Gripping the Pickleball Paddle

Your grip (i.e., how you hold your pickleball paddle) is an important part of your pickleball play. Grips are like habits – easy to form  and hard to change. How you hold your pickleball paddle will certainly affect your play.  If you have an odd pickleball grip, trying to change your grip later can be difficult and frustrating.  For beginners, start your pickleball game with good habits and the proper grip.  It is important to use a grip that complements your style of play and accentuates your preferred shots on the pickleball court.

There are three basic types of pickleball grips: Eastern, Continental, and Western.  It is important to understand each of these types of grips, including the pros and cons of each. The grips will give important insights into where the ball will go and how you are able to reset for the next shot. These grips will also give you insights into your opponents’ style of play in order for you to take advantage of weaknesses in your opponents’ grips.

Eastern Grip (Figure 4.1) – The Eastern pickleball grip (sometimes called the handshake grip) is the most popular paddle grip in pickleball.  Generally, all beginner and intermediate players should use the basic Eastern grip on the courts. This is because the basic Eastern grip is universal or neutral, as it allows you to hit both a forehand and backhand shot with the same grip.  In other words, the Eastern pickleball grip is the perfect compromise between a forehand and a backhand shot.

Continental (Figure 4.2) – The Continental pickleball grip is also called a hammer grip.  A player using the Continental grip holds the pickleball paddle like someone would a hammer when hitting a nail.  In other words, to find the Continental grip, start in an Eastern grip and turn your wrist slightly counterclockwise if you are right-handed or slightly clockwise if you are left-handed, so that the V-shape between your thumb and your index finger is slightly toward your non-dominant side.  The Continental pickleball grip is the opposite of the Western pickleball grip. The Continental pickleball grip produces nice dinks and backhands, but makes it more difficult to hit forehand shots on the pickleball court.

Western (Figure 4.3) – To find the Western grip, start in an Eastern grip and turn your wrist 45 degrees clockwise if you are right-handed, or 45 degrees counterclockwise if you are left-handed. The Western grip produces a lot of forehand topspin, but the grip does make it difficult to hit backhand shots.  A Western grip causes your palm to generally be behind the pickleball paddle on a forehand, resulting in powerful forehand.  However, a Western grip causes your palm to generally be in front of the pickleball paddle on a backhand, which means that you will have little to no power on your backhand shots.

General Hitting Techniques

The game of pickleball requires participants to move in all directions.  It is possible and common for player’s to find themselves in situations where they must attempt to hit balls in a wide range of positions.  A good pickleball player will need to be able to hit balls traveling to their left and right sides, their feet, over their head, and directly to their torso region.

Forehand Stroke Technique – A forehand stroke is used to hit balls traveling toward the strong side (or preferred side) of the hitter.  The forehand stroke is the preferred hitting technique for most pickleball players because it is associated with more power, accuracy, and control.

Backhand Stroke Technique – A backhand stroke is used to hit balls traveling toward the weak side (non-dominant side) of the hitter.  Since most players know their opponents prefer to use their forehand stroke, it is important to have an effective backhand stroke, as players will strategically hit balls to their opponent’s weak side.  Regardless of how effective a player’s backhand stroke is, most players will state their backhand is not as powerful or accurate as their forehand stroke.

Groundstrokes – The most common hitting technique used in pickleball is a groundstroke.  A groundstroke is used to hit a ball after it bounces.  It can be used effectively in conjunction with both a forehand or backhand shot technique and can be underhand, sidearm, or overhead.  The time required for a pickleball to bounce off the floor generally gives players a little more time to prepare their bodies for a strategic return.

Volleys – A volley is a pickleball hitting technique used to hit balls before they bounce off the playing surface.  A volley is used to return balls that have been hit with force, reducing the amount of time a player has to prepare to hit a groundstroke.  Volleys are not only used to return forceful balls hit by the opponent, but they also can be used to increase the pace of a rally.  Like the groundstroke technique, volleys can be hit on the forehand and backhand side of the body and be underhand, sidearm, or overhead.

Hitting Techniques to Place Spin on the Pickleball

Topspin – As a pickleball player, having multiple shot options is important to becoming an effective on the court.  One option is hitting a pickleball in such a way that ball leaves your paddle with topspin (or spinning as if the ball is rolling away from you).  Mastering topspin in pickleball is crucial for enhancing control, competitiveness, and gaining a strategic advantage in gameplay.  Balls with topspin are more difficult to read and challenging to return compared to balls without spin.  Additionally, utilizing topspin allows the hitter to hit the ball harder without the ball traveling out of bounds.

The best grip to use to produce topspin is the Western grip. Angle the paddle face forward by about 45 degrees.  Focus on brushing up the back of the ball and driving upwards using the legs. An open or semi-open stance works best.  Be sure to make contact with the ball in the middle of the paddle face before quickly sweeping up and finishing with the paddle over the opposite shoulder.

Backspin (Slice) – Another pickleball spin option is backspin (the paddle will leave your ball spinning as if it is rolling toward you).  A slice is a common shot used to return serves and dinks.  Balls with backspin typically take longer to travel through the air giving the hitter more time to get to the non-volley zone.  A slice will usually stay low to the ground after the bounce with the ball moving away from the opponent. Adding slice to the ball often forces your opponent to lift their return, creating an opportunity for you to attack.

A typical backspin hitting motion uses a high-to-low swing pattern, players should make a C motion when executing the shot. Try to keep the paddle face slightly open during the swinging motion as this will help apply the backspin on the pickleball.  Immediately after contact, allow your feet and body to follow your shot so you can prepare for the next shot.