When we first started playing tennis, we knew literally nothing about it. What's a slice? How do you do the kick in a kick serve and do you even have to kick? How often should you buy new balls? How important is footwork and how do you do it? But before all these questions could ever pop up in our heads, there was one that needed answering first:

How should we grip our racquet and which grip is the right for us as individuals?

Now, this is a vvvveeeery rewarding thing to get sorted from the get-go as it'll allow you to avoid having to relearn things while holding the racquet in a new way after some time in the game.

It's also important to note that you'll be using different grips for different shots; one for your forehand, another for your backhand—depending on whether you're hitting it single or double-handed—and maybe even a third, flatter grip for serves, slices and the like.

A thing to remember when trying out different grips is that there's no ultimate truth; the only thing that matters is what feels natural to you and gives you the most comfortable swing.

Oh, and before we go ahead: Remember that the feel of your grip needs to be real nice too. For this, we highly subjectively recommend our Soft Overgrip, made in Japan by Tokyo-based grip experts, Kimony.

First things first: The racquet handle is made up of eight sides, also known bevels. The top bevel of the handle, the one extending into the frame, is bevel number one and then it goes clockwise around the handle.

Okay, so, the continental! This is a straightforward one that gives you nice manoeuvrability and can be used to serve, smash, volley and even slice the ball through the court.

Now, for the continental grip, place your hand so that the inner knuckle of your index finger rests on bevel number two, being the one just to the right of bevel number one when looking down at the racquet. The heel pad of your hand should now be resting nicely on bevel number two as well and yeah, that's it really.

Moving onto the semi-western grip: This one's a somewhat closed grip that gives you a good amount of topspin as the closed angle allows your strings to brush up and over the top of the ball. For this grip, you'll be placing your index knuckle on bevel number four with your heel pad resting on the same bevel.

If topspin is your literal way of life, then do as the southern European clay-court hard-hitters and go with the western grip. Here, you'll be placing your knuckle all the way around on bevel number five. As with anything in life, the western grip is a compromise too as it'll give you a heaaaavy amount of topspin while making it slightly harder for you to build speed into your hits. In an ideal world, you wouldn't start out with the western grip but rather work your way towards it from the continental or semi-western. But, you know, whatever feels right for you is what you should go with and if you manage to master the western grip, it'll leave your opponents shook. We promise.

You know those balls that just flatten out straight when they hit the ground, leaving you no bounce for you to return them? Chances are they came from an eastern forehand. Making the ball travel in a flatter curve with little spin, the eastern forehand grip requires you to simply place your index knuckle on bevel three, almost as if you're shaking hands with your racquet.

Now, for the backhand. If you'd like to do a Federer-type single-handed backhand, simply rotate your forehand grip counter clock-wise from bevel one and then the same amount of bevels as you would your forehand. So, if you'd like a continental backhand, simply place your index knuckle two bevels counter-clockwise from bevel one.

However, if you'd like to opt for the double backhand, here's how: It's essentially playing a forehand but with the wrong hand. So, if you're right-handed, your left hand will be doing all the work with the right one being there for support. There are different ways of gripping the racquet for the double backhand, but the most straightforward one is to position your right hand in the continental grip, with the right hand's index knuckle resting on bevel two and the heel pad on bevel one. Meanwhile, the index knuckle and heel pad of the left hand is placed all the way over on bevel seven.

Now, it's up to you. Try different things, see how it goes, hit in whichever way feels good and be open to adjusting your grip as you go along.