Why do lots of tall pros hit with extreme or western grips?

[L Sanchez MD]

It always confuses me slightly when I see a guy like Soderling, Isner, or Raonic, hitting with a wester grip..
Ok, these three guys all have massive forehands, so they want a lot of spin to keep the ball in court, but they're also very tall, so they're hitting the ball from higher above the net....

Does it not make playing low balls almost impossible for them?
I know Soderling is a bit weak on low balls, and last week in Halle, when Raonic got low balls, he just chipped the forehand with a continental.... usually causing him to lose the rally. But low balls I guess aren't much of an issue when most of today's surfaces bounce high.







Then we have del Potro who used to hit with a western, but gradually changed to an eastern...



Is it just because most players nowadays are brought up with fairly extreme grips? And tall players aren't an exception...
Or is there an advantage to using it that I haven't considered?

[djarvik]

Great point man. All of the mentioned players do have trouble with low balls, low slices.

It is hard to say really why the choose the western/semi-western grip other then the fact that the whole tour is doing it for some years already. They likely picked it up when they were little, then grew into the bodies they have now. It is not easy to change grip say at 17 or 18, when you suddenly grow 2 inches over summer. I think the investment into changing a grip is too great and no one of these giants opts in.

Now, the reason for the semi-western/western grips rise to popularity is another questions. It has to do with a lot of things, among with the equipment and the research of efficiency of strokes.

[Corbon]

Little off topic but I was always amazed at how a relatively small and compact player like Gonzo could hit his forehand at such a pace. Huge swing and often hitting the ball while rising and countering the incoming ball's momentum. Sounds like something Neuwirth would teach.

AO 2010 highlights against A-Rod

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ8K6boqFT0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du5_jw3jYAA

Strong one-handed backhand here as well.