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The benefit of a shakehand grip is that it is more versatile in all things, from flexibility to strokes. In this holding style, the racket faces up, and it looks like you are about to shake hands when you hold the handle. Shakehand grip is easier to learn and teach, so it is more popular globally, especially in the United States and Europe. However, if a penhold player is skilled and can use its advantages, it can be really powerful.įor you to get the best understanding of each grip, let’s look at both of them individually and go over their pros and cons. Excellent (10) Feature Shakehand Grip Penhold Grip Forehand power Great (9) Good (9) Backhand power Good (8) Poor (6) Forehand flexibility Good (8) Excellent (10) Backhand flexibility Great (9) Poor (6) Serve efficiency Good (8) Excellent (10) Spin generation Good (8) Great (9)Īs you can see, shakehand is much more balanced and good in all things, whereas penhold is excellent in many but equally poor in others, making it riskier if a shakehand player can exploit the weaknesses.In case you don’t know, here is the greatness list of each word shown below: This is where their names come from.īelow you can see a table where you can compare both shakehand and penhold grip and their features to see the differences when playing table tennis. A shakehand grip looks like I’m about to shake hands with someone, and a penhold grip looks like I’m holding a pen. Personally, I use shakehand grip because that’s how I learned to play ping pong, so I don’t need any reason to change that.Īnyways, let’s dive deeper into the differences between shakehand and penhold grip! Difference Between Shakehand and Penhold Grip Shakehand Grip | Penhold Gripįrom the picture above, you can see how both grips are held. That being said, both grips certainly haves their pros and cons. It’s easier to change from penhold to shakehand than vice versa. You can generate more power with a shakehand, whereas a penhold grip has more wrist freedom, making it easier to play closer to the table and generate spin. But first, what’s the difference between shakehand and penhold grip?Ī shakehand is more common than a penhold grip because it is easier to learn. The two most used grip types are the shakehand and penhold grip, and in this article, I will teach you the difference between them, the benefits and downsides, and how to hold the racket in both ways.
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However, there are different ways to hold the racket too.
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When it comes to table tennis rackets, there are many different ones designed for different playstyles, many brands, features, and appearances.
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