Pickleball is Changing…

We all know that pickleball is a fantastic sport bursting through the fabric of the competitive and social culture of the United States. On the top end of this burgeoning world, professional pickleball tournaments are gaining a wider audience, meaning more ticket sales, more prize money, and thus, more interest in players going pro. Even internationally, the sport is continually being introduced, with worldwide tournaments becoming increasingly common. Check out the pickleball global website to see what I mean! 

What does that mean for how the sport is played?

This explosive growth has encouraged higher numbers of elite athletes to enter the sport, especially those from tennis. Now, in my previous career as a tennis coach and program manager, I know the journey these upper tier tennis players have gone through to get where they are. I’ve been the primary developmental coach for many junior players, taking them from total beginner to high performance tournament-ready athletes. It required years of intense effort, with hundreds and hundreds of hours of athletic development, focused situational practice with thousands and thousands of repetitions, match plays, starter tournaments, overall hard work and focus, etc., to get these kids elevated. And that was to just reach high performance! Many more years of development are needed to get them to college-level or higher. 

The point is, high-level tennis players are some of the most elite athletes on the planet. They have all the tools to come onto the pickleball court and change the game. 

One of the main items is the sheer amount of paddle speed elite tennis players can impart onto the ball. This doesn’t just mean more power, but more spin as well. Spin is the secret sauce of racquet sports, and it’s no different for pickleball. It allows players to maintain consistency and depth control while increasing power and angle potential, thanks to the Magnus Effect (fluid dynamics kinda stuff, pretty cool). 

The bangers can bang way harder and move the ball more effectively around the court, significantly increasing the reception challenges for their opponents. Reaction speeds and hand and wrist control is upgraded, allowing more aggressive but still controlled dinking, speed ups, roll volleys, and counters, with heavy topspin as the foundation (created with an impressive whipping motion). Top pro players have refined kinetic chain mastery, allowing far more explosive serves, returns, and drives as they precisely use their entire body to uncoil energy into their hands. Footwork is highly agile, with players literally sliding on the hard courts to cover and change direction. Shots such as ATPs and Ernies are commonplace and now expected at the higher levels, all which take elevated levels of athleticism due to the quick decision making, strength, balance, coordination, and reception skills needed to successfully execute. Playful underspin shots can drive or drop across the court.

This upgraded level of play is going to stretch down to the needs at the club level. This is where Slate Pickleball Club comes in. With our robust and comprehensive developmental programming pathway designed for the modern game, we will focus on skill and athletic development, the tougher situations that will arise, and how to adapt and execute upgraded techniques needed to deal with those situations, allowing all of our students to learn succeed, and thrive in a fun and welcoming environment. 

Pickleball is changing and will continue to change, and we’re here to meet the call. 

See you out there…