The Most Important Tip for 99% of Pickleball Players

LOOSEN

YOUR

GRIP

PRESSURE

That’s right…the number one tip to help the vast majority of you reading this is to loosen your grip pressure on the paddle.   We have given thousands of lessons over the years, and if there is one thing we see constantly from amateur players it’s that they all grip the paddle too tightly.

On a scale of 1 to 10, you should hold the paddle down around a level 3.  

Most folks hold it around a 9 or a 10.

You’re probably smiling right now because you know this is you!

A “death grip” on the paddle leads to tension in the arm, which leads to mis-hits, which results in inconsistency.

A lighter touch on the paddle is a simple adjustment that will help you play more consistently. 

And consistency wins more matches.  

It starts with hitting cleaner shots, and those cleaner shots begin with a soft grip pressure.

The feeling we like to tell folks is to imagine they’re holding the hand of a small child or the paw of a dog.  You’d never hold it tightly, right?  You’d have a soft, gentle touch – and this is the same feeling you’re going for with your pickleball grip.  

Soft and gentle.  Light and loose.  

This approach applies to virtually every stroke you make with one exception that we’ll get into at a later date, i.e., the volley off of a hard drive.  For those hard volleys, you do need to firm things up a bit,  but it’s still never the “death grip” that we see so often. 

When you give this a go, be prepared for a little break in period.  If you have the time to practice this technique before you play your next match, you’ll be well rewarded for the effort.  It doesn’t take long to notice the huge difference it makes in improving the quality of your shots and your touch.  Dinks and drops that used to be a struggle, will become much easier to hit.  Drives that used to hit the net or fly to the back fence will begin to find their way into the court.

If you don’t have time to practice this new way of gripping the paddle, and you decide to simply implement it the next time you play, be patient because it will take some getting used to.  There is a brief, but significant, adjustment period.  But keep at it. This adjustment period is well worth it.

Better dinks.  Better drives.  Better drops. Better put aways. All of these shotsl await you on the other side WHEN (not “if”) you begin gripping the paddle with a lighter touch!