Gripping the bat

Hi Coach

My name is Kailash. recently my coach has been telling me to change my grip. I have been advised by him to fold my thumb and not place it on the rubber like all the players do. i have also seen that folding my thumb does not allow me to generate enough spin. But this folding has given me much control on my smashes. Also yesterday my coach said that my ability is that i generate lots of spin while i hot topspin and told me that if i could learn to channel it properly my game would improve by a great deal. He also said me to bend my wrist and told it would give me more control. bit i am totally uncomfortable with it. PLEASE ADVISE what to do. also tell me how i can learn to control my spin.

Hi Kailash,

Control is a key part of the game.  Start by slowing down your stroke and making sure you are performing the actual stroke correctly.  The start and finish positions are crucial here.

The thumb just needs to be comfortable on the bat.  It can move slightly between you backhand and forehand strokes but not too much as it will cut down your time.  I like to hold the end digit of my thumb on the wood for the forehand and slightly up on the rubber for the backhand.  The rest of the thumb doesn’t really move at all.