between smooth road and rough trail, ridden and run for variable grip and steady pace.