What Grip Should You Use in Pickleball?
Quick Answer: Start with the continental grip. Hold the paddle like you are shaking hands, so the base knuckle of your index finger sits on the second bevel of the handle. It plays forehands, backhands, dinks and volleys without changing, which is why most coaches teach it first.
A grip is simply how your hand sits on the handle, and in pickleball it decides how fast you can switch between shots. Tennis players change grips constantly. Pickleball rallies are too quick for that.
What is the continental grip and why is it the default?
It is the neutral grip that lets one hand position cover every shot.
Hold the paddle out in front of you as if you were going to shake hands with it. The base knuckle of your index finger should land on the second bevel of the handle. From there the paddle face sits close to vertical, which is what you want for a dink, a volley and a block alike.
The reason it wins is speed. Hands battles at the kitchen line happen faster than any grip change. If your grip has to move between a forehand volley and a backhand volley, you will be late on the second one. The continental grip removes that decision entirely.
When would you use anything else?
Mostly when you want more topspin on one specific shot and are willing to pay for it elsewhere.
- Continental. Neutral, fastest to switch, best for dinks, volleys, resets and blocks. The default for nearly everyone.
- Eastern forehand. Rotated slightly toward the forehand side. Adds topspin and a more comfortable drive, but weakens the backhand volley and slows the switch.
- Western. Rotated much further. Heavy topspin on forehand drives, very poor at the net. Rare in pickleball and not recommended for anyone still building consistency.
Some advanced players do shade slightly off continental for a serve or a forehand roll, then return to neutral. That is a refinement worth attempting after your soft game is dependable, not before.
How do you know if your grip size is right?
Measure your hand, then check the finger test.
Grip size is the circumference of the handle, and most paddles ship between 4 inches and 4.5 inches. Medium, roughly 4.25 to 4.375 inches, is what the majority of paddles use because it suits most adult hands. To measure yourself, run a ruler from the middle of your palm to the tip of your ring finger and read the number in inches.
Then confirm it on the paddle. Take your normal grip and try to slide the index finger of your other hand into the gap between your fingertips and your palm. If it fits snugly, the handle is about right. No gap means the grip is too small. A loose gap means it is too large.
Does grip size actually matter?
It matters more for your arm than for your shots.
A handle that is too small makes you squeeze harder to keep the paddle from turning, and that extra squeezing is a common thread in wrist and elbow complaints. A handle that is too large limits wrist action and can slip on a mishit. If you are between sizes, most fitters suggest going smaller, because you can build a grip up with an overgrip but you cannot shrink one.
Adding an overgrip typically increases circumference by about one sixteenth of an inch per layer, which is a cheap way to fine tune. Our guide to pickleball paddle grip tape covers the options.
How hard should you hold the paddle?
Much softer than you think, and this is the fix that changes the most games.
Coaches usually describe grip pressure on a scale of one to ten. Dinks and resets want something around three or four. Drives and overheads can climb higher. The common error is holding at eight all the time, which kills touch, sends resets popping up, and tires your forearm.
Floating dinks are often a grip problem rather than a technique problem. Strangling the handle stiffens the wrist and opens the face, and loosening the grip does more for the soft game than most drills.
Does the grip change for a dink or a third shot drop?
The grip stays. The pressure and the swing change.
For a dink, keep continental, soften the hand, and lift with the shoulder rather than flicking the wrist. For the third shot drop, same grip again, with a longer low to high path. Keeping one grip across both is exactly the point.
How long does it take to get comfortable?
A few sessions if you are new, longer if you come from tennis.
Tennis converts usually find continental strange on the forehand because it produces a flatter ball than they are used to. The adjustment is real but short. Play through it rather than reverting, because reverting costs you the backhand volley all over again.
Frequently asked questions
What grip should a beginner use in pickleball? Continental. It handles forehands, backhands, dinks and volleys without a change, which matters because kitchen exchanges are too fast to switch grips.
How do I find the continental grip quickly? Shake hands with the paddle. The base knuckle of your index finger should sit on the second bevel of the handle.
What grip size do most paddles use? Medium, about 4.25 to 4.375 inches in circumference. Most paddles fall between 4 and 4.5 inches overall.
Should I size up or size down if I am between grips? Down. An overgrip can add roughly a sixteenth of an inch per wrap, but nothing removes material from a handle that is already too thick.
Can the wrong grip cause pain? A handle that is too small encourages over gripping, and over gripping is associated with forearm and wrist irritation. Persistent pain deserves a clinician, not a new paddle.
Do I change grips for a serve? Most players do not. Some advanced players shade slightly toward an eastern grip for spin, then return to continental before the third shot.
Does the paddle itself affect grip choice? Handle length and shape do. Longer handles suit two handed backhands. See how to choose a pickleball paddle.
One grip, sized to your hand, held loosely. That is the whole answer, and it holds from your first open play session through 4.0. To find a certified instructor who can check your grip in person, browse our pickleball coaches directory.
Written by the Pickler Junction Team.
