Forehand

In tennis, except in the context of the phrase forehand volley, the term refers to a type of groundstroke—a stroke in which the ball has bounced before it is struck.

For a number of years the small, apparently frail 1920s player Bill Johnston was considered by many to have had the best forehand of all time, a stroke that he hit shoulder-high using a western grip.

Prominent exponents of the western grip include Sébastien Grosjean, Kei Nishikori, Nadia Petrova, Lleyton Hewitt, Sania Mirza, Robin Söderling, Samantha Stosur, Jack Sock, and Andrea Petkovic.

It's considered by some to be too extreme for tennis, as the optimal strike zone for this grip is very high up and is suitable only for pure spin hitting.

Indeed; flattening out a shot at that height is near impossible due to wrist constrictions, and so this grip is suited only for clay court specialists.

However, some players are able to take advantage of this grip's massive spin generation due to their defensive play style or height, which allow them to hit the strike zone often.

Currently, Iga Świątek employs the Hawaiian grip on the WTA tour, allowing her to generate levels of topspin comparable to Rafael Nadal on her forehand.

Many of the world's current players use this grip, such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Venus and Serena Williams, Ana Ivanović, Maria Sharapova, and countless other professional tennis players in today's modern game.

Although rarer on the professional tour as it makes hitting topspin somewhat difficult, there are some notable players who use the eastern grip to great effect.

WTA players who have utilised the eastern grip include Steffi Graf, Justine Henin, Anna Kournikova, Petra Kvitová, Angelique Kerber, and Lindsay Davenport.

The continental has the advantage of being used for all strokes: serves, volleys, forehands, and backhands, without having to be shifted in the player's hand, as is the case with all the other grips.

Fred Perry, the great English player of the 1930s and 1940s was notable for his snap forehand using the continental grip and taking the ball on the rise.

His frequent adversary and even greater player Jack Kramer has called it the single finest shot in the history of tennis.

Among current players Peng Shuai, Ayumi Morita, Yan Zi, and Aiko Nakamura employ two-handed forehands.

Roger Federer has been noted to have one of the greatest forehands in history, described as a "great liquid whip" by David Foster Wallace.