making switch from tennis to pickleball

[blakesq]

HI All,

I have been playing tennis for about 45 years (I am mid-50's). Nowadays, I walk with a bad limp for a day or two after tennis (doubles) because of my bad knee. I tried pickleball on Friday, and my knee was fine afterwards! I didn't love pickleball (like I do tennis) because I feel like a newbie, getting used to not stepping forward into the kitchen after I hit a volley, knowing when to stand up close or back due to the double bounce rule, having people giving me advice (when I used to be the know it all about tennis) etc. I really worked to get better at tennis over the years, and I feel a bit sad about giving it up due to my knee (had meniscus surgery, wear an offloader brace now), but I hope I grow to love pickleball. My town in New England has a big pickleball community, so hopefully it will be an easy transition. Anyhow, just felt like sharing, and would love to hear any advice or words of encouragement.

 

[LeeD]

I tried pBall at age 72, after almost 50 years of tennis.
Spacial awareness was my main problem. That, and really watching that slug slow moving ball.
Was kinda boring until I watched 2 5.0+ players play singles. Just like tennis except for underhand serves.
Heavy switch grip topspin fore and backhands, low dipping passing shots, low driving volleys, and lots of baseline HEAVY topspin shots.
Kitchen is fine, you can putaway most volleys and some half volleys from there. Deep lobs are easier in pBall, so staying 7' back is ok.

 

[LeeD]

Oh, maybe skip doubles with old folkes and play with 25 year old ex tennis players in singles.

 

[travlerajm]

The most fun I’ve had in a racquet/paddle sport was when we picked a kit for backyard tennis from a sporting goods store.

We set up the net, which if I recall correctly was about 4 feet high. It came with a set of cheap aluminum tennis racquets, but higher-end racquets work fine.

The ball was an open-cell nerf foam ball about the size of a softball.

No kitchen. We Set up the baseline a bit shorter than for a pickleball court, as we only had about 40 feet to work with. Lots of volleys. Lots of quick exchanges. Lots of overheads and lobs. Easy to apply spins. Loads of fun.

Not a fan of pickleball. Hate the kitchen rule. Hate the double bounce rule. Hate the sound. Hate the ball.

 

[LeeD]

Like the kitchen rule...since pBall can be geriatrics, lobs become very effective once kitchen is violated.
Don't know what 2 bounce rule is.
Hate the sound, so must hate the ball.
Seen a few young, strong players playing pBall like tennis, but under hand serve.

 

[Tennisplyr]

Playing both pickleball (a few years) and tennis (for 40+ years) and enjoy them both. However I’m finding given limited time I‘m finding it hard to get much better at pb. Trying just to have fun, life’s too short

 

[treo]

Anna Bright played college tennis and a few ITF tournaments winning less than $1000 prize money. She plays pickleball for 4 months with a 4.0 rating and won her first pro tournament this month in both singles and doubles.
This has happened before around 2015 when female tennis players made the switch and won their first pro tournament in singles but Anna did it in doubles also, even bageling the top seeds. It showed how young hard hitters can beat old school veterans.

Delray Beach Teen And Pompano Beach College Grad Win Gold Medal At Punta Gorda Pro Pickleball Tournament

Playing Only 4 Months With A 4.0 Amateur Rating Anna Bright Becomes Overnight Superstar Boca Raton, FL – Last week, at the 2022 Association Of Pickleball Professionals (APP) Punta Gorda […]

www.bocaratontribune.com

 

[LeeD]

No, it only shows it in women's pBall.
In men's, there plenty of topspin hitting big tall guys who cover court and hit with power.

 

[treo]

Almost all the top pro men and women come from tennis. The pro tours have split into two, PPA and APP, and the top women play PPA which is why Anna Bright can win APP and not PPA. There is a shortage of top female players and the men's draw is deep. This time last year, one of the current top men, JW Johnson, was still deciding whether to pursue tennis or pickleball. Expect to see more and more tennis players who didn't achieve much on the pro tour to make waves in pickleball. There is also Gigi Fernandez, one of the best doubles players of all time with 17 slams, playing senior pro pickleball.

 

[TripleB]

I played tennis from the age of 5 until I gave it up last Summer (2021) at the age of 54. Picked up pickleball about 3.5 years ago. The rules took some time to get used to - the one that drove me crazy was the two bounce rule when I was serving...always wanted to take the return out of the air. It took me about 2 months to finally stop doing that completely. Once I learned the rules, and how to hit a 3rd shot drop, my background in tennis really helped me advance my pickleball skills a lot faster than others who don't have a racquet sports background.

Over time playing tennis became less and playing pickleball became more until eventually (last Summer) I gave up tennis completely, started playing pickleball several times a week, helped work with the powers in my city to convert 3 tennis courts into 9 pickleball courts, and even became the USA Pickleball Ambassador for my county.

While I miss being around my tennis friends, I don't miss tennis at all!

TripleB

 

[tennytive]

In men's, there plenty of topspin hitting big tall guys who cover court and hit with power.

Hit with some of those young guys and was overpowered several times standing up at the line. Another factor was they all play with the green Franklin 40s which have more velocity and sit up higher if you don't get your return speed just right. The ball would just pop off my paddle back to them for another drive and eventually I would net or shank the return. I usually play with yellow Onix balls which are softer and suit my finesse game against the older bangers. I have a nice drop but with the Franklins, not so much.
No third shot drops, all low hard drives, the opposite of how I was taught to play a few years ago. I will go back as it was the first time with these really fast balls. Maybe I can adjust and get used to the faster speed. If not, it will probably be another 2-6 drubbing. I did have some success with slicing serve returns, so there is that.

 

[LeeD]

Slice for sure, but hard underspin volleys work well to keep the ball shoe top high.
Serve slow, high, and tons of sidespin to force them to half volley their return of serves.
But youth can beat old, so it doesn't always work.
Their strong grips still have some problems with low skidders.

 

[blakesq]

I played for the fifth time this morning, and really felt like I got past the learning curve and felt at ease on the court— didn’t have to think so much about when to not hit the ball in the air, staying in the kitchen, etc. I really really enjoyed myself. On the downside, people were commenting about how hard I was hitting overheads. Hopefully they were just giving me a hard time.

 

[LeeD]

Don't play old ladies or guys over 60.
Food players see one of your overheads and remember NOT to pop the ball up over your waist anymore...hence the kitchen junk.

 

[StringGuruMRT]

Expect to see more and more tennis players who didn't achieve much on the pro tour to make waves in pickleball.

This is exactly what is happening now in the top levels of pickleball, and it makes sense. Initially when I started playing PB I had a huge advantage being a strong tennis player, and I loved being the alpha in the groups I played in. Now as I have progressed and started to compete against more seasoned PB players, my raw skills don't work as well.

 

[LeeD]

Yeah, hate it when they counter my hardest deepest baseline shot with junky short sidespin.
They keep it low, forcing flat or sliced replies, playing into their dinky kitchen game, waiting to pounce on any errant waist high ball, which they smash down the middle closer to the weaker player.