Thinking of switching from tennis to pickleball? Well, not only you, this has become a common practice among thousands of people.
Some people leave tennis because of its quicker or complicated playability, while others show disinterest due to physical issues.
You’ll also find people who made this transition for a short period to boost their tennis skills by playing this another racquet sport.
Also, some players feel pickleball sport is easy to learn and fun to play. Regardless of your reasons, here’re some special pickleball tips for tennis players if you’ve decided to try pickleball sport.
8 Pickleball Tips for Tennis Players
Take Helps from a Helpful Community
Every sport has communities, and so does pickleball. Choosing a helpful pickleball community from your family, friends, or neighbor will help you learn better about this game.
You can practice more matches with them, discuss how to improve your gameplay, and most importantly, learn from their playing style.
Learn How They’re Different
Though pickleball and tennis are racquet sport, you’ll find many differences apart from similarities. Learning their differences will help you catch up with the sport in-depth and faster.
In pickleball sport, the size of the court is at least two times smaller than the tennis court. One no-volley zone on each side of the pickleball court is available, and the standard height of the net is 36 inches high, lower than the tennis court.
Pickleball paddles have wall-type surfaces instead of strings, and the ball used for pickleball paddles is lighter than tennis.
Read more “Pickleball Paddle For Tennis Players“
Besides, the scoring system, serving style, and earning points for the game also vary from tennis. So, these differences heavily affect the pickleball game, and you may have to skip some rules learned from tennis.
Play Steadily
Many tennis players think they should play pickleball games as fast and vigorously as they do for tennis. Though playing fast may give some effective results initially, you may end up on the losing side if not using any techniques.
New pickleball players should play steadily and learn how to slow down pickleballs. This will help them tackle their opponents when competitors end up making mistakes.
Thus, patience is one of the keys in pickleball games. It’ll help you win more matches. Just don’t stick to hard shots all the time.
Start Practicing Dinking Shots
A pickleball player won’t be a master unless he knows how to play dink shots. It’s one type of controlled and soft shot, which can be a powerful weapon to create a more hard shot to return than a power shot.
The primary purpose of using this slow-moving shot is to trap opponents in making mistakes. Though some people don’t prefer to use it, many professional players use it tactically in tournaments.
Keep Your Racket In Position
It’s common practice among tennis players to play huge backswings while executing long follow-throughs.
But you need to add different pickleball games since it has a paddle racquet, not any stringed racquet. Adjustment is necessary for this sport.
Keeping your pickleball paddle in front of you is a solid rule of thumb. After all, the pickleball court is smaller, and the ball will back to you faster. So, you should always be ready.
Be Mindful Of the Serve and Net Height
Since the pickleball net is lower in height than tennis, it’ll affect your serves heavily. Plus, tennis sport doesn’t have as many restrictions as pickleball sport has.
You can only serve a pickleball in an underhand position. You’ll have to practice it more to get used to this serving style.
Unlike tennis games, you’re not going to earn any points unless you’re serving the ball. Thus, when your competitor fails to return the ball, you won’t win any points if it’s his serve. You only score points when you serve the ball.
Change Your Playing Strategy
Some tennis players prefer to play close to the nets. But in pickleball, you’ve to keep yourself away from the no-volley zone. You can’t serve or return the ball while keeping even a single foot on the kitchen zone.
If you’re used to playing in this strategy, changing it is necessary. Otherwise, you’ll end making faults more often. Though it’ll take some time, consistency will help you handle the problem quickly.
Play Consistently
Some tennis players think various playing strategies will help them win over opponents. You may end up on the losing side for showing off.
Instead, stick in steadiness and consistency. Doing it for a prolonged time will help you tackle your opponent.
Wrapping Up
Just because pickleball and tennis are racket sport doesn’t imply you’ll play them in the unchanged style. After all, their scoring system, court size, winning strategies, and playing accessories vary from each other.
Hopefully, our above-mentioned pickleball tips for tennis players will help you play this game more effectively. Pickleball skills can be improved as quickly as possible by following these tips.
