The five grips
Learn the five grips: continental, eastern forehand, eastern backhand, semi-western and western. See where each sits on the handle, what each is for, and why continental is the one to use most.
Use continental at least 80% of the time. Turn to another grip only when the shot gives you a reason.
Start from continental, and stay there
Relish teaches this: use the continental grip at least 80% of the time. It is the one grip that covers your forehand and your backhand, so your hand is already in place when the ball arrives.
The other four grips are tools. Turn your hand to one when the ball and the shot give you a reason, then come back to continental. Cue: Start in continental.
How a grip is named
A paddle handle has eight flat sides, called bevels. Hold the paddle in front of you on its edge, with the butt cap (the end of the handle) toward you. Bevel 1 is the flat on top. Look at the butt cap and count clockwise: bevel 2 is the next one round to the right, then 3, 4 and on to 8.
A grip is named for where the base knuckle of your index finger sits. That is the knuckle where your index finger joins your hand. Your heel pad, the padded base of your palm, rests on the same bevel. Turn your hand one bevel and you have a different grip.
If you play left-handed, count the other way, counterclockwise. The numbers stay the same, so your continental is bevel 2 too. Some sources keep the right-handed direction for everyone, which makes a left-hander’s continental bevel 8. Relish counts the mirror way, so each grip has one number to remember.
Relish’s teaching: use continental at least 80% of the time. Turn to another grip only when you have a reason.
Selected grip:ContinentalDefault
Right-handed: base knuckle and heel pad on bevel 2, counting clockwise.
- How to find it
- Hold the paddle like a hammer. Put the base knuckle of your index finger and your heel pad on bevel 2. The V between your thumb and index finger runs along the top edge.
- How it feels
- Neutral. Forehand and backhand feel almost the same, so your hand doesn’t need to change between them.
- What it is for
- Dinks, volleys, blocks, resets, counters, serves and returns. It covers both sides, so it is the grip for most of your game.
- Paddle face at contact: Open
- Square to a little open. That helps you lift soft shots over the net: dinks, drops and resets.
Drawings are simplified. Face angles are exaggerated so you can see them.
Your grip points the paddle face
Keep your wrist and arm the same and turn the handle in your hand, and the paddle face turns with it. A face tipped up is open. A face pointing straight at the net is square. A face tipped down is closed.
Continental leaves the face square to a little open, which suits soft shots you lift over the net. Each bevel you turn toward the underside of the handle closes the face more: eastern forehand is about square, semi-western is closed, and western is very closed. A closed face helps you brush up the back of the ball for topspin. It also makes blocks and resets harder to control.
Cue: Turn the handle, and the face turns with it.
Turn only when you have time
Changing grip takes time, and the kitchen gives you very little. Stay in continental for dinks, blocks, resets and fast hand battles. Turn a bevel when the ball is slow or high and you have time to set up, such as a forehand you want to hit with topspin.
Change with your fingers, not by grabbing the paddle again. Keep your thumb and index finger where they are, loosen the others and slide your hand round one bevel. Come back to continental after the shot.
Coming from tennis? Many tennis players live in eastern forehand or semi-western. A hand turned that far round is slow to come back for a block or a backhand, so return toward continental when you play at the kitchen.
A few things you might wonder
Do I need a different grip for my backhand?
No. Continental is built so that your forehand and backhand use the same grip. That is a big part of why Relish makes it the default. Turning to eastern forehand or semi-western helps your forehand, but it makes your backhand and your blocks slower.
My handle looks round. How do I find a bevel?
Some pickleball handles have clear bevels and some are rounder. If you can’t see or feel them, find continental by feel: hold the paddle on its edge and grip it like a hammer. Then turn your hand a little at a time and notice where the paddle face points. If you are unsure of your hand position, ask an experienced coach to check it in person.
Is eastern forehand a bad grip for a beginner?
No. Many players, especially those from tennis, find it natural on the forehand. Relish still starts you in continental because it covers both sides, and keeps eastern forehand for when you have time to turn.
How do I change grips in the middle of a rally?
Only when the ball gives you time. Keep your thumb and index finger where they are, loosen your other fingers and slide the handle round one bevel. If it feels like you are grabbing the paddle from scratch, you are turning too much. Practice it away from the court first.
Find each grip by feel
You need a paddle and a few minutes. No court or ball. Keep your hand loose for each grip, and put the paddle down between tries.
Find continental
Hold the paddle on its edge, butt cap toward you, and find continental: a hammer grip with your base knuckle and heel pad on bevel 2. Put the paddle down and find it again. Try five times.
Turn to eastern forehand
From continental, turn your hand one bevel so your base knuckle is on bevel 3. Notice how the paddle face tips down compared with continental.
Go on to semi-western
Lay the paddle flat, put your hand on top, then slide one more bevel round. Notice that your forehand feels natural and your backhand does not.
Come back to continental
Look away, find continental, then check that your knuckle is on bevel 2. Try three times. You should be able to find it without looking.
Try shadow swings
Make five slow forehand shadow swings in continental, then five in eastern forehand. Notice where the paddle face points as you pass through contact.
Check your understanding
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Which grip should you use most of the time?
Which part of your hand tells you which grip you are in?
You turn from continental to semi-western and keep your wrist the same. What does the paddle face do?
When does it make sense to turn away from continental?
Which bevel do the base knuckle and heel pad sit on for continental?
Before you move on
Use these as a personal check. Your selections reset when you leave this lesson. Sign in to keep your progress.
Practice answers are for learning, not certification.
Learn from a real player
Another explanation can help things click. These videos belong to their creators.
Learn the grips! (opens in a new tab)
On YouTube, by Richard Pickleball (opens in a new tab)
A 36-second look at continental, eastern and semi-western from the side, one bevel apart. He calls continental best for net play and hand speed, eastern his grip for transitions and drops, and semi-western the one for spin, a little riskier.
Learn the Modern Pickleball Drive | MASTERCLASS (opens in a new tab)
On YouTube, by PickleballPlaybook - Austin Hardy (opens in a new tab)
Watch “Understanding the grip”, from 1:03 to 3:45: how to line up your index knuckle and the bottom corner of your palm on bevel 3 for eastern forehand and bevel 4 for semi-western, and why a semi-western face points at the ground, so you aim higher. The rest is the drive itself, which comes later.
Chapters
Follow these simple tips for a BIG topspin serve (opens in a new tab)
On YouTube, by The Pickleball Clinic (opens in a new tab)
A 79-second topspin serve lesson. In “The semi-western grip”, at 0:33, he finds it the way this lesson does: paddle flat on the ground, hand on top for eastern, then slide over a little so the knuckle is on the next bevel.
Chapters