If you’ve been playing pickleball for a while—especially if you learned the game casually—you’ve probably picked up a few bad habits. Maybe your paddle drops like it’s made of lead after a dink. Maybe your grip still screams “tennis.” Or maybe you shuffle like a zombie between shots instead of resetting with purpose.
The truth? Everyone—even the pros—falls into patterns that need correction. The key isn’t just knowing what the bad habit is, but understanding how to fix it—and what better, stronger habits to build in its place.
Why Bad Habits Are So Hard to Break
Bad habits stick around because:
- They’re comfortable. Your brain loves familiar movement patterns, even if they’re inefficient.
- They work well enough—until they don’t. A wristy forehand might win at 3.0, but it’ll get eaten alive at 4.0.
- No one called them out. In rec play, you might get praised for a smash, but no one tells you your ready position was lazy.
Pro Insight: Catherine Parenteau has said in multiple interviews that even small posture and grip adjustments she made after hitting 5.0 dramatically changed her consistency.
Bad habits don’t disappear—you replace them with good ones through intentional reps.
Bad Pickleball Habits and What You Should Be Doing Instead
Here’s a quick-reference chart of common pickleball bad habits and what to intentionally replace them with to level up your game:
| Bad Habit | Replace With |
|---|---|
| Tennis forehand grip | Continental grip – allows symmetry, control, and faster transitions |
| Reaching for dinks | Short, quick recovery steps – reset to ideal positioning after each shot |
| Paddle down at waist | Chest-high paddle position, tip up and forward, elbows slightly in |
| Standing upright | Low, athletic stance – knees bent, hips engaged, weight forward |
| Watching the ball too long | Opponent tracking – read paddle face, stance, and shoulder tilt |
| One-shot focus | 2- or 3-shot planning – anticipate next sequence instead of playing reactive |
| Over-swinging in transition zone | Compact resets or punches – minimize swing and stay balanced |
| Flat-footed on serve or return | Serve/return + immediate split-step – stay mobile, prep for next shot |
| Lobbing without purpose | Strategic lobs – used against compressed, low opponents, not randomly |
| Hitting while drifting or off-balance | Stop–set–swing rhythm – build contact from a stable base |
| Avoiding backhands | Confidence-building backhand reps – own both wings of the court |
| Standing still after dinks | Recover and re-center – slight hop step back to middle and paddle ready |
| Silent feet during speed-ups | Timed split-step before opponent contact to prep for fast hands |
| One-speed play (same shot rhythm) | Shot variation – change tempo, spin, and placement to disrupt opponents |
1. The Tennis Grip Hangover
Bad Habit: Still using an Eastern forehand grip from your tennis days—or even worse, adjusting grip mid-point without realizing it.
Why It Hurts:
- Limits versatility
- Encourages slapping and overhitting
- Makes backhand resets clumsy
Fix It: Use the Continental grip. It lets you hit soft dinks, resets, blocks, and quick counters from both sides without repositioning.
Drill It: Use wall dinks with alternating forehand and backhand. Stay in the Continental grip the whole time. Focus on clean contact and soft hands.
Watch Ben Johns’ training clips—his grip is textbook, and you’ll see how it allows for instant transition from dink to attack.
2. Reaching Instead of Moving
Bad Habit: You stretch for dinks, lunge at thirds, or reach for overheads flat-footed.
Why It Hurts:
- Kills balance and control
- Encourages mishits and pop-ups
- Slows down recovery
Fix It: Prioritize footwork—shuffle instead of reach, plant your feet before contact, and recover immediately after hitting.
Game Scenario: You dink wide. Instead of resetting your feet, you reach for the next ball. You’re off-balance. Your dink floats. Boom—body bag incoming.
Instead: Move, set, hit, recover. Treat every shot like a three-part dance.
3. Standing Upright at the Kitchen
Bad Habit: You’re too tall and stiff at the NVZ.
Why It Hurts:
- Slower reactions
- Poor hand battles
- Less control on soft shots
Fix It: Stay in a low athletic stance: knees bent, paddle forward, weight on the balls of your feet.
Reset like you’re in a squat position. It’s tiring—but it’ll win you points in tight rallies.
4. Watching the Ball Too Long
Bad Habit: You track the ball too much instead of reading your opponent.
Why It Hurts:
- Late reactions to speed-ups
- No anticipation
- Purely reactive play
Fix It: Train your anticipation muscles. Watch your opponent’s paddle angle, shoulder rotation, and contact point.
Micro Scenario: Opponent leans forward, lowers paddle tip. That’s often a speed-up. Don’t wait—tighten up your stance, get paddle chest-high, and prepare for a counter.
5. Over-Swinging in the Transition Zone
Bad Habit: Big windups on blocks or resets, especially from no-man’s land.
Why It Hurts:
- Causes floaters or mishits
- Exposes you mid-point
- Delays recovery
Fix It: Use compact swings. From the transition zone, think “punch” not “swing.” Let the ball come to you. Keep your paddle in front.
Watch JW Johnson: He resets with minimal motion but perfect placement. Clean, compact, and efficient.
Watch Coach Marko’s video on how to block like a pro—no pop-ups, no freebies:
6. Paddle Drops After Contact
Bad Habit: After a dink or reset, your paddle drops below your waist.
Why It Hurts:
- Slower block reactions
- Delayed counters in firefights
- Opens you to body shots
Fix It: Build a “paddle recovery reflex”—chest-high, out front, tip slightly up. Every time. No exceptions.
Drill: Dink exchanges where your partner shouts “Freeze!” randomly. Wherever you froze, check your paddle.
Up and ready? Good. Down and dangling? Fix it.
7. Flat-Footed Returns and Serves
Bad Habit: You serve or return the ball and… watch. No movement, no momentum.
Why It Hurts:
- Leaves you late to the NVZ
- Exposes you to aggressive thirds
- Kills your court positioning
Fix It: Serve and immediately load into a split-step. Return, then crash to the line with a purpose. Use 2–3 fast steps, then split.
8. One-Speed Play (No Variation)
Bad Habit: You play everything at 75%—same dink, same drive, same pace.
Why It Hurts:
- Becomes predictable
- Can’t disrupt rhythm
- Limits creativity
Fix It: Mix in drops, topspin rolls, surprise lobs, and dink tempo changes. Watch pro mixed matches—they use height, spin, and timing like chess pieces.
Coach Meko just dropped three must-know tips to disguise your attacks and keep your opponents guessing:
9. Silent Feet, Silent Brain
Bad Habit: You don’t split-step before opponent contact. Or worse—you freeze.
Why It Hurts:
- Reaction time plummets
- You’re stuck in the mud during firefights
- Can’t adjust to misdirection
Fix It: Build the timed split-step. Bounce into your toes just as your opponent is about to hit. It keeps your body loose, your paddle mobile, and your reactions lightning-quick.
Watch Coach Marko demo a killer drill to sharpen your lateral movement and agility at the kitchen line:
How to Rewire a Bad Habit (for Good)
1. Identify the Trigger
When does it show up? After you’re tired? When under pressure?
2. Film Yourself
Use your phone or a GoPro. Watch your resets, your footwork, your paddle after dinks. You’ll be shocked.
3. Use Constraint Drills
Examples:
- Paddle tied to resistance band (paddle stays forward).
- Shadow drills barefoot (teaches balance).
- Tape square on court—only dink from inside it (trains footwork precision).
4. Verbal and Visual Cues
Say it aloud: “Paddle up,” “Recover,” “Stay low.” Or write it on your paddle edge.
5. Replace, Don’t Just Remove
For every bad habit you eliminate, install a good one. Motion builds memory.
Bonus: How Pros Still Break Habits
We often think of professional players as finely tuned machines, but the truth is—even the best in the game are still unlearning and refining.
Top-level pickleball is fast, nuanced, and punishing of the slightest inefficiency. That’s why the pros don’t just practice skills—they practice awareness. They study themselves. And yes—they break bad habits, too.
Tyson McGuffin: Fixing Lazy Resets and Stance Slips
Tyson has shared in multiple interviews that he constantly watches his match footage—not just to scout opponents, but to spot where he slips into lazy resets or flattens his stance in transition. Even a slight drift in posture or grip pressure can turn a quality reset into a sitter.
Lesson: Film isn’t just for highlight reels. It’s a mirror for your habits. Start reviewing your own games and look for movement inefficiencies, paddle drops, or balance breakdowns.
Jorja Johnson: From Flat to Finesse
Jorja’s aggressive style served her well early on, but as competition stiffened, she found herself getting beat in long, grinding rallies. Her solution? Reinvent her topspin mechanics to add more variety and margin to her shots—especially on the run.
Lesson: A habit that works at one level can become a liability at the next. Jorja had to retrain her swing to build consistency under pressure. So can you.
Ben Johns: Never Settling for “Good Enough”
Ben Johns has spoken about continually adjusting not just technique, but decision-making patterns. For example, there were stretches where he realized he was overusing the crosscourt dink and becoming predictable. He worked on disguising his attacks and varying his dink depth—not because it was “bad,” but because it could be better.
Lesson: Bad habits aren’t always mechanical—they can be strategic too. Rethink your patterns, especially if you find yourself repeating the same shots out of habit, not intention.
Anna Leigh Waters: Controlled Aggression Through Paddle Awareness
Anna Leigh, known for her explosiveness, has worked with her mother/coach on resisting the urge to speed up too soon or from poor positions. She’s focused on paddle discipline—keeping it up, managing swing length, and choosing when to pounce.
Lesson: Even offensive players have to tame their instincts. If you’re swinging too hard too often, it may be time to build in some purposeful hesitation.
If the Pros Do It, Why Not You?
- They review film weekly.
- They drill bad patterns out deliberately, not just with reps—but with purpose.
- They adjust their mechanics, even after years at the top.
So when you catch yourself saying, “Well, that’s just how I play”—pause. The best players in the world don’t accept that. They chase uncomfortable improvements, even if it means rebuilding a shot from scratch.
If they can do it—with medals and millions on the line—so can we, on the rec courts and local tournament scenes.
The Habits That Shape Your Ceiling
Pickleball is a game of inches—and milliseconds. The little habits that don’t matter at 3.0 will define your ceiling at 4.0+.
Breaking habits is hard. It’s humbling. But it’s also exciting.
Every moment you catch yourself standing tall instead of low, or paddle down instead of up, is a chance to evolve.
So next time it happens, don’t get frustrated.
Just smile and say, “Caught ya.” Then fix it. One habit at a time.
