Now I've heard from some people I can get more out of my swing if I actually tighten my grip on impact. Does this actually hold true though because normally my clears and smashes seem to already have enough power behind them and I usually hit them with a pretty loose grip without really tightening on impact. But will I really see a drastic change if I do this? Thanks.
Probably not. If you're holding the racquet loosely and getting good power on your hits, then your grip is automatically tightening reflexively. In fact, if you then try to actively tighten your grip at contact, you'll likely upset the naturally optimized finger power resulting in poorer contacts.
I agree with stumblingfeet, you are probably already doing this without knowing it, especially if you say you hit with a loose grip, or else your racket would just fly off your hand when you hit .
I third the above. The only time you should pay attention to this is when you play at net. Net drops, deceptive lifts, and net kills are the main shots where you notice the tightening/ loosening of the grip for power or control.
i find after i while if my shots lack power (after say an hour of play) then tightening the grip helps... i think i get lazy sometimes, most people do it naturally anyway
for me my grip turns slippery after a while and i can't tighten properly. Then i have to use a towel to wipe my hand... if i do not tighten properly i might even pull my thumb down when hitting and injure it, especially when using wrist-smash... don't know why i have this problem
Take a wet towel and try to make a whip movement out of it. You will notice the natural relaxed-tightening on impact-relaxed states. This the same motion in badminton (the whip) and you will see a big difference if you do it, but thing is you're probably already doing it unconsciously!
FingerPower!!! If you learn to master finger power, you're able to tighten your fingers just before impact. That gives an advantage in your racket swing. Especially strokes at the net are executed with lower arm, wrist and finger power. You use finger power in all strokes, therefore it's important to have loose grip before making strokes. When BestOnCourt.com goes online, we will show how to teach children finger power, and how to use it in exercises. Best of luck CoachEngholm.
I tighten my grip naturally when the swing is 1/2 way going to its departure. I think it's just natural mechanics.. no? You need tighten to hold back your swinging racket otherwise it gets flung out