Aspen's Advice: Grip

"Grip it and rip it" is not a strategy...

Aspen Kern is the creator of the Pickleball Forum and often adds his thoughts on pickleball topics. Aspen is a top player in the game and knows what he is talking about. Since the subject of this week has been about the results of my new grip, his thoughts on the grip are very relevant.

Aspen's Advice

There are Pickleball coaches that recommend certain grips that come from tennis (mainly the continental), that translate well to the game of Pickleball. What they don't tell you is every tennis grip can be mimiced by making an adjustment with the arm and wrist. My go to grip is a slight variation on the continental, but as you can see below I use it with different wrist angles to construct a variety of Pickleball specific shots. The photo on the top is a continental grip wrist adjusted to project a downward volley. The 2nd photo is a variation I use on my forehand dink to disguise misdirections. These are the result of over 7000 hours worth of drilling, but I know they can be implemented fairly quickly because I have taught them to other players, and they were using them within a few months. If your a tennis player, start thinking Pickleball, and if your a Pickleball player, start thinking angles.