The Three Pickleball Grips and When to Use Them: Continental, Eastern & Western
Your grip on the paddle might seem like a minor detail when you’re learning pickleball, but it’s actually one of the most fundamental aspects that determines how effectively you can execute different shots. The way you hold your paddle influences everything from the spin you can generate to the power you can unleash and the control you maintain during fast exchanges at the net. Whether you’re driving balls from the baseline with authority or executing soft touch shots at the kitchen line, your grip is working behind the scenes to make those shots possible or to limit what you can do.
Professional pickleball player and coach Mari Humberg has broken down the three primary grip types that players use in pickleball, offering clear guidance on when each grip works best and why most players should focus on mastering one grip rather than constantly switching between them during play. Understanding these grips and their applications can transform your game by helping you make more intentional choices about how you approach different situations on the court.
The Continental Grip: Your Handshake at the Net
The continental grip is the most intuitive grip for beginners because it mirrors the natural motion of shaking someone’s hand. When you pick up your paddle and hold it as if you’re greeting a friend, you’re using the continental grip. This grip is sometimes referred to as “the little hammer” because of how the paddle sits in your hand, and it has deep roots in tennis where players rely on it extensively for serves and volleys.
The defining characteristic of the continental grip is that your hand sits directly behind the paddle face, creating a neutral position that doesn’t naturally open or close the paddle angle. This positioning makes the continental grip excellent for certain shots but limiting for others. The major limitation becomes apparent when you try to generate topspin with this grip. To create any meaningful rotation on the ball using a continental grip, you need to twist your wrist downward in an awkward motion that doesn’t feel natural and can reduce both your power and consistency.
Where the continental grip truly excels is at the kitchen line during volley exchanges. When you’re engaged in quick reflex volleys where reaction time matters more than spin generation, the continental grip allows you to punch balls back with minimal paddle manipulation. The neutral face position means you can handle balls coming at various heights without major adjustments, making it ideal for the fast-paced action that happens in the non-volley zone.
Humberg also notes that the continental grip can work from the transition zone, that middle area of the court where you’re moving forward but haven’t yet established position at the kitchen line. However, she doesn’t recommend using the continental grip from the baseline unless you’re specifically hitting a slice drop shot. Interestingly, most of her slice shots use a grip that sits somewhere between continental and eastern, giving her the control and touch needed for those finesse shots that require backspin rather than topspin.
The Eastern Grip: The Foundation of Modern Pickleball
The eastern grip represents what Humberg uses for the overwhelming majority of her shots, and it’s the grip she recommends most players adopt as their primary hold. If you’re serious about developing a complete and effective pickleball game, the eastern grip should become your workhorse grip that you can rely on in most situations.
Finding the eastern grip requires a small but significant adjustment from the continental position. Start by holding your paddle in the continental grip, then shift your hand slightly over the top of the paddle so that the paddle face closes about twenty percent from its neutral position. This subtle change in hand placement creates a dramatically different result in how the ball comes off your paddle.
The game-changing advantage of the eastern grip is how naturally and effortlessly it generates topspin. With the paddle face already slightly closed, you can create that windshield-wiper rotation that modern pickleball relies on without forcing your wrist into uncomfortable positions. This natural topspin generation translates directly into more power and consistency across your game because you can swing more aggressively while still keeping balls in play thanks to the downward rotation.
The eastern grip becomes your default choice for a wide range of offensive and neutral shots. When you’re hitting topspin groundstrokes from the baseline, the eastern grip gives you the paddle angle you need to brush up the back of the ball and create that heavy rotation that makes balls dip into the court. For topspin drops, which have become increasingly important in high-level pickleball, the eastern grip allows you to execute these shots with the spin needed to keep balls low after they bounce.
Forehand speed-ups off the bounce also benefit tremendously from the eastern grip. When you’re countering an attackable ball and want to drive it back with pace and spin, the eastern grip provides the perfect platform. Most offensive shots in your game will feel more natural and effective with this grip because it aligns with how modern pickleball is played, with an emphasis on topspin and controlled aggression.
The trade-off with the eastern grip is that slicing becomes more challenging because the paddle face naturally wants to close rather than open. This is why Humberg uses a modified grip between continental and eastern specifically for her slice shots, allowing her to access the open paddle face needed for backspin while still maintaining some of the benefits of her primary grip.
