How To Hold A Pickleball Paddle – (Continental & Western Grip)

Before engaging yourself in a pickleball play, basic rules are not only important for the player, but it is also important to learn how to hold a pickleball paddle professionally.

To understand the actual grasp, it is necessary to get a knowledgeable session in that regard. It is pertinent to mention here that a new entrant has a mess of thoughts in his mind about holding onto its grip. He starts playing the game in the wrong way like forehand or backhand grip and confuses as to how he can hit power stroke/smash.

Some people clutch it like they are dealing with a hammer to crush nails and others hold a paddle-like, they are swatting the fly, and some grip likewise, like shaking the paddle.

To help with it, we will direct you completely about rightly gripping a paddle in three ways, in this article. To complement the best strokes, it is mandatory to know about accurately grasping a pickleball paddle.

Techniques to hold pickleball paddle

If you are a beginner or you want to change your style of holding a pickleball paddle, then the ideas /skills, we are going to discuss below, will help you to achieve the goal.

In tennis, the players can alter the style of gripping during the play. It depends on what they are hitting, forehands or backhands.

There is sufficient time to change the grip during the tennis play as the tennis court is large.

Let’s talk about pickleball, as you know it covers one-fourth area of a tennis court, so there is no time during non volley zone exchanges to alter the grip between forehands and backhands.

We will matriculate three basic techniques to hold a pickleball paddle that are:

1.  Continental Grip/ Hammer grip
2.  Western Grip
3.  Eastern Grip

1. Continental Grip/Hammer grip

The players who hit a uniform number of forehands and backhands in a play predominantly follow continental grip or hammer grip.

Hammer grip is like shaking your hand with the pickleball paddle while holding the paddle in 90 degrees to the earth’s surface.

Remember that, there is a V shape in the human hand that will meet the paddle bevel.

When we use a hammer grip, it slightly favors backhands because, in this grip, the net faces knuckles.

2. The Western or Semi-Western Grip

The beginners adopt this grip mostly, especially the ones who are not from a paddle sports background.

While playing forehand strokes, the said grip has greatly been beneficial as the hand’s palm completely grips the flat portion of the paddle.

If you put your forefinger base on the handle position, then it calls a semi-western grip (of pickleball paddle).

When we use the forefinger base all around to the lower side of the handle, then it calls a completely western grip.

The above-said grip causes difficulty to the backhand for the players as the wrist faces the net. It lessens the power of hitting backhand stroke.

Some of the players, who prefer semi-western or fully Western grip, give priority to a two-handed backhand for power-hitting backhand stroke.

3. Eastern Grip

Here, we are going to throw light on the last and the most important grip of the pickleball paddle i.e., the Eastern grip.

This grip is considered the best and most famous grip, and the thing which makes it perfect is an amalgamation of forehand and backhand strokes.

In this grip, it looks like we are shaking our hands with the paddle. We can find great cooperation of forehand with a backhand. Therefore, this grip is known as an ideal compromise for the preferable grip to hit more forehands stroke than backhands.

Is it good to hold a pickleball paddle with a tight grip? 

In beginning, everyone tries to hold a paddle with a tight grip as it seems to be suitable, but it’s not.

Try to hold a pickleball paddle loosely to ensure a better feel and less tiredness. By holding it smoothly, you can hit soft dinks and smooth shots as well.

All you need is to practice for gripping the paddle casually and smoothly. Don’t worry, everyone makes mistakes at the start, but learn as time passes.

Holding pickleball paddle while standing at the net

While standing at the net, one should be ready to face any worst attack from the competitor. With the said condition, it is instructed to hold the paddle at your front to encounter the overhead smash made by the opponent.

Holding it at your front will be convenient for keeping the pickleball ball lower and sending it back to another side of the net.

As it is the critical side of the play, so learning to hold a pickleball paddle suitably matters a lot.

In this regard, three types of grips are devised that make contact of your thumb and first finger in a V shape angle.

These are:

Neutral Grip: By holding a pickleball paddle with this grip means the angle made by your first finger and thumb points backward.

Weak Grip: This grip is best to carry out backstrokes, as the angle in this grasp points towards the left.

Strong Grip: In a strong grip, the V-shaped angle made by you designate towards the right.

Final Thoughts On How To Hold A Pickleball Paddle

The basic skill of playing pickleball is holding the paddle of pickleball. It’s necessary to know, how to grip a pickleball paddle. It depends totally on your choice to comprehend which grip suits you the best.

In this article, you have understood the three ways to hold a pickleball paddle. If you’re a beginner you should choose an eastern or western grip; otherwise, for professionals, the continental grip is the best.

Moreover, a player should see his comfort while gripping a pickleball paddle. When you feel comfortable while holding the paddle, this will be the best grip to win, otherwise, you will remain confused while playing.