Instead of Adding New Skills, Try Subtracting Your Two Worst Habits

If you can remove the negativity from your side of the net, you’ll be amazed at how much better the team performs as a whole

It’s the first week of January, and you’ve convinced yourself that this is the year you finally become a 5.0 player.

You’ve bought the $250 paddle, signed up for a gym membership you’ll never use, and promised your spouse that you’re going to drill five days a week. But let’s be real: by February, most of those resolutions are gathering dust next to your other $250 paddles.

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Tanner Tomassi has another way. He calls it the "laziest way" to get better at pickleball in 2026, in fact. Instead of trying to add complex new shots or grueling cardio sessions, he suggests a philosophy of addition by subtraction.

The Power of Subtraction

In the world of sports performance, we’re often obsessed with what we can add. We want the nasty backhand roll or the perfectly disguised lob.

But Tanner argues that for most recreational players, the fastest route to a higher DUPR isn't a new weapon; it's removing the self-inflicted wounds.

Think about it like a business. You can try to increase revenue all day, but if your overhead is bloated and you're leaking cash on bad investments, you're never going to be profitable. In pickleball, your "bad investments" are the unforced errors and the mental lapses that gift points to your opponents.

Use these two common bad habits are your guide. These might not be your most pressing vices, but you've got a couple you can actively eradicate from your game. We guarantee it.

1. Stop the premature speed-ups

We’ve all felt that itch. You’re in a dink battle, it’s getting a little repetitive, and you decide you’re going to be the hero. You take a ball that’s a little too low or a little too far out in front and try to rip it past the person across from you.

What happens? Usually, they’re ready for it, and you end up eating some plastic for breakfast.

Tanner’s advice is simple: set a "10-dink minimum."

Don't even think about speeding up the ball until you’ve hit at least ten quality dinks.

It’s about discipline. When you stop trying to manufacture winners out of thin air, you’ll find that your opponents eventually give you the opening you were looking for all along.

2. Be a better partner (seriously, no more eye-rolling)

Don't pretend you haven't done this.

Your partner misses a routine return of serve or a bunny put-away, and you can’t help it: the eyes go back in your head, your shoulders slump, and you let out a sigh that can be heard three courts over.

Pickleball is a game of momentum and psychology. When you make your partner feel like every mistake is the end of the world, they’re going to play tight. And tight players miss even more shots.

More than that, though, you've just not being a very positive person.

Tanner emphasizes being an encouraging partner on every single point. It’s not just about being "nice" (though this really doesn't hurt, either); it’s a tactical advantage.

A relaxed, confident partner is a better partner. If you can subtract the negativity from your side of the net, you’ll be amazed at how much better the team performs as a whole.

Focus on the negatives to find the positives

The secret to getting better isn't always about working harder. Sometimes it's about working smarter by doing less of the stuff that hurts you.

If you can commit to removing your two worst habits from your game, you'll find you're letting the game come to you rather than trying to force it. And you're just a more enjoyable partner and opponent in general. And trust us, that counts for a lot.

In a sport where the team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins, this is probably the best resolution you can make for 2026.

So, put down the heavy weights and stop stressing about that five-day-a-week drilling schedule. Just focus on being a better version of yourself and see what happens.