Forehand and Backhand Grip: The Foundation of Better Badminton

Most grip problems are invisible to the player who has them. You pick up a racket, hold it in whatever way feels natural, and carry that habit into every session you ever play. It works well enough until a serve starts sailing long, a backhand clear dies in the net, or the elbow starts complaining after an hour on court. At that point the usual reaction is to swing harder. The actual fix is usually grip.

There are two grips worth knowing: the forehand grip for overhead and forehand shots, and the backhand grip for backhand clears, drives, and net play. Switching between them takes less than a second when the change is automatic. Getting there starts with knowing what each grip looks like and how each one feels.

The forehand grip

Hold the racket out in front of you with the head away and the strings facing forward. Take your playing hand and offer it as if going in for a handshake with the top edge of the handle. The V formed by your thumb and the side of your index finger should rest on the top bevel of the handle, the narrow edge that faces upward. Wrap the remaining fingers loosely around the shaft. The index finger sits slightly higher than the others, spread a little away from them. This is sometimes called the trigger finger position, and it improves rotational control through the swing.

The grip should be relaxed between shots, then briefly firmer at the moment of contact. Holding tension throughout the rally is what drains the forearm. Think loose in transit, decisive at impact.

When you swing through an overhead shot, the power comes from forearm pronation and wrist rotation, not from a stiff-arm push. The forehand grip allows that rotation to happen naturally. A grip that locks the wrist, or that places the V on the wrong part of the handle, fights the movement and forces the shoulder to compensate.

The backhand grip

From the forehand position, rotate the racket so the flat of your thumb moves from its wrapped position onto the wider flat face of the handle directly behind the strings on the backhand side. Your thumb should now press against this face, roughly straight, acting as a brace rather than a wraparound finger.

This is a deliberate shift. Moving your thumb onto the flat face typically means rotating the racket about one bevel position in the hand. It is noticeable, not subtle. If you do the shift and nothing feels different, you probably have not gone far enough.

The thumb brace is what generates pace on backhand clears. Proper thumb placement allows an efficient push-through action and load transfer across the full kinetic chain of the shot. Without it, the backhand becomes a weak, wristy prod. With it, you can drive a clear into the back tramlines from a mid-court position.

Switching between grips

The change happens between shots, not during them. As you move to the shuttle, rotate the handle in the fingers of your non-playing hand while the racket head is still up. By the time you start your swing, the grip is already set.

Most beginners never make this change. They settle into a fixed position somewhere between forehand and backhand, use it for everything, and wonder why their backhand clears lack depth. The fixed position is not catastrophically wrong on most shots, but it puts a ceiling on backhand reliability and overhead power that only becomes obvious once you play against someone who does switch.

Common mistakes

The panhandle grip is the most obvious beginner error: holding the racket as if it were a frying pan, with the face of the head perpendicular to the floor and the V sitting on the side of the handle. This emerges naturally when someone picks up a racket the same way they would pick up a table-tennis bat. Overhead shots from this position rely on the shoulder rather than forearm rotation, and they are slow and easy to read.

Gripping too tightly is almost as common. Sustained tension locks the wrist, shortens the swing arc, and transfers vibration directly into the elbow. Players who develop soreness in the elbow or forearm after play often find that relaxing the grip between shots is a significant part of the fix.

Creeping fingers up onto the shaft reduce the leverage that the handle length provides. The butt cap of the racket should sit near the heel of your hand. If it is floating up into the palm, you are choking the grip and losing both reach and power.

Handle feel and overgrips

The grip technique only works as well as the handle lets it. A slick, worn handle prompts players to over-squeeze to stop the racket slipping, which reintroduces exactly the tension that causes fatigue and elbow strain. A fresh overgrip with some friction and absorbency keeps the hand relaxed without the racket shifting in flight.

Rackets come from the factory with a base grip, but most players wrap an overgrip on top. A single layer adds around 1 to 2mm to the handle diameter. For players with smaller hands, this can be the difference between a handle that rattles in the fingers and one that feels secure. For players who already find the handle bulky, a thin overgrip applied directly over the base layer gives better feedback without adding much bulk. The Yonex Super Grap, at £5.49 for a pack of three, is a common choice at club level: thin, tacky without being sticky, and available in a range of colours.

Browse the full Setra Sports grips range for overgrips suited to badminton play.

Related reading: HEAD Overgrip 6 Pack: Dry or Sticky? and 15x HEAD Badminton Tennis Racket Grip Tape - Non-Slip Sticky Handle Review