How to Hold Your Padel Racket Properly?

Why do I have to hold my racket correctly?

As with many things in padel it just comes in handy to do it the right way. Consider, for example, your position in the field. Or think of the way of hitting and the technique behind it. These are all things that will lift your padel level up. When we talk about holding the racket there are a few advantages. First of all, it is less prone to injury. Second, if you hold your racket well, it can be good for any hitting technique. And finally, you no longer have to think about whether you are holding it properly and whether the racket will not fly out of your hand.

Why do I always hold my racket in the same way?

It is smart to hold your racket the same for all strokes you make. For example, a lob and a smash you hold the racket in the same way. In a rally you don’t have time to change your grip because it goes too fast.

How do I hold my racket properly?

First of all I want to make it clear that there are many different ways. Your grip is adjusted to your level. Today we discuss the most used grip in the padel world. Then we are talking about the ‘Hammer grip’. This is a grip that you can easily learn. During the rally you can see if your grip is still in the right position.

How do you adjust the ‘Hammer grip’?

• With your preferred hand, grab the blade of your racket, your thumb on the inside and the other fingers on the outside.
• Then slide your hand in this position to the grip
• close your hand

This way you can always check whether you are still holding the racket properly. You can also do this quickly during a match between rallies!

Can you change your grip when you are experienced during a rally?

Yes this is definitely a good option to think about to get the most out of your grip. It is for the people who have already mastered the hammer grip. So make sure you have the hammer grip under control before you start.

You can adjust your grip on low and high balls:

Low balls

With low balls it is sometimes useful to grab your racket at the bottom of the grip. You can do this so that you have more reach.

This also makes it easier to ‘scoop’ the ball. You play the ball upwards so that you come over the net.

high balls

Just like with low balls, you can get your grip a little lower on the racket. This increases your range and allows you to move your wrist more and thus give more speed/spin to the ball.

wristband

The wristband at the bottom of your racket is there for a reason. You are supposed to wear it at all times while playing. This prevents accidents, it can happen that you let your racket fly out of your hands during a smash. The wristband then keeps your racket with you so that it does not fly to the opponent.