Grip -- relaxed vs. firm

A couple years ago I would occasionally experiment with holding the paddle with only my index finger and thumb, and let the other three fingers go free. I became convinced that, for instance, my backhand drives felt more confident when my thumb was pressing a little firmly against the rubber.

I was told six months ago by my coach that my shakehands grip was borderline too relaxed.

I've been using my recently-purchased robot a lot. Much of the time is spent trying to learn to loop against backspin and topspin -- I notice that mostly without thinking about it, my grip has been even more relaxed, at least during the practice sessions.

In league play and other games recently, I notice I sometimes lack "touch" or "feel." It can be so bad that when I try to do a very basic topspin serve, I'm actually not sure if the ball is going to clear the net. This feeling has happened to me before.

During a recent league night, my warmup was against somebody who apparently loved to "dink" the ball around. It was frustrating. I spent most of the following matches trying to concentrate on getting a firm grip with the thumb and forefinger, and I think it did help me as the night went on. I really prefer warming up against someone who uses topspin and puts a little force on the ball.

Some of the above may seem contradictory, but I think that's partly why I'm making this post, hoping somebody can provide insight. (I have now arranged with someone to be a league warmup partner.)

IMHO:
relaxed grip is best. (relaxed does NOT mean floppy)
Also no fixed grip is best.
This is because:
you will be less likely to get stress injuries like tennis elbow.
You will be more flexible in your shot making and thinking.
You can implement this by holding the racket very loose between shots in practice (in matches DONT think about yr grip). It may be at the contact moment you would grip a little more firmly but thats all.
Your problem might be if you are shakehands that from what you say you grip with thumb and forefinger. That sounds a bit tight
Ideally the spare three free fingers should wrap the handle lightly: This enables you to relax thumb and press lightly with forefinger on fh, and relax forefinger and press thumb on bh.
I am always reluctant to suggest to my pupils a precise grip. In your case however,even though the handle of the racket may be loose, in effect you may have a constant too tight pressure with thumb and finger. as a general guide somebody should be able to remove the racket from your hand with minimum effort.

Regarding warmup before matches: It is irritating to warmup with people who dont naturally do bh to bh and fh to fh to a rhythm. I always specifically ask my partners to do this and I make sure I return the favour. However This one occurrence shouldn't give you a longterm grip problem

louison12 wrote: Thanks very much. I could wonder how many experienced players subtly or otherwise alter their grips between, say, counterdriving and doing a spinny loop?�I suspect that adding looping to my repertory of shots might make the topic of the ideal-for-me grip more complicated -- up until now I've tried to keep�the exact same grip for everything. In the looping practice my grip becomes very relaxed. For now the practice is mostly FH and the paddle almost feels like it's close to "floating" inside the enclosing hand instead of any specific fingers pressing on it.�And I notice that during this practice the grip changes slightly, the tip of my forefinger starts to ride around the "edge" of the paddle. I don't know if this level of relaxation or the shifting finger are things I should avoid. I am getting good consistency in the looping practice. During practice I'm going to make sure and do some alternating between spinny loops and some kind of "drive" shot with much less spin, to help ensure my grip works for all. � �

Top players are constantly changing their grip from service to fh to bh.
The shifting finger is nothing to worry about. Its going to help you develop confidence and subtle touch in yr shots better than a stiff robotic grip would.
My attitude is that I will change my grip as muchas i like at any time in the rally in order to adapt.
I dont mean you would see me hold it all sorts of wierd ways, just that i am uninhibited about holding the racket so that I hit the part of the ball i want in any situation.
Suggest you have half hour a week just looping, lobbing counterdriving with sidespin, chopping , etc exploring all the diff ways you can hit the ball.