The Western Grip: Maximum Spin with Maximum Compromise
The western grip represents the extreme end of the grip spectrum, taking the closed paddle face concept to its logical conclusion. Players who use the western grip, like professional player Quang Duong, can generate topspin with almost ridiculous ease. The ball practically rolls off the paddle with heavy rotation, making it nearly impossible to hit a flat ball even if you wanted to.
To understand the western grip, imagine rotating your hand even further over the top of the paddle beyond the eastern position. Your palm ends up more on top of the handle, which dramatically closes the paddle face. This extreme closure angle means that when you swing through the ball, you’re almost guaranteed to create massive topspin because of the geometry involved.
While this might sound like an advantage that every player should pursue, the western grip comes with significant drawbacks that explain why most professional players avoid it. Countering becomes incredibly difficult with a western grip unless you’re willing to pancake shots, using the side of your paddle rather than the face. This limitation reduces your options during fast exchanges and can leave you vulnerable in certain situations.
The backhand problem with the western grip is even more severe. Because your hand is positioned so far over the top of the paddle for forehand shots, transitioning to a backhand becomes awkward and uncomfortable. Many western grip users struggle significantly with their backhands, creating an imbalanced game where one wing is much stronger than the other.
Humberg sees more amateur players using the western grip than she believes is beneficial for their development. Her stance on the western grip is clear and direct: she doesn’t recommend it for any shot in pickleball. The limitations simply outweigh the topspin benefits for the vast majority of players. That said, she acknowledges that these are recommendations rather than absolute rules. If the western grip works for your specific game and you’ve developed strategies to compensate for its limitations, then continuing to use it might make sense for you personally.
Should You Switch Grips During Points?
One of the most common questions players have about grips is whether they should switch between different grips during play depending on the shot they’re hitting. Humberg offers a fascinating perspective on this question because she changes grips more than probably any other professional player on the court. However, she’s also emphatic that most players should not try to copy her approach.
The reason Humberg can switch grips fluidly during points comes down to her background: she has twenty years of tennis experience. That extensive racket sport history has built muscle memory and hand flexibility that allows her to adjust her grip without thinking about it consciously. The grip changes happen automatically based on the shot she’s preparing to hit, requiring no mental bandwidth that would distract from tactics and positioning.
If you’re relatively new to pickleball or you don’t have a deep background in racket sports, trying to mimic this constant grip switching will likely hurt your game rather than help it. The mental load of thinking about grip changes during points takes your focus away from the things that actually matter: court positioning, shot selection, reading your opponents, and executing your tactics.
Humberg’s recommendation for most players is straightforward and practical: find a grip that feels comfortable and stick with it for your entire game. Develop mastery with one grip rather than mediocrity with multiple grips. If she personally had to choose a single grip to play her entire game with, she would select something between continental and eastern. This middle ground provides enough versatility to handle most shots you’ll encounter without requiring constant adjustments.
The ultimate goal with your grip is to develop consistency that allows muscle memory to take over. When you use the same grip repeatedly, your body learns exactly how to position the paddle for different shots, how much wrist action to use, and how to generate the right amount of power and spin. This automaticity is what separates advanced players from intermediate players. The less you have to think about your grip, the more mental energy you can dedicate to strategy and execution.
Understanding Grips for the Average Player
If all this discussion of continental versus eastern versus western grips feels overwhelming, it’s helpful to step back and understand what grips actually do at a fundamental level. Think of your grip as determining the angle of your paddle face when you swing through the ball. This angle is what primarily controls the trajectory and spin of your shots.
When your paddle face is more open, meaning it’s angled slightly upward, you’ll hit balls with more height and potentially with backspin or slice. This is why the continental grip works well for volleys where you often want to just block the ball back, and why it’s used for slice shots that need that open face to create the cutting action through the ball.
When your paddle face is more closed, meaning it’s angled slightly downward, you’ll naturally create topspin because you’re brushing up the back of the ball. This is the advantage of the eastern and western grips. The more closed your grip, the more topspin you’ll generate, but also the harder it becomes to hit certain other shots like slices or volleys that require an open face.
For someone just starting to think seriously about their grip, the easiest path forward is to adopt an eastern grip and commit to it fully. Use it for serves, returns, groundstrokes, drops, and dinks. As you develop comfort with this single grip, you’ll naturally discover its strengths and limitations through experience. Maybe down the road, after thousands of balls, you’ll experiment with slight modifications for specific shots. But initially, the simplicity of one grip removes variables and accelerates your learning.
