Your Tennis Swing Is Showing
If you came to pickleball from tennis, this one may hurt a little.
Because in tennis, that big, beautiful backswing was the whole thing.
The shoulder turn.
The loop.
The swing through.
The dramatic finish: the “watch me paint the baseline with topspin” moment.
Coaches would even say to hold the pose for a second, like you were on the cover of Tennis Magazine.
But in pickleball, that backswing may be quietly undermining your game.
This week, Tracie talks with Master Pro, Lisa Palcic, author of The Complete Illustrated Guide to Pickleball, about how the big backswing is one of the hardest habits for tennis players to break:
Lisa even has a section in her book called Bye Bye Backswing, because she lived it herself. As a former tennis player with a big looping swing, when she transitioned to pickleball she had to retrain her body to stop doing the very thing tennis had rewarded her for years.
Because in pickleball, that big tennis backswing costs you time.
And timing is everything.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
How a big backswing can make the ball drop lower, out of your best strike zone
Why taking your paddle too far back can pull your weight backward
How eliminating the backswing helps you move forward instead of getting stuck
Why third shot drops and third shot drives both need a more compact swing
The big takeaway:
The backswing can leave you planted when you should be moving forward.
It can send a distressingly clear invitation to your opponents: “Hey there! I’m still playing tennis - but with a smaller paddle.”
The goal is to get the ball in the right strike zone, keep it low, move forward, and stop giving your opponent time to prepare an attack.
So if your pickleball swing still has a little too much tennis glamour in it, this episode is your intervention.
Bye bye, backswing.
Your kitchen game will thank you.
Share this with a tennis player who still thinks their follow-through deserves applause and tell them to SUBSCRIBE.
Short, practical insights for recreational players who want answers.
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