6 Mistakes to Avoid in Pickleball If You Are a Tennis Player

JohnCincolaPickleball

Hey guys, it’s John from John Cincola Pickleball. So if you’re looking like this out on the pickleball court,

Swiss former tennis player, Roger Federer

there’s a chance that you’re a tennis player fresh off your 78-foot court and you came to give pickle a try. The transition from tennis to pickle can be a very tricky one—but don’t worry, I’m here to help. In this article, I’m going to give you six things you need to focus on to make this process super simple.

We’re going to break these six things into three categories. The first are going to be things you’re just going to leave on the tennis court—they have no place in pickleball. So they’re tennis habits we’re going to totally leave behind. The next two are going to be tennis things that we’re going to bring with us to the pickleball court, but we’re going to have to tweak them a little bit. And then the last two are going to be things you’ve probably never done on a tennis court—they’re going to be kind of new shots, new techniques that we’re going to have to learn.

So let’s get into it.

Habits to Leave Behind on the Tennis Court

1. Tennis Volleys

In tennis, we’re taught to have an open face, a slightly high-to-low motion, and to make a big step into the ball—all with the goal of creating some underspin on the volley. But in pickleball, none of those really apply. Underspin, especially on a volley, doesn’t do a whole lot for us because it tends to float or pop the ball up more.

So in pickleball, there’s no step. We’re going to learn to volley from a square stance. Number two, we’re going to learn to volley with a more square paddle face and a more level motion through the ball. So rather than a high-to-low, we’re going to punch straight through—square paddle face and square motion.

2. Big Swings

What I call “big swings”—specifically backswing and follow-through—are another thing to leave behind. In tennis, you’ve got a big court, a heavy ball, a heavy racket, and you’ve got to hit it far. So you need bigger, loopier backswings to generate power.

In pickleball? Not so much. We’ve got a smaller paddle, a lighter ball, and a shorter court. So here’s the rule: imagine a line coming off the side of your body. Very rarely should your paddle get behind that point. There just aren’t many times when you need it back there. You can do almost everything in pickleball with your paddle right at your side, ready to come through.

Now follow-through—it’s just a product of how fast I swing. The faster I swing, the more my paddle’s going to naturally want to follow through across my body. If I’m farther from the net and trying to hit hard, a bit of follow-through is fine. But if I’m at the net, I can’t afford that long follow-through, because the ball’s going to come back fast and I won’t be ready.

So here’s the rule of thumb: at the baseline, swing and follow through however you want. But as we approach the kitchen line, cut that follow-through. Try to stop more or less in the center of your body so you’re ready for the next shot.

Tennis Skills You Can Bring—With a Twist

Now let’s talk about a couple things we’re going to bring with us from the tennis court—but we’re going to tweak them a little.

3. Spin

If you haven’t played a racket sport before, spin can be hard to master. But if you come from tennis and know how to create topspin and underspin—that’s a huge advantage. You want to bring that skill to the pickleball court.

The difference is this: in tennis, the strings on the racket bite the ball a lot more, so you can really close or open the face and get big spin. In pickleball, not so much. The paddle doesn’t grip the ball as much, so we’ve got to be more subtle.

If you’re hitting topspin, you can close the face a little, but not as much as in tennis. Same goes for underspin. Use that spin, but remember: a little goes a long way with paddle angle adjustments.

4. Ready Position

This one’s mostly the same—wide base, split step, paddle centered in front of your body, good balance. But here’s what’s different: in tennis, we’re often taught to have the racket way out in front and up high. Makes sense for tennis—the ball bounces higher, the court’s bigger, so a lot happens up there.

In pickleball? Not so much. Most of the game happens around waist height or lower. So we’re going to drop that ready position to around waist to belly button height. That’s where you want to live in pickleball.

Also—tennis players are used to loop takeaways, creating height in case they have to hit higher. But in pickleball, those high balls are rare—and they usually go out anyway. So we’re going to keep the takeaway simple. From your ready position, go straight to the ball. That extra loop takes time, and in a fast-paced rally, it can lead to errors.

New Skills You’ll Need to Learn

Now we get to the last two—and probably the toughest two—because they’re totally new. These are feels and shots you’ve probably never used on a tennis court.

5. Tip-Down Dinks

You’ve got to get comfortable letting the tip of your paddle drop below your hand. I know that’s weird if you’re coming from tennis—we’re always taught “racket head up.” Strong wrist position, cocked wrist, etc.

But in pickleball, that tip-down position gives you more options. You’ll be more relaxed, and you’ll be able to mix in dinks, speed-ups, even some topspin—all from that position. It might feel weird at first, but it’s worth getting used to.

6. Roll Volleys

Let’s bring it all together—early on we talked about replacing the tennis volley with a punch volley, and just now we talked about the tip-down position. Now we’re going to combine those into what’s called a roll volley.

If a slow ball comes at you and you drop the tip of your paddle below your hand, you can use your feel—your tennis instincts—to roll up the back of the ball and create topspin. This roll volley is super valuable in pickleball. It combines the lower ready position, no extra loop on the takeaway, tip down, and spin.

Get comfortable learning this shot—it’ll open up a ton of options for you on the court.

That’s all I’ve got for you today! Hope you enjoyed the article. Don’t forget to grab your screenshot so the next time you hit the court, you have all this information right at your fingertips.

For exclusive content and full-version tutorials, make sure to check out my YouTube channel, ➡️ John Cincola Pickleball.

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