From Tennis To Pickleball

Is having a tennis background a prerequisite to playing high level pickleball? The evidence seems to be mixed, but it does suggest that it gives those who do an advantage over those who do not.

Pickleball fans know that several of the nation’s professional tennis players have jumped on the pickleball bandwagon. Jack Sock, who played in the Savannah Challenger several years ago, has switched to pickleball, so far with mixed results. Retired stars Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graff took up the sport last year. Agassi, who is fifty-five years old, retired in 2006 when he was thirty-six. He recently teamed with teen phenom and former tennis player, top ranked Anna Leigh Waters, to make his professional pickleball debut in the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida. They won the first match but were bested in the second round. Other tennis pros view pickleball with distain. Notably, Novak Djokovic calls pickleball a distraction that will hurt tennis.

L to R: Kristen Berger, Krista Poppell, Courtney Neely, Maddie Phillips, Amy Paderewski, Katelyn Hilliard

At The Landings Club, where tennis was the only court sport until the early 2000s, the evidence seems to support the theory that a strong tennis background is a distinct positive for those who jump to pickleball. I arrived at that conclusion by canvassing six of our highest ranked women, including Maddie Phillips, Kristen Berger, Amy Paderewski, Claudia Gaughf, Courtney Neeley and Dinah Zapatka. Maddie, Kristen and Claudia were recruited to play tennis in college where each enjoyed very successful careers.

L to R: Krista Poppell, Kristen Berger, Dinah Zapatka, Amy Paderewski

Amy was ranked the number one teenage female tennis player in Alabama at fourteen and sixteen but chose not to play at the University of Wisconsin. Dinah played for the Midland High School team who were the Texas state champions in her junior and senior years. She too decided not to play at the University of Texas. Courtney, who started playing tennis when she was five, played for one year at the University of Tennessee but quit after her freshman year. While they did not compete in college, both Amy and Dinah continued playing tennis. Of the five women I interviewed, only Dinah and Courtney currently play both sports. All of the women have DUPR ratings approaching 5.0.

Courtney Neely and Claudia Gaughf,

All six women echoed the same sentiment. Playing tennis was the perfect prelude to pickleball. It helped with footwork, understanding of positioning and eye-hand coordination. According to Claudia, “Tennis gives you an advantage with foot speed and reaction time, strokes and making it easier to learn the strategy and where to hit the ball.” Generally, eye-hand coordination and court awareness seemed to be the common denominators. Kristen saw the benefits of a tennis background somewhat differently: “The eye-hand coordination and racket IQ is beneficial, but some of the strategy is very different in pickleball.”

It's important to note that not all of our highest ranked women are former tennis players. Neither Krista Poppell nor Katelyn Hilliard played tennis but are very strong athletes. Katelyn played basketball, volleyball and soccer in high school. For Krista it was gymnastics, volleyball and All-Star Cheerleading.

To enjoy pickleball you don’t have to be a former tennis player or be blessed with outstanding athletic prowess. However, if you want to make it to the top of the charts it certainly helps. One way or the other, play pickleball.