5 Mistakes Pickleball Beginners Make and How to Avoid Them
If you’re just getting started with the terrific sport of pickleball, here are some beginner mistakes to look out for and how best to avoid them.
1. Relaxing Your Grip
Gripping the pickleball paddle too tightly is a common mistake that can lead to fatigue and loss of control. You can avoid this mistake by holding the paddle with a relaxed grip and thinking of the paddle head as the top of a hammer. This will allow you to maintain control while minimizing tension and fatigue.
Also, holding the paddle too tightly can lead to forearm and elbow soreness. Part of relaxing your grip is using an “overgrip” wrap which brings more comfort and stability to your paddle.
2. Move Your Feet
Not moving your feet is another mistake where you’re standing in one place and reaching for the ball instead of moving your feet. This can cause you to lose your balance and not be able to hit the ball effectively.
To avoid this mistake, always be ready to move your feet and position yourself to hit the ball with a balanced stance. We often attribute not hitting the ball properly to our swing or stroke, but more times than not, our footwork has betrayed us and not necessarily our swing or paddle.
3. Finesse Not Power
New players often make the mistake of hitting the ball too hard, leading to missed shots and errors. Having a controlled forehand or backhand is better. Focus on hitting the ball at a controlled and consistent pace. This will help keep the ball in play and improve your accuracy.
Most games are a mixture of power, pace, and finesse, not just how hard you can hit the ball. Learn to balance your game strategy and thus keep your opponent off balance.
4. Talk to Your Partner
Forgetting to communicate with your partner on the pickleball court in doubles play can lead to confusion and losses. New players often fail to communicate with their partners, leading to missed shots at the kitchen line and balls going out of bounds. To avoid this mistake, coordinate your strategy with your partner before each point and during the game.
Communication also creates a bond between players, which can sometimes carry your team through rough games. Encouragement is a powerful emotional support that can uplift a player and a team beyond their aspirations.
5. Practicing Your Serve
Serving is a critical part of the game, but new players often neglect to practice their serves. Practice your serves regularly and experiment with different types of serves to find what works best for you. This will help you to develop a consistent and effective serve that can give you an advantage in the game.
Experimenting with new serves during a match is not necessarily the time to explore or develop new or innovative serves, which is why practicing them is essential. Using practice as your “sandbox” for experimentation and development of a variety of serves is best as it helps create muscle memory such that during a game, these will become second nature to you.
What are Pickleball Serving Rules?
USA Pickleball makes the official pickleball serving rules and decides what legal serves are allowed.
Here are the 6 essential pickleball serving rules that all beginners should know:
Pickleball serves are always underhand serves.
The paddle has to make contact with the ball below the waistline.
The paddle face must be below your wrist at the point of contact.
Serve must land crosscourt into the service box or service area on the opposite side.
Feet must be behind the baseline, and one foot must retain contact with the ground until the ball leaves the paddle.
One serve attempt is allowed per server.
What Popular Types of Pickleball Serves Exist?
There are two main types of serves that exist, volley serves and drop serves. Volley serves are when the ball is thrown into the air, and the paddle hits the ball before the ball bounces. A drop serve is when the ball is dropped on the ground first before the paddle makes contact with the ball.
There are many variations of these two main service types, including topspin serves and lob serves. A topspin serve is sometimes considered a power serve and requires technique and follow-through on the serving motion to cause the ball to spin. A lob serve is a deep serve that is hit closer to the opponent’s baseline in a high, upward arc. It can be hit toward the sideline or along the center line.
Drop serves are usually used by beginners and intermediate players because they offer more control. It is rare that professional players use drop serves.
When the serving team is developing a serving strategy, it’s important that both partners have the fundamental pickleball serve technique mastered and can consistently hit into the service court to not lose points. Understanding the serving rules, including the bounce rule, and following serving tips from more advanced players or coaches will help beginners master the service game in no time!
Final Thoughts
You can thoroughly improve your pickleball game and enjoy the sport by avoiding these common mistakes. Remember to stay relaxed, move your feet, hit the ball with control, communicate with your partner, and practice your serves regularly. With time you'll become a skilled and confident pickleball player.
Here’s a link to We Are Pickleball’s Beginners Guide to help you get started and avoid the aforementioned mistakes. Check out this video made to help beginners improve their game:
