Pickleball Virgin: First Time Playing? Things I Did Not Expect

Are you interested in starting pickleball? Maybe you want some pointers before you step onto the pickleball court for the first time. Over the past year my involvement in pickleball has definitely made a significant impact on my life. Pickleball has allowed me to meet people from all walks of life. I have been lucky enough to play with the number one ranked male player in Singapore as well as help fellow players by sharing what I've learnt from my experiences. In this article I will be discussing things that took me by surprise when playing pickleball for the first time, in the hope to help pickleball virgins looking to break into this joyful sport.

The Bounce

Before playing pickleball, I was an avid tennis and table tennis player for over a decade as well as dabbler in badminton and squash. I strutted into my first pickleball social session with confidence that my skills would make playing pickleball feel like a walk in the park. However, the bounce of the pickleball definitely took some time to get used to! I found myself losing balance falling forwards on many shots to compensate for my misjudgement of incoming balls.

The bounce in pickleball is unlike any ball, racket or paddle sport I have played before. Once you get used to the movement of the ball and familiarise yourself with the rules and strategies, the game becomes much funner to play. Play! Pickle offers introductory lessons for those looking for a quick step into the world of pickleball. Those wanting to play at an intermediate or advanced level will often opt for private lessons.

The Finesse

Due to the design of the ball, being perforated and light in weight, it tends to travel slower than a tennis or squash ball. The court size is the same as a badminton court, which is small in relation to a tennis court. For these reasons I found myself getting my butt whooped by people that were more than twice my age in a social doubles game that turned competitive. I was in shock but also humbled by the experience.

One of the players, in an attempt to console my ego after the session, taught me that pickleball is a game of strategy and finesse. I appreciated this advice, as my initial mentality was to try and bombard my senior opponents with brute force groundstrokes. Pure brute force as a strategy clearly didn’t work. Finesse comes in the form of dinks and effective pickle strategy. You can learn more about the technicalities in our other articles.

Besides my competitive ego getting a bit hurt, I was pleasantly surprised with how fun my first pickleball session was. The respectful and welcoming community was the highlight. The players were sociable and keen to share their knowledge to newcomers of all ages and backgrounds. This is why I believe pickleball will continue to blossom and form healthy interactions in Singapore and around the world.