How to hold a padel racket

Before your first swing, there's one small thing that quietly shapes every shot you'll play: how you hold the racket. The good news is that padel keeps this refreshingly simple. One grip does almost everything, so you can stop worrying about your hands and start enjoying the game.

The continental, or “hammer”, grip

The default grip in padel is the continental grip, often nicknamed the “hammer” grip — and that nickname is your shortcut to finding it.

Pick up the racket as if it were a hammer and you were about to knock a nail into the wall in front of you. That natural, edge-on hold is the continental grip. Your hand sits on the handle so that the racket's edge leads the way, not the flat face. Keep a “shake hands with the racket” feel: relaxed, neutral, with a small V shape formed by your thumb and index finger running along the top of the handle.

This grip works because it sits perfectly between forehand and backhand, letting you play both sides, plus volleys and serves, without moving your hand.

Why it's the all-purpose default

Here's the part tennis players find surprising: in padel you barely change your grip at all.

In tennis, players switch grips constantly — one for forehand, another for backhand, others for serve and slice. Padel doesn't demand that. The continental grip handles the forehand, the backhand, the volley, the serve, and even most of the overhead shots you'll grow into later. Because the racket is short and the court is small, you rarely have the time — or the need — to change grips mid-rally.

How to check your grip

A quick self-check keeps you honest. Hold the racket in your hammer grip and look at the base knuckle of your index finger — for the continental grip it should rest on the top edge of the handle, roughly where the V of your thumb and forefinger points up the top of the grip.Verify

One drill to make it feel natural

Grips feel awkward until repetition makes them invisible. Try this simple routine, no court required.

1. Pick it up like a hammer

   Stand relaxed and pick the racket up in the hammer grip, then set it down.

2. Repeat twenty times

   Each time, check the V of your thumb and finger and the “shake hands” feel.

3. Find it without looking

   Keep going until your hand lands in the grip on its own, eyes elsewhere.

4. Take it on court

   Play gentle forehands and backhands without changing your hand at all — just rotate your shoulders to switch sides.

5. Finish a basket of balls

   After a basket, the single grip will start to feel like the obvious, only way to hold the racket.

Hold too tight and you'll tire fast and lose touch, so keep the pressure light — firm enough to control the frame, loose enough to feel the ball.

Groove it with a coach

A grip is easy to learn right and annoying to un-learn later, so it's worth getting a second pair of eyes on it early. A coach can check your hand in thirty seconds and save you months of quiet frustration.