How to grip a badminton racket

It is very important to know how to grip the badminton racket correctly, when you first learn the basics of badminton. Holding the racket correctly, with the right technique paves the way for future growth in learning the various shots played in badminton.

There are 2 basic ways to hold a badminton racket, namely the Forehand Grip, and the Backhand Grip.
Luckily these 2 grips are not very different from each other, and only a slight adjustment of the thumb position is enough to change from a forehand to a backhand grip.

FOREHAND GRIP

To learn the correct grip, hold your badminton racket by the centre of the shaft with your non-playing hand, and then place the palm of your playing hand on the strings. Then start sliding your playing hand down till it makes contact with the handle.

When the heel of the palm touches the butt of the handle, gently and comfortably close the fingers around the handle and hold the grip as if you are shaking hands with the handle. This type of grip is is known as the Handshake or the Shakehand Grip.

There should be sufficient gap between the thumb and the middle finger, and also between the thumb and the index finger. When the racket is gripped in this way, you should be able to see the 'V' formation between the thumb and the index finger when the racket is held straight in front of you.

As in all racket sports, the racket should be held firmly in the hand, the grip should be neither too tight nor too loose. The racket should not move or wobble around in your palm when you are executing the strokes.
Also the racket should not be held higher up on the shaft, otherwise the handle will tend to hit the wrist while playing the shots, and make wrist shots difficult to execute.

BACKHAND GRIP

The backhand grip is similar to the one used in forehand except that while playing backhand strokes the thumb should move slightly upwards and rest firmly on the flat position of the handle. The thumb thus acts as a support while playing backhand shots helping to generate more power.

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