- Reek of Positivity. Positivity is infectious. Your pickleball partner can feel when you are relaxed and confident. Ooze of positivity to help keep you and your partner cool, calm and collected on the pickleball court. As the great golfer Payne Stewart once said, “A bad attitude is worse than a bad swing.” If you or your partner make a bad shot, build yourself and your partner up so you are mentally ready to win the next shot.
- Communicate on the Court. Call the shots and communicate as a team who has the shot. Also, strategize and communicate any of your opponent’s strengths or weaknesses with your partner. Positive and productive communication builds trust and confidence between pickleball partners.
- Be Accountable for Your Play. Take responsibility for your shots. Give credit to your partner (and your opponents) for good pickleball play. Take the blame for bad shots—even bad shots by your partner, as you may have contributed to the bad shot, such as by having a poor shot before to set up the bad shot.
- Be Consistent, Not a Show-Off. Pickleball is about consistency. One fancy shot will not win the match. Be consistent and set you and your partner up for an easy winner.
- Know Your Partner. Know both your and your partner’s strengths and weaknesses both with respect to pickleball skills and personality on the pickleball court. If you really know your partner, you can create synergy between you two. Your pickleball game will be better than the sum of your and your partner’s individual talents.
Pickle Your Opponent: 5 Tips to Becoming the Perfect Pickleball Partner
Stacie Townsend
As we all know, pickleball is popularly played in doubles. As such, mastering the art of being the perfect pickleball partner is important. To help us all become better doubles partners, we have come up with 5 tips to become the perfect pickleball partner:
