Order on the Court Blog: Players’ Tell reveals court experience

William Tell’s mythical archery expertise enabled him to focus and make the shot under pressure - as shown when forced to shoot an apple off his son’s head. The ability to slow down before ball contact adds control.

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In describing high stakes power games, you often hear commentators talking about the “Tell”, a small gesture a player may inadvertently show that helps other professionals around the table predict the strength of their hand. It could be an eye glance or blink, (hence the sunglasses), a slight gesture, anything that might tip the other player off in high stakes games.

When I’m teaching a new class of students, I look for these on-court “Tells” to help me evaluate players initially and help shape the pace and subject of lessons. 

An experienced badminton player’s Tell is their incredible and deadly accurate, overhead smash. Quick hands, fast feet, love of the Lob, and Overhead.

A tennis player’s unmistakable Tell, is the length of their swing, its fluidity, from set up to follow through. The long smooth swing necessary to generate enough power to control a ball across the larger court. The length of the swing, instead of a short chop, increases the amount of time the ball comes into contact with the racket strings, for generating massive power with top spins drives, or controlled slices.

This is both a blessing to a tennis player, who is converting to pickleball, as well as a curse. Because there isn’t enough time and space to accommodate the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) style of groundstroke. 

With these students, my focus will be to shorten their swing, into a much more compact, pickleball swing. Shorter backswing, low to high swing necessary to clear the net on the shorter court service,  with the paddle face aimed down, continuing after contact up to the shoulder length to apply spin.

It’s hard to modify a court swing that’s been hardwired over years on a tennis court, so I start where it all begins. With the feet. Good footwork is always in fashion. Using a proper set up with good court position, sets you up for a successful point, regardless of the court sport.

Stroke fundamentals: Grip, Setup, Contact, Sensation, Recovery, are surprisingly similar. Here are some of the key differences. 

In tennis, you have to time your court position, with proper footwork, to get your body positioned behind the ball to coincide with a closed stance sideways groundstroke, forehand and backhand. Because of a tennis’ higher mass, and ball speed, you have to be positioned correctly behind the ball so you can move forward and through the ball at contact generating power through the rotation of the upper body and hips. The power comes from the ground and moves through your centre of gravity.

In pickleball, the ball has less mass, moves slower, and the court is much smaller, meaning, you can get away with not having perfect set up at contact. You can hit many shots from the open position, using upper body only, with little to no rotation. This is both a blessing, especially for older players who can’t move as quickly, and don’t have the footwork for covering a larger court, or using the amount of energy required for a full ATP swing, with longer runs between points.

This is not to underestimate the speed and agility, or the amount of effort required to be a top ranked pickleball player. Absolutely not. But it does mean they can use other techniques, including strategies and tactics, that take advantage of the smaller court surface, with finesse and touch ball control.

As I converted from tennis to pickleball, I shortened my swing, changed from court positioning, moved away from the power game to a softer touch/feel game of pickleball. I refer to its footwork, affectionately as a “ballet”, the “Pas De Deux” on the pickleball court. Bringing order to the chaos of a pickleball game.

But I never gave up my unmistakeable Tell from tennis. The constant use of my non dominant hand throughout the stroke, and the point. 

I point to the ball during my approach and set up to time my distance and angle, for the forehand. It helps me gauge the height of the ball so I can select between a top spin drive, for a higher bounce, or a Third Shot Drop, for a lower ball that’s not on the rise and dropping. It’s a tool I use for shot selection during the point.

I also use my non dominant hand at the Kitchen Line to stabilize my paddle, and prepare the paddle head for either a block or punch volley. It keeps my shoulders level and helps me with consistency. It also helps change my grip from Eastern Forehand, a quarter turn to the Continental, opening up the paddle face for Volleys and Dinks.

Converted tennis players might pick up pickleball faster because of coordination and footwork, but they also come to the court with hard to break habits, including an unwillingness to get up to the Non Volley Line because of their habit of waiting for a harder hit, heavier tennis ball. 

They’ll struggle converting to the softer game of pickleball, which emphasizes agility and finesse. They’ll rely on hard top spin drives, which have a limited use against experienced pickleball players.

Some tennis players pick this up quickly and become formidable. But so do badminton players with their lightning fast reflexes and quick court agility. And so squash players who can run the court until next week, without tire, and use a skillful  blend of power and finesse.

The best pickleball players come from a variety of backgrounds, but one thing they all share in common. The willingness to learn, the love of drilling and practice combined with game play. With a mindset that acknowledges the virtues of consistency and patience.

Finally, another Tell many players show, is speeding their stroke up just before contact -- rushing the shot. I believe this tendency is due to the mistaken belief of trying to catch their opponent off-guard, and out of position. Instead, it has the reverse effect of building inconsistency into their games. Slowing the game down, speeds up your technique development, and increases your success on the pickleball court.

Speeding up the stroke, comes at the expense of a proper follow through, reducing the amount of time, the ball comes in contact with the paddle surface.

It increases the risk of miss-hits, and makes it difficult to place the ball with control and accuracy. While the flight path of the swing should be continuous and fluid, a slight hesitation can build consistency through control, resulting in a Tell that’s accurate and winning shot making.

And a good way of bringing order to the chaos of the court.