Improve your game: Learn the Continental grip

Since the continental grip is used for so many strokes — volleys, serve, slice backhand and overhead — it’s a very important grip to develop as you learn the game.  Here's a tip to teach you the correct form.

An easy exercise to get comfortable with the grip and improve your continental skills is to hit “edgies” downward to the ground.

Hold the racquet in such a way that you're looking at the thin edge of the racquet instead of the strings. If you're holding it like a frying pan, you need to rotate the handle of the racquet in your hand.

Tapping the ball with the bottom edge of your racquet helps you naturally find the grip and it's also a great way to practice your overall racquet skills. For a challenge, try bouncing the ball off the top edge of your racquet without letting ball hit the ground.

Rita Gladstone is a head tennis professional at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla.