The Importance of the Continental Grip

September 30, 2014 | By Juan Oscar Rios
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I grew up playing tennis in the early 1970s where everyone played with wooden racquets and the majority of good players played with a Continental Grip. I was taught the Continental Grip for every stroke, including the forehand. World class champions who that use the Continental Grip include Ilie Nastase, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. It is interesting that one can hit every shot in tennis effectively with the Continental Grip, but this would be very difficult to do with a Western or Semi-Western grip. I believe that every tennis player should start with the Continental Grip. This is a powerful statement by which I am sure to receive a lot of criticism.

In the mid-1970s, Jimmy Connors came to the scene with a metal racquet, the T2000 and shortly after, came the head master. This was the beginning of a new era in pro tennis. As tennis racquets and strings changed according to advances in technology, it gave the player more power and spin making the game faster.

Why are the teachers today not teaching this essential technique? The reason why teaching pros stopped teaching the Continental Grip was because of the rebirth of the forehand. The forehand became the most important shot in tennis. The game of tennis started to change when a boy named Jimmy Arias burst onto the scene at the age of 14, beating men and winning men’s open tournaments with his amazing forehand which he could hit from anywhere on the court. In my opinion, it is the biggest forehand the game has ever seen using an Eastern Grip. Arias used a Continental Grip for every other stroke. From that moment, on teachers began teaching the forehand first before the other strokes.

I believe that the first grip to teach a kid at an early age is the Continental Grip. Every stroke, with the exception of the forehand, should be hit with the Continental Grip. Backhand, F&B slice, volleys, overhead, serve, drop shots and lobs should all be hit with the Continental Grip. It is a lot easier to change from the Continental Grip, to Semi-Western or Western for one stroke than it is to change from the Semi-Western or Western Grip to all the other eight strokes!

The serve is the second most important shot in tennis; if it is not taught at an early age with the correct grip (Continental Grip), the student will have many problems with their game.

Another thing I have seen in my 30 years of teaching is highly-ranked juniors with tremendous deficiencies in their net game. This is because they are taught the forehand first, and when it is time to volley, they cannot adapt to the Continental Grip, and thus never have good enough volleys to compete at a high level. In 2002, I hosted a clinic at a resort with Billie Jean King, and the first thing she said was “The importance of learning the volleys first.” I believe that if the student learns the Continental Grip first, then a transition to the forehand will be a lot easier than going from the Western Grip to the Continental Grip.

Teaching the Continental Grip first will produce more complete players in the game and maybe we can bring another Grand Slam champion back to our country!


Juan Oscar Rios
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