How to hold a padel racket: a continental grip you can find again

Find the grip before trying to hit with it

Hold the racket by its throat with your non-playing hand. Turn it so you are looking along its edge, then slide your playing hand down onto the handle as though shaking hands with it. Keep your hand fully on the handle. The hammer comparison is another way of picturing this starting position: you are holding a tool by its narrow handle rather than laying your palm behind the broad racket face.

Babolat recommends the continental as the basic padel grip and describes the V between thumb and index finger aligning with the frame. Decathlon uses the same handshake and hammer cues. Treat those descriptions as a way to find a starting position, then have someone check it if the racket still feels awkward. Babolat’s technique guide explains the basic hold.

Make a slow forehand movement, stop, then make a slow backhand movement. You are checking whether you can present the face on either side while keeping the same starting hold. There is no ball to rescue and no point to lose. Use that freedom to look at your hand.

For a left-handed player, “playing hand” means your left and “supporting hand” means your right. That avoids the confusion of following a right-handed demonstration literally. If a coach uses a numbered bevel on the handle, ask them to show it on your own racket from your own viewpoint. A number remembered from an upside-down photograph is not much help.

Give the other hand a job

The Padel School teaches using the non-playing hand to support and locate the racket between shots. Its demonstration describes a right-handed player using the left hand. The practical lesson is to let the supporting hand help you reset rather than leaving the playing hand to shuffle around the handle on its own. Find your padel grip includes the coaching explanation and a wall-practice progression.

Suppose you finish a forehand and notice that your hand has crept round the handle. During a pause in practice, support the racket again and deliberately find the starting hold. Then repeat the same manageable feed. You are investigating when the change happens, rather than trying to remember how the handle felt three rallies ago.

Keep the distinction between a reset and an elaborate ritual. You do not need to inspect your knuckles while an opponent hits at you. Learn the position in slow practice, use pauses to check it, and gradually see whether you can recover it without looking.

If the movement around the shot is also uncertain, the broader guide to padel technique covers preparation, volleys and recovery. Hand position is one part of that movement, not an explanation for every ball that finds the glass.

Work out which grip problem you have

“My grip is wrong” can mean several different things. Before buying another overgrip or copying a professional’s hand position, choose the row closest to what you can observe. This is an editorial practice checklist, not a test that diagnoses your technique from the result of one shot.

If the surface is the problem, follow the handle and overgrip troubleshooting check. An overgrip changes the surface you hold; continental describes how you hold it. Those are different decisions, even though players use “grip” for both.

Imagine an easy backhand feed that keeps going wrong. You turn your hand, squeeze harder, shorten the swing and change your stance. The next ball lands in. Satisfying, yes; informative, less so. You have changed four things and cannot tell which helped. For practice, choose one observation and keep the feed manageable enough to notice it.

When should you change your grip?

Begin with a repeatable continental hold. The Padel School’s guidance on changing grip for particular shots distinguishes beginners from experienced players exploring small adjustments, including for very low balls. It advises newer players against unnecessary changes before their basic technique is reliable.

That leaves room for coaching. If your coach teaches a small adjustment for a particular back-court ball, ask three questions: which ball is this for, what is the adjustment meant to help, and how do I recover my normal hold afterwards? “Use this everywhere” and “never change anything” are both poor substitutes for understanding the situation.

Suppose you practise a small forehand adjustment on a slow, predictable feed. You know the side and have time to prepare. Now suppose the next feed can arrive on either side. That is a different task. If the adjustment leaves you searching for the backhand hold, go back to the predictable sequence and include the recovery before making it harder.

At the net, use a stable starting hold while learning to alternate sides. Avoid adding a grip experiment to a rushed volley exchange. You can arrange a separate practice block where the feeder knows what you are working on. Your match partner does not have to discover the experiment at 30–40.

Take it from setup to a rally

The following progression is an editorial practice suggestion. It has no pass mark, prescribed number of sessions or promise of improvement. Use a suitable court or permitted practice area, keep others clear of the swing and rebound, and use controlled feeds. Stop rather than force a painful movement.

First, find the grip without a ball. Let go, support the racket and find it again. Once you can recognise the position, make slow movements on both sides. If you are unsure from the outset, a short demonstration from a coach is more useful than rehearsing a guess.

Next, ask a partner for a gentle, predictable forehand feed. After each attempt, reset and check what your hand did. Change to the backhand in a separate block. The purpose is to notice the hold, not to produce an impressive rally total. You can also use controlled wall practice where the setting is suitable, as The Padel School suggests.

Then alternate sides on a known pattern. Keep enough time between feeds to recover. If your starting position disappears as soon as you alternate, slow down and separate the two movements again. Avoid interpreting an awkward first attempt as proof that a grip cannot work for you.

Finally, allow the feeder to choose the side, still at a manageable pace. Finish by playing points and note one situation to revisit. A grip you can find while standing still is a start; the next question is whether you can return to it while also watching the ball.

For practice between bookings, use the home-practice space check. It helps you choose an exercise that fits the room rather than assuming every home can accommodate a racket and rebounding ball.

Bring one useful observation to your next lesson

Write down the situation, what you changed and what you noticed. A hypothetical note might read: “Predictable forehands were manageable. When we alternated sides, I noticed my hand stayed in the forehand adjustment. Next time I want to practise returning to the starting hold.” That gives a coach something specific to examine without pretending you have identified the whole cause.

At your next session, ask someone to check the starting grip, then watch the transition that bothered you. Keep the same racket and a manageable feed while you investigate it. You can decide what to change once you can see what is happening.

Sources

• Babolat, Padel Techniques: Complete guide to essential shots, published 22 October 2025. Basic continental-grip description.
• The Padel School, Find your Padel Grip. Starting hold, supporting hand and controlled practice. No publication date visible in the retrieved page.
• The Padel School, Change Grip For Any Shots? Beginner and experienced-player distinction. No publication date visible in the retrieved page.
• Decathlon, What is the continental grip in padel? Cross-check of the hammer/handshake cue. No publication date visible.

Sources accessed 2 November 2026. The practice checklist and hypothetical situations are editorial guidance, not findings from a player trial.