5 Things Every Beginner Gets Wrong (And How to Fix Them)

Everyone remembers their first open play session. The paddle feels foreign, the kitchen line makes no sense, and somehow you’re out of breath after two points. All normal. What’s less normal is carrying the same handful of habits into your second season. Here’s what our coaches flag most, and the fix for each.

1. Gripping the paddle like a hammer

A death grip kills touch. You’ll muscle every ball long and wonder why the soft game feels impossible. Loosen to about a four out of ten and let the paddle face do the work. Maya has people drop their grip pressure mid-rally in her clinics, and the change is immediate.

2. Hanging back after the return

The kitchen line is where points are won. New players hover mid-court, which is the one place you can’t defend from. Move up, get set, take the ball out of the air.

3. Trying to end every rally

Patience beats power at every level below advanced. Reset, dink, and wait for the ball that’s actually attackable. It will come.

4. Never practising the third shot

It’s the hardest shot in the game and the least practised. Fifteen minutes of third-shot drops before open play will do more for your record than an hour of hitting hard.

5. Skipping the warm-up

Pickleball is deceptively hard on shoulders and Achilles tendons. Five minutes of movement before you play is the cheapest insurance there is.

Want these fixed in person? Beginner clinics run twice a week, and paddles are on us.