Tennis to Pickleball: The MASS Transition is Here

Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic newsletter!

id:2023-04-25-21:59:50:669t

Today we’ll explore the transition from tennis to pickleball, how many adults play pickleball, and tips guaranteed to improve your game.

Let’s dive in 👇

It was recently announced that pro tennis player, Jack Sock, is making his pickleball debut at the PPA North Carolina Open. Sock has a career-high world ranking of no. 8 in singles and no. 2 in doubles, making him the highest-ranked tennis player to try his hand at pro pickleball.

It’s unlikely Sock is giving up his tennis career — former junior Wimbledon champion Noah Rubin dropped tennis for pickleball in late 2022.

Sock will be partnering with Anna Leigh Waters for mixed doubles and Tyson McGuffin for men’s doubles.

We all know that tennis players tend to have a leg up when beginning to play pickleball, but the transition isn’t always as easy as they expect.

Some tennis players have even struggled to play well in pro pickleball tournaments. Former tennis professional Sam Querrey predicted that he would be a top 10 pickleball player by April, but he has yet to come within the top 100.

But the way Jack Sock plays tennis doubles — he could be a huge problem for opponents in pickleball doubles: the power, reach, touch, and elite angles.

With four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, including multiple Grand Slams — all eyes will be on how Jack can perform in his first-ever pro pickleball tournament on May 5th. 

Are you transitioning from tennis to pickleball?

The world's no. 1 pickleball player Ben Johns gives you his 5 biggest tips ⤵

A weekly thought from pickleball’s GOAT Ben Johns 🐐

Hey, Readers! This week I will be talking about the transition from Tennis to Pickleball.

The transition from tennis to pickleball can be frustrating at times, but you do have some inherent advantages:

1. First off realize you are not holding a tennis racquet with strings, and trying to do crazy wristy stuff from the get-go will not work out well. The easiest way to think of things at first, especially with ground strokes, is to just try to hit the ball like a flat ground stroke in tennis. This can also hold true for other strokes in the game. Present the full face of the paddle, don’t try to shape the ball too much.

2. Another important stroke in pickleball that’s quite a bit different is the volleys. Volleys in tennis are normally hit underneath the ball, cupping it in a way. This is unhelpful in pickleball because once again, a paddle doesn’t have strings, it can’t shape the ball or hold it nearly as long. Think more about hitting most volleys with a flat to even closed paddle face, and if open, only a little bit.

3. There’s also a footwork transition. Verge on actually moving less than you think, particularly once you get to the kitchen. Try to shuffle and reach for the most part.

4. Shot selection may the most difficult part for tennis players. You should be trying to understand what the appropriate shot is at any given time and attempting to get in a habit of defaulting to those shots. This part is more cerebral and you may need to study what better players do in situations where you often make errors or lose points.

5. Despite all the above seeming possibly daunting, remember that as a tennis player, you have inherent advantages that you should use to the maximum and not let go of. So once you’ve adapted and learned more of the “pickleball” style things, don’t give up your probable natural aggressive style and offensive strokes.

Put the adjustments into play from the tips above, lose the bad habits, keep the beneficial parts of your transition, and you’ll find yourself in a solid position.

Until next week!

-Ben

For more from Ben, follow him on Instagram: @BenJohns_PB and check out Pickleball Getaways and Pickleball 360.

Have you tried this new ball?

In the last edition we presented the Elite 40 from PCKL and have heard some great feedback so far on them. A lot of people are saying they like the visibility and the fact that there is not much of a feel difference but sense more durability. Grab a pack on Amazon or use code PBCLINIC10 on their site to grab 10% off and let us know what you think!

Let the ball come to you.

While it is important to hit the ball in front of your body, reaching too far to hit a shot can only get you into trouble.

You should be making contact with the ball about 4 inches to a foot in front of your body, depending on the shot. If you reach too far, you will be off balance.

Also, hitting the ball in your optimal strike zone increases dwell time, or the amount of time the ball stays on the paddle. Higher dwell time increases spin, control, and power. If you are reaching for the ball, the dwell time will be much lower than if you let the ball come to you.

For all the tennis players out there, this may be a bit of an adjustment (trust me, I was a big tennis player myself). But, the lack of strings on the pickleball paddle means that we have to let the ball get a bit closer to us than we’re used to in order to hit the most effective shot!

Easiest choice ever 😂

Pickleball is coming to…

Red-hot pickleball is coming to the world-famous Central Park in NYC, and everybody is invited.

Well, sort of…

You have to pay $80-120 an hour.

From April 7 to October 9, NYC-based CityPickle will transform Central Park's Wollman Rink into a 14-court pickleball venue that will be open to the public.

• Cost: $80/hour (off-peak times); $120/hour (peak times). CityPickle will also rent paddles for $6 each, but players can bring their own.

• Major League Pickleball, the 24-team pro league that counts LeBron James and Tom Brady as investors, plans to hold exhibition matches there this summer.

Why does this matter?

The pickleball boom has created a demand for courts (especially in urban areas).

Chicken N Pickle (think TopGolf for pickleball) is now in multiple states, CityPickle has multiple locations in New York (both pop-up and permanent) and numerous other facilities have popped up across the country.

Pickleball is a BIG business with lots of profit potential.

Interview

Aaron recently interviewed one of pickleball's most loved families, the DeHearts.

A handful of topics were discussed including:

• Value of a two-handed backhand

• Playing out of an RV across the country

• The daily drama of being a partner with your significant other

You’ll also learn whether or not the DeHearts are forcing their kids to play pickleball 🤯

Come Join the Tournament of the Year!

The 2023 APP NYC Open is the headline event of the 2023 APP Tour.

Taking place at the iconic Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, NYC from May 23 – 28, the event will feature over 1,400 professional and amateur pickleball players, competing in one of the world’s greatest sporting venues.

Demand for the event has been higher than ever, but registration is still open, so to book your place at this incredible event, go to PickleballTournaments.com right now.

You can completely transform your soft game by using offensive dinks.

Matt breaks down how to win every dink rally ⬇️

This strategy will make you a force at the kitchen!

The APP recently published a new study (and the results are incredible).

Over 50 million American adults have played pickleball in the last 12 months.

That’s 19% of the population! Nearly 1/5 of Americans.

Something else to note…

The average age of pickleball players has dropped to 35 years old (meaning more young players are starting to play).

Thanks for reading today!

Last question for you…

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

Join the conversation below! ⬇️