Pickleball is becoming more and more popular across the US with many players coming from tennis. While many tennis skills translate well into pickleball, there are some adjustments you must make in order to excel. Here are the top tips to get you ahead as you transition from tennis to pickleball.
Tips For Transitioning From Tennis To Pickleball
Move Up To The Kitchen Line
Perhaps the biggest hurdle that tennis players switching to pickleball have to overcome is wanting to stay back in the baseline or transition zone. You must move up to the kitchen line or non-volley zone in pickleball. The team that controls the net wins the point.
You may be used to staying back in tennis to get more time to react to the ball. But remember, the pickleball court is much smaller than a tennis court. And the plastic Wiffle ball does not come with as much speed as a tennis ball.
It is better to move up to the kitchen line and smash high balls in the air, rather than to let them bounce while you stay back.
Don’t Underestimate Soft Shots
In tennis, you may be used to hitting the ball hard with as much topspin as you can apply. While driving the ball can be an effective shot in lower levels of pickleball, you will need to learn soft shots in order to move up.
Soft shot terms may be new to you as a tennis player. They include dropping, dinking, and resetting which is placing the ball in the kitchen as softly as possible. All three shots essentially do the same thing: make the ball unattackable.
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More importantly, soft shots are extremely effective to move your opponents around from their stable, athletic stance. That in turn creates pop-ups that you or your partner can smash away.
Less Is More
When we say less is more in pickleball, that includes swings, movement, and spin. To break it down to each point, you want your swings to be more compact that the huge tennis swings you may be used to. Since the pickleball court is a lot smaller in size, you want to make sure your swings are compact to keep the ball in place. Remember, the bigger the swing, the farther the ball will travel.
As for movement, you want to keep your body steady before making each shot. You don’t want your feet to be moving while trying to drop or dink for example, if you are able to help it. Because soft shots especially require the right amount of touch to keep it low and unattackable. If you’re constantly moving while making your shots, they will not be consistent.
Lastly, one of the biggest adjustments players have to make switching from tennis to pickleball is knowing when to use spin. A slice return is great to make your opponent’s third shot harder. Or slicing a dink can create aggressive dinks that are harder to return.
However, you don’t want to use spin with every shot. For example, you don’t want slice-volley balls that are high when your opponents are at the kitchen net. That will leave the ball high in the air for your opponents to smash and put the ball away.
Or if your opponent’s serve comes super fast with heavy topspin, you may want to return the force back to them with a simple forehand stroke rather than trying to slice the return and miss it. Shot selection is a huge part of leveling up in pickleball and may come naturally as you continue to play.
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