How To Grip A Pickleball Paddle | Eastern, Western, & Continental

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In pickleball, you’ll most likely use one of three grips when you're playing. The continental grip, the eastern grip, or the western grip. Each of the grips come with their own advantages. Choosing the best grip for you comes down to what best suits your mechanics and game style, but more importantly, what feels most comfortable in your hand when you pick up your pickleball paddle. If you’re a player looking to get into pickleball, or maybe you’re open to exploring new ways to grip your paddle, let’s break down the three (3) most common pickleball grips. 

The Eastern Grip - The “Shake Hands” Grip

First and foremost, let's talk about the Eastern grip because it's the most common grip in pickleball and one we'd recommend the most to a new pickleball player. The Eastern grip is a neutral grip that can be used for both forehands and backhands, without having to change your grip from forehand to backhand like you would in tennis or racquetball.

To find the Eastern Grip:

• Place your playing hand on the face of the paddle
• Drag your hand down until you can grip the handle
• Your grip should resemble how you would shake someone’s hand

Here's what it should look like:

The Western Grip - The “Frying Pan” Grip

The Western pickleball grip is less common, but still seen around the courts. The Western pickleball grip resembles how you may hold a frying pan when you flip a pancake. The Western favors the forehand grip and offers a lot of spin, but does set up a difficult angle when attempting a backhand. Which is why you may see players with a Western grip hitting their backhands and forehands on the same side of the paddle. 

To find the Western Grip:

• Find the Eastern Grip.
• Place your playing hand on the face of the paddle and drag it down the face of the paddle, and grip the handle. 
• Rotate the paddle roughly 60-90 degrees toward the ground. (Left side of the paddle face for righties, and the right side of the paddle face for lefties.) 
• Your grip should sit in your hand like you would grip a frying pan

Here's what it should look like:

The Continental Grip

Opposite of the Western, the Eastern plays into a player’s backhand more than their forehand because of the angle of the paddle in your hand. This grip is relatively common as many player’s often remain in a backhand grip to block volleys back to their opponents while at the kitchen line. However, it does make hitting a forehand difficult without changing your grip to accommodate. 

To find the Continental Grip:

• Find your Eastern grip. Place your playing hand on the face of the paddle and drag it down the face of the paddle, and grip the handle.
• Opposite the Western grip, rotate your paddle face 60-90 degrees the opposite direction. Rotate the paddle roughly 60-90 degrees toward the ground. (Right  side of the paddle face for righties, and the left side of the paddle face for lefties.)

Here's what it should look like:

If you’re new to the game and looking for a recommendation on gripping a pickleball paddle, the Eastern may be your best bet to get started. Grips are a hard aspect of the game to break, so the sooner you get into the right grip, the more successful you will be.

Looking for information on how to apply a new grip to your pickleball paddle? Check out our blog on How to Regrip Your Pickleball Paddle or tune into the video before! 

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And there you have it! Hopefully this article helps you decide on what is the best way to grip a pickleball paddle. If you have any other questions, our Paddle Experts are here to help. You can contact them via phone at 866-382-3465, email at experts@justpaddles.com, or you can click here to live chat. Or, if you're in the market for a new paddle then we've definitely got you covered. We're JustPaddles and we're with you from Click To Court!