TECH Talk: Taylor Fritz’s game-winning forehand
The top-ranked American uses a unique—and rather extreme—forehand grip that makes all the difference.
WATCH: Taylor Fritz kicked off the latest season of My Tennis Life
After winning the Junior US Open in 2015, Taylor Fritz made his way to the big leagues and has dominated ever since. Reaching a career-high world No. 5 singles ranking this year was a confidence-boosting achievement, in addition to being the top-ranked American on the ATP Tour for a long while.
During his early seasons on tour, teenage Fritz was still very much developing his game, figuring out his strengths and improving his weaknesses. Currently in his eighth pro-season, Fritz’s strengths are becoming very evident.
When his serve is on, he is next to unstoppable—but it’s his forehand that truly holds down the fort.
The Shot
I know we’ve covered some extreme grips so far, but the Fritz forehand is about to set a record. Remember our discussion on Iga Swiatek’s world-class Western grip forehand? What if I told you it doesn’t even compare to Fritz’s?
The base of every tennis racquet has eight panels and bevels. The placement of the base knuckle of the index finger and the heel of the hand on these panels determine the grip type. For right handed players, panel 3 is eastern grip; panel 4 is semi-Western; panel 5 is full Western; panel 6, which not many people associate with, is the Hawaiian grip.
In the tennis world, the most extreme grip is the full Western at panel 5. Well, Fritz is past that. He isn’t exactly full-hula either, he’s somewhere in between.
Not only is his grip more extreme than the average 'extreme', but his take back differs from majority of players as well. What you normally see is the racquet and arms away from the body, with the racquet head level with the player’s head.
Looking at Fritz’s take back, it is much lower, with the elbow tucked into the body. This makes his swing contingent on having a loose forearm and grip while generating enough torque from the non-dominant hand as he turns into the court to make contact with the ball.
The Strategy
The forehand is absolutely Fritz’s preferred shot. He feels more comfortable dictating and taking control of the point from his forehand side.
Your forehand is your sword and your backhand is your shield. Taylor Fritz
The game plan, in layman’s terms, is to make the opponents miss with the forehand and to make sure not to miss with the backhand. Not only is Fritz's forehand, on average, the stronger shot, but it is also the one he hits most often at the baseline.
The Lesson
Like I always say with extreme grips, it’s not the goal-grip to practice unless that’s where your hand and arm comfortably choose to be. It’s the same as looking at Continental grips on tour: Everyone is a little varied from a true Continental because your hand slides into a more comfortable grip.
So, instead, let’s talk about the other elephant in the room with Fritz’s forehand: the lower take back. Ideally, you want your arms and racquet off of the body, giving yourself space to find the ball and swing backwards properly.
I would not recommend learning a lower take back as it is limiting and requires extra contorting and development for the momentum of the swing. For example, with a lower take back you are more likely to fall sideways when hitting the ball as opposed to towards the court.
Long story short, Taylor Fritz is the anomaly. It’s amazing to watch and there is definitely a lot to learn overall, but technically he is playing a different game than the rest of us.