The grip you use also interacts with your paddle choice. Different paddle shapes, weights, and handle sizes can make certain grips feel more or less comfortable. If you’re struggling to find a comfortable grip, it might not be your technique but rather a mismatch between your hand size and your paddle handle. Experimenting with different handle circumferences through overgrips or different paddles can sometimes solve grip issues that seem technical but are actually equipment-related.
Practical Steps for Improving Your Grip
Understanding the three main grips intellectually is different from actually implementing grip changes in your game. If you’ve been playing with a particular grip for months or years, changing your grip will feel awkward initially, and your performance might actually decline before it improves. This is normal and expected, and it’s why many players resist making grip changes even when they know their current grip is limiting their development.
The best approach to changing your grip is to do it deliberately during practice rather than during competitive play. Dedicate entire practice sessions to hitting balls with your new grip, focusing on how it feels and what adjustments you need to make. Don’t worry about where the balls are going initially. Just focus on maintaining the correct grip throughout your swing and getting comfortable with how the paddle sits in your hand.
One helpful technique is to check your grip before every single shot during these practice sessions. Look down at your hand, verify that you’re holding the paddle correctly, and then execute the shot. This conscious checking builds awareness and gradually trains your hand to find the correct position automatically. Over time, you’ll need to check less frequently as muscle memory develops.
Recording video of yourself practicing with the new grip can also be valuable. Sometimes what feels like the correct grip in your hand doesn’t actually match what you think you’re doing. Video provides objective feedback that can help you make adjustments. Pay attention to your grip at the ready position, during your backswing, at contact, and during your follow-through. The grip should remain consistent throughout unless you’re intentionally making advanced adjustments.
It’s also worth practicing grip changes in isolation if you do decide you want to switch between grips. Simply stand in place and practice moving from continental to eastern and back repeatedly until the motion becomes fluid. This grip change practice, separate from actually hitting balls, can build the dexterity needed if you eventually want to incorporate multiple grips into your game.
The Bigger Picture: Grips as Foundation
While grips might seem like a technical detail that only advanced players need to worry about, they’re actually foundational to everything else you’ll develop in pickleball. Your grip determines what shots are possible for you, what spins you can create, and how much power you can generate safely while maintaining control. Getting your grip right early in your pickleball journey prevents having to unlearn bad habits later.
Many players plateau in their development not because they lack athleticism or court sense, but because their grip limits what they can do with the paddle. You might have perfect footwork and positioning, but if your continental grip prevents you from generating the topspin needed for modern groundstrokes, you’ll struggle to compete against players who have mastered the eastern grip. Conversely, if you’ve adopted a western grip that makes backhand shots extremely difficult, you’ll always have a glaring weakness that opponents can exploit.
The beauty of addressing your grip is that it’s one of the few aspects of pickleball that you can work on anywhere. You don’t need a court or a partner or even a ball. You can practice your grip while watching television, simply holding your paddle and developing the muscle memory for where your hand should be. This kind of frequent, low-intensity practice builds neural pathways that make the correct grip feel natural.
Ultimately, the goal is to reach a point where you never think about your grip during play. It should be as automatic as your footwork or your ready position. When you achieve this automaticity, your conscious mind is free to focus on tactics, patterns, and reading opponents. This is when pickleball becomes truly fun because you’re playing the strategic game rather than fighting with technique.
Mari Humberg’s insights about grips reflect the experience of someone who has competed at the highest levels and coached players across all skill ranges. Her recommendation to find one comfortable grip and stick with it isn’t about limiting your potential but rather about building a solid foundation that allows everything else in your game to develop properly. The eastern grip, or something close to it, gives most players the versatility they need without the complications of constantly switching grips.
As you continue developing your pickleball skills, periodically revisit your grip to make sure it’s still serving you well. Film yourself playing, work with a coach if possible, and be honest about whether your grip is helping or hindering your progress. Sometimes a small adjustment to hand placement can unlock new levels of spin, power, or consistency that seemed impossible before. The paddle is your only connection to the ball, and your grip is your only connection to the paddle. Getting this fundamental right pays dividends in every other aspect of your game.
