Badminton Gripping Technique

This page teaches you the basic badminton gripping technique. Before you even enter the badminton court, are you holding your racquet correctly?

How to Hold a Badminton Racket

The correct way of holding a racquet is as simple as a FRIENDLY HANDSHAKE. Imagine the grip of the racquet as a hand approaching to shake your hand. Go ahead and hold the racquet as if you’re shaking someone’s hand.

Your thumb should be pressing comfortably against one of the wider surface of the racquet grip while the rest of your hand holds the racquet as if you’re shaking a person’s hand.

The way you hold your racket can affect the flexibility of your wrist.

In order to execute strong badminton strokes with high accuracy, your wrist needs to be flexible.

To achieve this, make sure you:

• Do not grip your racquet too tightly. This will make your wrist less flexible in rotating and flicking.
• Use ONLY your thumb, index, and middle finger to control the racket. Your last 2 fingers should rest comfortably on the badminton grip to balance the weight of the racquet. By doing this, it enables your wrist to be more flexible and move more freely.

Alright that’s just about the basics of holding the racquet.

Forehand Grip and Backhand Grip

Next thing you need to learn is the forehand and backhand grip.

Basically you’ll need to use the:

• Forehand grip to hit forehand shots.
• Backhand grip to hit backhand shots.

The forehand and backhand grip looks almost the same. There’s only one slight difference – the placement of your fingers. You’ll understand this when I explain more about these 2 badminton gripping technique below.

Forehand Badminton Gripping Technique

Your thumb does not necessarily have to press against the wider surface of the badminton grip for a forehand stroke.

Your index finger should be the one “in control” in a forehand stroke. This simply means using your index finger to push the racquet forward while doing a forehand stroke.

However, rest your thumb comfortably anywhere near the wider surface of the badminton grip to enable you to change to a backhand grip quickly.

Backhand Badminton Gripping Technique

The key to perform strong backhands depends on how you hold your racquet. The true power of a badminton backhand shot comes from the push of your thumb.

A backhand stroke requires you to USE YOUR THUMB. So you should now press your thumb on the wider surface of the badminton grip. Relax your index finger and move it closer to your middle finger.

The backhand grip will look like you’re doing a ‘thumbs up’.

Generating power with Finger Action…

Just remember, finger action plays an important role in generating strength for a badminton stroke.

• Push your index finger forward for forehand strokes.
• Push your thumb forward for backhand strokes.

Pro Players Switch Grips Quickly

You should learn to switch quickly from the forehand to backhand grip, and vice versa.This enables you to quickly prepare for your strokes and hit the shuttle at the highest point, hence delivering quality shots.

As you play badminton at a higher level, you’ll find yourself switching between these 2 grips WITHOUT EVEN THINKING!

Tip: The key is to NOT hold your racket too tightly. Relax your muscles and hold your racket gently. By doing this, you’ll find it much easier to switch between the 2 grips.

Nothing is easy at the start. Practice makes perfect!

If you’re serious about improving, you can practice switching your grips while you’re watching TV at home.

I remember doing this few years ago. Every time when my show goes into a commercial, I’ll stand up and hit a few quick drives; forehand and backhand. Sound silly but its really effective!

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