Sweaty hands are an annoying side effect of playing pickleball. They can result in a shaky paddle grip, reducing your effectiveness on the court. Fortunately, there are a few ways to keep your hands from sweating on the pickleball court.
We’ll go through the best ways to avoid sweaty hands when playing pickleball and why they work so well. Hand hygiene is important, but there are other methods that can help, such as wearing wrist bands, not touching your clothes, and having a towel to wipe sweat away.
Here are some of the greatest techniques to keep your hands dry when playing pickleball.
Related – Need a NEW Pickleball Paddle? See the TOP picks here!
Eliminate Sweaty Hands in Pickleball
Playing pickleball with sweaty hands isn’t ideal since it can lead to miss hits and poor play. Below are the top tips for keeping your hands dry while playing pickleball under the hot summer sun.
Practice good hand care and hygiene
The key to reducing sweat is being cognizant of what your hands are doing and that starts with good hygiene and hand control. While some sweat can’t be avoided, inadvertent touches and moves with your hands could be exposing your grip to slippery conditions.
Proper hand care while playing pickleball involves not touching surfaces that could increase the level of moisture on them. This includes repeatedly touching your face, legs, or arms while playing. Clothes may also be drenched in sweat and contribute to sweaty hands.
Use a towel or rag to wipe off excess sweat
Dedicated sweat towels are one of the best ways to keep your hands dry while playing pickleball. In between sets is the perfect time to towel off your grip and hands. Towels can be placed on your shoulder or in your waistband for easy access.
Getting into the habit of using a towel to dry your hands and keep on your person while you play pickleball can help up your game. On those really hot days, towels can be a life saver.
Wear gloves or wrist bands while you play pickleball
One way to stop sweaty hands is to prevent sweat from ever becoming a problem in the first place. That starts with wearing gloves that can provide handle grip even when soaked in sweat. Pairing gloves with a good pickleball grip tape is the ultimate cheat code.
Additionally, wrist bands can help prevent sweat from traveling down your arms and onto your hands. Wrist bands are a cheap and effective way of providing a barrier sweat can’t penetrate.
Wrap your pickleball paddle with absorbent tape
Pickleball paddle grips should always have sticky grip tape installed to prevent slipping or dropping the paddle if your hands get sweaty. Many aftermarket grip tapes can be wrapped on top of existing grip material. These tapes provide an absorbent barrier that grips instead of slips.
Once grip tape is fixed to the handle of the paddle, the grip material works to both absorb sweat and shed off excess moisture. This combination of wicking provides a barrier that prevents sweat from remaining on your hands during extended pickleball sessions.
Avoid wiping your hands on your clothes
Inadvertent touching is the biggest cause of increased sweat on the hands while paying pickleball. Repeated touching of already drenched surfaces expounds the amount of sweat on your hands. The surfaces to avoid touching include clothing, face, hands, and arms.
A dedicated sweat towel comes in extremely handy as you can swap it out for a dry towel if it becomes soaked. If your hands are constantly getting sweaty while playing, pay attention to where your hands are being placed during matches. If your hands are touching your knees or you wipe your face and head a lot, it could be contributing to the issue.
Related – Need a NEW Pickleball Paddle? See the TOP picks here!
Play indoors when possible
Sweaty hands never seem to be a problem when the weather is nice and cool. Avoiding playing pickleball in the hottest parts of the day can reduce the amount of sweat that collects on your hands. The humid and hot days where you’re drenched in sweat from head to toe are the days to utilize an indoor court.
Indoor pickleball courts are climate controlled and in summer that means air conditioned. While you may still sweat due to the intensity of the game, the sweaty hand condition can be minimized or even eliminated completely.
Here’s a great video explaining how to avoid sweaty hands while playing pickleball
Additional tips to keep hands dry and free of sweat while paying pickleball
- Use chalk or quick drying powder to coat you hands
- Tape your wrists if you don’t have wrist bands
- Lightweight, long sleeve shirts can help stop sweat traveling down your arms from reaching your hands
- Have multiple dry towels to replace those that become saturated
- Experiment with grip tape by simulating sweat with water
Should you just suck it up and play with sweaty hands?
Absolutely not. There are so many options available to minimize the amount of sweat on your hands while playing pickleball that it would make no sense to just tough it out. There are clear advantages in playing style that dry hands offer over slippery sweaty hands.
Take advantage of them all, not matter what anyone else says.
Is getting sweaty hands while playing pickleball unavoidable?
Sweat is a natural process of the human body and it’s common to expect some perspiration during a pickleball match. Some people sweat differently than others, and sweaty palms is a condition that often can’t be helped.
Luckily several mitigation options exist for sweaty hands if it can’t be avoided.
Bottom Line
Sweaty hands are a common condition that arises from playing intense matches of pickleball. Sweat from perspiration can accumulate on the hands as it travels down the arms. Inadvertently touching sweaty surfaces such as clothing, faces, and legs can also lead to the dreaded sweaty hand problem.
To fix the issue, proper hand hygiene and placement is a must. Reducing the opportunity for hands to become sweaty is always the best first step. Avoid touching surfaces with sweat on them and always be cognizant of where your hands are being placed.
Pickleball grip tape and wrist sweat bands are both products that can help alleviate sweaty hands. Pickleball grip tape can be placed over existing gipped handles and works to both absorb and shed sweat. Wrist bands can help prevent sweat from ever reaching your hands and if available, play on an air conditioned indoor court.
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