The 10 Mistakes That Tennis Players Make When Playing Paddle

We’ve all been there. We come from the tennis courts and start playing this little game called platform tennis. It looks easy. The net is a bit lower that a tennis net. Doesn’t seem too difficult and we are sure we can transfer our tennis skills into the cage, right? Nope. Not as easy as it looks.

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Here are the top 10 mistakes that tennis players make when playing paddle:

1. They try to kill it and win the point. There is no winning points in paddle.
2. They try to lob over the net players’ head. The courts is so small, 22 feet from the net to the baseline, that it is almost impossible to lob the ball over anyone’s head.
3. They volley cross court. Hitting angle shoots doesn’t really work in paddle that much. It forces the net team to shift at the net and the ball stays in the court after it hits the side wire (and it also provides for extra time to get to it).
4. They make a split step when coming to the net. By making a split step you guarantee yourself that you will volley up. Rushing into the net without a split step will provide you with better chances of making the first volley.
5. They smash the overhead down. Of course they do! It is fun and they think they can put the ball away. The reality is that when smashing the ball down it creates opportunities for your opponents to drive off the deck.
6. They let the ball drop too low when driving groundstrokes. When driving from the baseline the point of contact should always be above the hip. When the point of contact is in between hip and shoulder height it will be easier to drive and try to make net players volley up.
7. They slice the backhand. Not a good idea at all. It is easy to volley and you can’t really hurt your opponents. There is no slice groundstroke in paddle. you either drive or you lob.
8. They chase the ball instead of letting the ball go into the screen. This is fun to watch. Screen shots provide additional time to get to the ball. Tennis players tend to chase the ball and sometimes end up looking like a pretzel.
9. They don’t play two thirds at the net. Covering half and half at the net doesn’t really work well because you would be covering the area outside the lines of the courts. Contact your local PPTA pro to learn this and other ways to play at the net.
10. They get frustrated and quit. Well, they don’t not always quit but is it very frustrating to get beaten by this paddle people! =)