Table Tennis - Types of Grips

Grip in table tennis is the way one player holds the racquet. There are three different styles of holding a bat and different player has either one or both styles of holding the racquet.

Penhold

This hold got its name, as it resembles holding a pen. Here the player’s middle, ring, little fingers are curled around the racquet. This style of holding the racquet is called Chinese penholding. Even though many players have this way of holding the racquet, their style of play is entirely different.

Another style of penhodling is the Japanese/ Korean style. In this style, the three fingers are across the back of the racquet. Players who have Chinese penholding style prefer round racquet head, whereas the one who have the Korean style, prefer square-shaped racquet head.

Usually, players who have a penholding style don’t use the other side of the racquet. But, in 1990s the Chinese developed a reverse penhold technique in which, the player uses the other side of the racquet as well.

Shakehand

As the name suggests, this type of grip resembles one shaking a hand. This hold is also called the Western grip as many players of Europe and America use this style of holding a racquet.

Shakehand grip looks easy and it is a very versatile style. So, it was started even in China and now, many top-level Chinese players also use this technique. Apparently, players feel this technique easier than penhold, as it gives a wide scope of play.

Seemiller

This grip is named after Danny Seemiller, as he was the one who used this technique. To have this kind of grip, one should place the thumb and index finger on either side of the racquet and the rest of the fingers should be placed at the bottom part.

This method is used to distract the opponent, as contrasting rubbers can be placed on both the sides of the blade. This technique gives great loops on the forehand side.