Changing my Tennis Technique through The Shawshank Redemption - Part 1

In 2022, I watched an online presentation by a company called Play Your Court (PYC) called 15mph in 5 Days Serve Challenge. My biggest take-away was that the version of the 'Continental Grip' as I had known it until that point in my life could be wrong, and that maybe I had been playing and coaching ineffectively for many years. The PYC tip was to move the heel pad of my hand round one bevel, which sounds simple but was a big change to undertake in my own game. I tried it and immediately felt a difference in power. Since then I have always taught the PYC grip and found it very effective. It is the main area I have worked on with my 8-year-old daughter Frankie over the last year and to my pleasant surprise she is dilegent in checking her grip when she serves (through stickers positioned on the grip), and tells me when the stickers have worn away and she needs new ones.

In October 2025 I started to experience mild pain in the inside of my elbow, often know as golfer's elbow. I experienced this injured previously at the age of 17 (1996) and it had taken me around six months to be pain free again. I had not experienced any more significant elbow pain since (1996-2025) and it was a worry to me as I am very reliant on a healthy arm to make a living as a full-time tennis coach. I tried lots of difference things to manage the injury and then one day I thought to check my grip as the pain was often linked to serving. To my surprise I had returned to the grip I had been using prior to watching the PYC presentation! So for a second time I worked on using the PYC grip and found that I was pain free in my elbow within a couple of weeks.

I enjoyed a couple of weeks off over Christmas and had my first hit of 2026 in early January and to my disappointed the day after I felt pain again in my elbow. The next time I played I checked my grip and again I had return to my old grip! So I am currently in the process of my third attempt at making the grip change! I have 100% brought into the PYC grip intelluctually and I have no doubts it is the best grip to use for performance and most importantly to be pain free. I have decided that I need to take more radical action this time as clearly making what appears to be a simple change is far from easy! In undertaking my Level 4 Lawn Tennis Assocation (UK) qualification in 2011 one thing that stuck with me was the theory that any technical change can take between 500-5000 repetitions! During my academic studies another theory that always stuck with me is called Stages of Learning by Gabriel Wulf: 

Stage 1 is called 'Cognitive' where movements are slow and inconsistent, considerable mental application is required, and large parts of the movement are controlled consciously.

Stage 2 is called 'Associative' where movements are more fluid, reliable and efficient, less mental application is required, and some parts of the movement are controlled consciously, some automatically.

Stage 3 is called 'Autonomous', where movements are accurate, consistent, and efficient, little or no mental application is required, and movement is largely controlled automatically.

If I have any chance of getting to stage 3 using the PYC grip then I need to accept I am currently at stage 1. I have recent experience of making a major change in my own game as I switched from a single-handed topspin backhand (SH) to a double handed topspin backhand (DH) in December 2024. This a unusual change to make for an experienced player in their late 40's but I had three main reasons for making the switch: a) as the manager of a junior group coaching program where we exclusively teach DH, I wanted the players to see me doing this as well (I still teach several juniors the SH in private lesson situations); b) I wanted a new challenge to maintain and stimulate my interest in tennis; & c) I thought it would be good for my long-term health to use the left side of my body more. The switch was difficult and I liken this type of change to the character Andy Dufresne's prison escape in the film the The Shawshank Redemption where he crawled to freedom through 500 yards of sewage pipe! The frustrating part for me is I have felt like I had got towards the end sewage pipe on my DH but now feel back to the start as I need to change the grip on my right hand to the PYC grip too!

The tricky part of my third attempt at switching to the PYC grip is accepting that I need to change my grip on all my shots, apart my most effective shot the topspin forehand (where I use an 'Eastern Grip'). This means accepting that I am using a sub-optimal grip on not only my serve but also on my DH, slice forehand, slice backhand, forehand volley, backhand volley, and my smash! After struggling in my first week I came up with a radical idea that seems to be working well so far in that I have decided in the short-term, to use the PYC grip on every shot including my topspin forehand! My plan is to eventually return to using my regular forehand grip but I am finding this simple approach is requiring less mental application and I am able to play and coach in the knowledge that most of the time I am now using the PYC grip. So these are the current rules I have set for myself as I try to get to stage 2.

1) Accept that in the short-term I could be performing at a lower level with a long-term view to playing pain free and playing to higher levels than I have ever played before.

2) Always have 2 stickers on bevel 2 of my racquets where I need to position my first knuckle and heel pad [accepting I may have to do this forever (analogy of a recovering addict)]

3) Use the PYC grip on all my shots when playing and coaching.

4) Exclusively hit topspin serves on both my first and second serves.

I am excited by the challenges ahead and the discoveries I will make. It also gives me some understanding of challenges a professional player would go through if they decide to make a major technical change, as the more time you have played the game the more ingrained a skill tends to be. The harder bit for professional players is they tend to get very little off-season time these days to make changes and the consistent challenge of feeling the need to win to make a living. A recent example I have read about is the 2021 US Open Champion Emma Raducanu whose coach Francisco Roig is mainly focusing on her forehand stroke and trying to help her lengthen her backswing. Raducanu lost in the second round of the 2026 Australian Open and in her press conference afterwards appeared to be questioning the change. Raducanu and Roig have only been working together for a few months so it will be interesting to follow their story. 

My plan is to write part 2 of this blog in 6 months time (July 2026).......