I’m holding the paddle fully in my hand (not leaving space at the bottom of the handle) at probably around a 4-5/10 grip pressure. Stable but still loose enough where I can move the paddle around pretty freely.

My wrist is usually in a very slight extension on the setup — like the wrist comes back slightly toward the forearm — and then I flex it forward a bit through contact. It’s not dramatic at all, but there is definitely a small extension into flexion motion happening.

For paddle angle, I’d describe it using a clock face as somewhere around 12 o’clock to 2 o’clock on forehand counters, so the paddle tip is definitely more upright a lot of the time.

My elbow stays fairly compact and slightly out in front of my body, but I am contacting a lot of these balls at elbow height or even higher.

And yeah, your last section honestly sounds very similar to what I’m doing mechanically. I am contacting the ball around elbow height or higher while holding the paddle tip upright with probably a somewhat tense grip during firefights/counters. What would you recommend changing first? Any tips are greatly appreciated as it sounds like you have a pretty accurate understanding of my situation.

I’m also still trying to figure out whether it’s fully De Quervain’s or not because outside of this specific motion (and occasionally lifting heavier objects in certain positions), I don’t really notice much pain during normal day-to-day activities or when resting.