The April edition of RSi magazine featured an article on how GiGi Fernandez is embracing pickleball. With 17 Grand Slam doubles titles under her belt — combined with notoriety as one of the best tennis coaches for adult doubles — it is a bad omen that Fernandez is adding pickleball to her instructional portfolio.
Today I am breaking down the four primary reasons attributed to Fernandez in that article on why tennis players might want to consider playing pickleball.
Crossing over is Easy
It is hard to debate the point that tennis players already have the basic skills to play pickleball well. The eye hand coordination required to hit the ball is directly transferrable. Fernandez describes the transition from tennis to pickleball as “seamless” after “a few mental adjustments.”
I have played pickleball on one occasion. It was at the birthday party for a tennis player who requested a “tennis takes over pickleball” theme for his celebration. It was a way to bring his non-tennis playing family and friends together with his tennis buddies.
The birthday boy’s son, who happens to be a tennis/pickleball teaching professional, came in from out of town to run the pickleball drills and party games. He observed that I was “suspiciously good” at pickleball for a first-time player. That is not surprising considering that the hallmark of my tennis game is ridiculously slow feet to go along with my razor-sharp reflexes and eye-hand coordination. I was made for pickleball.
I don’t personally know any tennis player who regards pickleball as something that might be hard to do. Consequently GiGi’s “selling point” that it is easy for tennis players to convert to pickleball doesn’t resonate with me. In general, tennis players don’t gravitate to things because they are easy, but rather for the challenge.
This point underscores a fundamental challenge for tennis for cross-promoting the sport along with pickleball. While it is easy for tennis players to convert to pickleball, it is significantly harder for pickleball players to move to tennis. The increased size of the court leads to more running and there are several shots in tennis, like the service motion, that are not a part of pickleball at all. The learning curve is much steeper.
Just because something is easy to do, doesn’t mean it should be done. The argument that I should embrace pickleball because it is easy simply doesn’t inspire me.
Physical Benefits
The fact that pickleball puts less physical strain on the body and requires less running than tennis is another benefit claimed by the Fernandez profile in RSi. That is the reason that some regard pickleball as a sport for tennis players who have aged out of the speed and stamina required to play on a larger tennis court. At the same time, Fernandez makes the claim that pickleball isn’t just for old people. Again, it is hard to argue with any of those points.
For someone who is not active at all, pickleball is clearly better than sitting on the couch. However, tennis requires more aerobic fitness, strength, and balance than pickleball. I see the physical fitness benefits as two levels of intensity on the same dial. Selection of one sport over the other for the basis of physical fitness may ultimately come down to personal capacity and preference.
Strategy Enhancement
The importance of the split step and strong net play in pickleball was cited as a benefit to tennis players. I do think that pickleball is a very effective mechanism for hitting a lot of reflex volleys in a short period of time. Tennis players that do not gravitate to the net or have strong volley play may benefit from playing pickleball on occasion.
Fernandez also makes the point that the teamwork and strategy required for tennis is more complex than for pickleball. That is a benefit for attracting less strategic players to pickleball because the game is significantly less nuanced than tennis. On the other hand, people who prefer greater depth in tactical play will find more opportunities for that in tennis.
It’s OK to Play Both
When making this point, Fernandez observed that there are a lot of tennis teaching pros that haven’t played pickleball. I don’t see that as relevant in either a positive or negative sense. I personally don’t care whether my tennis coach has any experience with pickleball. (For the record, he is certified for both tennis and pickleball.)
Fernandez also observes that there is competition for resources between pickleball and tennis. The simple fact of the matter is that there are stories every week about tennis courts being converted to exclusive pickleball use. I am all for building new courts for both pickleball and tennis. Unfortunately, in many municipalities, it has turned into an either/or situation rather than the synergistic cooperation that Fernandez proposes that the industry needs.
Finishing Shots
The Fernandez case for tennis players embracing pickleball boils down to this:
- It is easy to play.
- It has some of the same fitness benefits of tennis.
- It may accelerate volley skills.
I cannot argue with any of those points.
I don’t hate pickleball. I had a lot of fun playing on the single occasion when I tried it. My reservations about the sport is the extent to which it drains resources and players from tennis. I agree with Fernandez’s belief that the sports can be successfully cross-promoted. For tennis, there is literally no alternative.
Pickleball as one HUGE advantage over tennis and there is something that tennis can do to address that competitive deficiency. That is the topic of tomorrow’s post.
- A New Courtship, Judy Leand, Racquet Sports Industry Magazine, April 2022.
