Grip and ready position: the foundation nobody teaches
Most pickleball players pick up the paddle the first day, grab it like a hammer, and never think about grip again. They’re copying what tennis players told them, or what felt intuitive, or what their cousin Dave does. Meanwhile, every single shot they hit — dink, drive, volley, serve — depends on the grip they never thought about.
The Continental grip
There are three grips worth knowing, but only one you need: the Continental grip, sometimes called the “handshake grip” or the “hammer grip.”
To find it: hold the paddle flat in front of you, edge down, face perpendicular to the ground. Now wrap your hand around the handle as if you were shaking hands with it. The V between your thumb and index finger should run down the top edge of the handle. That’s Continental.
Why this one? Because in pickleball, you have to hit forehands and backhands constantly, and the Continental grip works for both without needing to switch. You can also use it for serves, overheads, and volleys. One grip, every shot. That’s rare in racket sports — tennis players switch grips several times per point — and it’s one of the reasons pickleball is easier to learn.
The other two grips (Eastern forehand and Eastern backhand) are used by advanced players in specific situations, but for everyone at 3.5 and below, Continental is the right answer for every shot.
How tight to squeeze
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is “the paddle is about to fall out of your hand” and 10 is “you’re crushing a walnut” — most people squeeze at 7 or 8. That’s way too tight.
Aim for a 3 or 4 on dinks and soft shots, and a 5 on drives. Never above 5.
Here’s why: a tight grip adds power you don’t want (on soft shots) and removes feel you do want (on every shot). A loose grip lets the paddle absorb pace on incoming balls — the foundation of a good block volley — and gives you the fine control you need for dinks. Tight grips produce pops, shanks, and balls that fly off the paddle with more pace than you intended.
The easiest way to feel this: hold the paddle loosely, tap your finger against the handle, and feel the paddle almost wobble. That’s the grip you want for dinking. When you tighten up under pressure, remind yourself: soft hands.
The ready position
Between every shot, your body goes to a neutral position called the ready position. It looks like this:
- Feet about shoulder-width apart, or slightly wider. Non-dominant foot very slightly forward.
- Knees bent. Not “athletic stance TV-commercial bent” — just slightly flexed, so you’re not locked out.
- Weight on the balls of your feet. Not your heels.
- Hips square to the net, or nearly so.
- Paddle up at roughly chest or sternum height, held out in front of your body, face vaguely pointed at the opponent. Some coaches call this “paddle up.” It is the single most important habit in pickleball.
The split-step
Just before the opponent hits the ball, you take a tiny little hop in place — both feet leave the ground maybe an inch — and land back in your ready position. This is called the split-step, and it’s how every good athlete starts moving. Landing from the split-step gives you a “loaded” body that can push off in any direction.
You don’t need to think about this much at first. Just know that still feet are slow feet, and a small hop as the opponent contacts the ball turns still feet into fast ones.
Common grip mistakes
- The frying pan grip. New players hold the paddle flat like they’re flipping pancakes. This makes forehands feel easy but backhands nearly impossible. Fix it by going back to the handshake.
- The death grip. Squeezing at 8+. You’ll feel your forearm get sore within 20 minutes. Soft hands.
- Switching grips during a rally. Some tennis players carry over the habit of switching between forehand and backhand grips. In pickleball there’s no time. Pick Continental, stay there.
- Paddle pointing at the ground. This is the ready-position version of the death grip — a defensive habit that leaves you vulnerable on every fast ball. Paddle up.
Fix your grip and ready position, and your dinks get softer, your volleys get faster, and your forehands and backhands start to feel like the same shot. Everything downstream gets easier.