Okay. Hashim now starts to talk shop. As expected he starts where the base of many problems stem from – the grip. After all, if you are not holding the racquet correctly, how can you expect to hit correctly? When starting to learn the sport, it is important to take lessons straight away. It is a lot more difficult to establish the correct grip and technique if you have been playing for some length of time and have developed bad habits. I have coached many people who not only hold the racquet incorrectly but have insisted they do not want to change. It’s too uncomfortable and awkward. I know it isn’t easy – nothing is when learning this sport! Holding a racquet the wrong way will affect your power, your accuracy and consistency, your length... the list goes on. I can’t force anyone to do anything, but these people are limiting themselves on how far they can take their squash game.
I am often asked if pros actually change the grip during a match. Although it is preached that changing the grip is a sin, pros do actually change the way they hold the racquet in certain situations – but not the form. They may shorten the grip (hold the racquet higher up the handle) if they find themselves deep in the back corner and have little room to swing the racquet, or open up the grip (open up the racquet face more) in order to get more slice / cut on the ball. This happens naturally with the pros and takes much experience to master. For now, I recommend you stick to the basics. Get the grip right. Go from there.
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