Your 7 pickleball advantages (as a badminton player)

Changing sports is like learning a new language. If you’re switching from badminton to pickleball there are several things you already know, but you might not realize can be reused in this new setting.

When I first saw pickleball it reminded me of badminton, but when you’re playing with a ball as opposed to a shuttlecock there’s bound to be some serious differences.

The obvious one is spin shots as they don’t exist in badminton, even if the motion is about the same when compared with slices.

Nevertheless, I wanted to cover things I’ve noticed you can carry over from badminton to pickleball. Some will be transferable 1:1, whereas others require tweaking.

Let’s look at shots first, shall we?

1. Your forehand serve is similar to the pickleball serve

Let’s start from the beginning of a rally. In the service situation, you’ll notice several things that carry over from badminton.

Pickleball and badminton courts use almost the same service boxes to divide up the court. That means you’ll also be serving diagonally onto your opponent’s court while avoiding the net area (called the non-volley zone or the kitchen) in pickleball.

When you’re serving, just like in badminton, there’s a limit to how high up you can hit the ball, so as not to hit a downward shot right out of the gate and gain an unfair advantage.

The rules state that the serve needs to be hit:

• With an underhand serve so you’ll hit the ball below your waist (below the navel is an easy rule of thumb)
• The arm has to move in an upward arc with the highest point of the paddle below your wrist (it’s an underhand shot, similar to the old school forehand serve we know from badminton)

While the rules are technically different in badminton (the shuttle has to be struck below 1.15m), in recreational games for us new players it comes out to be about the same.

To conclude this section: I’m sure you’ve come across players who think hitting the shuttle on the line is a fault and counted as being out of the court (whether on the serve or not). This isn’t the case in badminton or pickleball. If the shuttle lands on the line, it’s counted as inside the court rather than a fault.

2. There are no lifts in pickleball, but…

How often do you hear about lobs in badminton?

In my experience, they aren’t commonly mentioned as opposed to lifts or even aggressive punch clears.

In pickleball, they exist but don’t seem to be used as much as in badminton. I’m guessing it’s because the ball can bounce so you have that extra time to reach it, which makes them less effective (and I’ve been told that it’s frowned upon to lob in certain communities.)

They are referred to as lobs and receiving one in pickleball allows you to take advantage of your smash technique from badminton to either kill it and win the rally, or set up a better attack.

In fact, there seems to be a consensus to avoid playing lobs to pickleball players with a badminton background as their overhead shots tend to be well developed.

In pickleball, it’s easier to generate power with the paddle, so when you combine that with the power-generating technique you know from badminton, it adds up.

That means you’ll likely be able to squeeze out more power than you expect, so be careful since the ball hits fairly hard.

At the same time, you don’t see pickleball players jump much. On those lob shots, you’ll be able to use your jumping technique from badminton to reach the ball earlier while in mid-air, giving your opponents less time to react.

3. You’ll love your wrist (and forearm) training

The badminton wrist and forearm (especially noticeable on backhand smashes) are transferable into pickleball… both for a backhand smash, but also in other use cases.

You’ll likely find that you can use it more often on soft shots when you don’t have time for a long swing. It can help generate that bit of extra power and we can use it for deception.

For example when you want to switch from power shots to softer ones to catch your opponent off guard.

Taking the power out of a shot (by lowering the racket/paddle to follow the ball closely on its way down) feels similar too, although strings seem to give a more nuanced feel compared to the harder paddle surface.

4. Your footwork can be an instant advantage

One of the areas that feels the most transferable for me, is your badminton footwork.

The court is the same size, meaning that except for the non-volley zone near the net, the spatial familiarity and court awareness you’ve picked up from badminton are useful here too.

While you might not be lunging as much in pickleball near the net due to the non-volley zone as you would in badminton, lunging is a useful skill when the ball is just out of your reach or in the rear corners. It’s a more effective way to recover between shots compared to running.

Speaking of recovery footwork, it’s as important in pickleball as it is in badminton. In pickleball, you can also push off with the leg you’re using to lunge with in order to generate momentum and recover in time for the next shot.

While you’re waiting for your opponent’s shot, split stepping as you know from badminton is also effective in pickleball. It helps build momentum while you’re waiting to figure out where the ball is going, so that when you know, you can transfer the momentum in the right direction.

I was surprised by how big a difference it made to my speed once I began using split steps in badminton, and I bet you’ll experience the same in pickleball.

5. Don’t forget your tactical experience from badminton

Several tactics, stances, and positioning options feel similar between the two sports. One is your defense stance.

Bending your knees slightly more than during your normal stance, so as to lower your body position even more, is a good place to start.

Since sneaky drop shots aren’t as effective as part of your attack in pickleball due to the ball bouncing, you don’t need to be as ready for a quick move to the frontcourt as you do in badminton. Instead, you can focus more on getting ready for your opponent’s power shots.

Like the stance, defensive doubles positioning is transferable from badminton too: stand side-by-side to better cover shots to the sides as they tend to be more difficult to reach (many players find it easier to quickly move forwards and backward compared to sideways).

Speaking of doubles, the importance of the first few shots can’t be understated in both sports (think the serve, return of serve, and the first few shots following that).

The tactics can differ, but it’s a good place to start if you wanna practice your skills since you know you’ll need them during every single rally.

Another tactic that’s transferable is hitting body shots near the torso to make life difficult for your opponents.

When we’re in the thick of it and under pressure, it’s easy to forget that we don’t always need the most powerful or precise shot to win the rally. Sometimes we just need the opponent to fumble and cause a fault.

Hitting somewhere between the shoulder and hip of the side they hold the paddle on, makes it hard for many to return the shot properly without fumbling (as a pickleball beginner, it might be difficult to position your shot precisely, so the torso overall might be easier to aim for).

The last tactic I’ve noticed being the same as in badminton is getting to the middle of your side of the court between each shot when playing singles games.

This is a simplification and it’s more nuanced than that, but there’s no need to complicate things at first.

The simplicity of remembering to go back to base on every shot helps avoid offering your opponent an open court and an easy point.

6. The gear is super different… until it’s not

Paddles feel quite different from badminton rackets. One thing that you can do to keep them similar as you’re transitioning, is applying your preferred badminton handle grip.

The handles tend to be thicker on pickleball paddles, but I still like my towel grip on there.

In men’s singles in badminton, most of the best professional players (except for Anders Antonsen and Lakshya Sen that I remember) play with a power beast of a head heavy racket.

As an intermediate player in badminton, I’ve noticed this being helpful when you’re late to the shuttle in the backcourt. It allows you to play more different shots without needing a big swing to get enough power, which means there’s less chance that your opponent can trap you (for example, if you can only play drop shots, your opponent will realize this and prepare for it).

On the other hand, in doubles games, the best professional players tend to lean towards all around- and head light rackets (but there are exceptions like Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen). 

The trend appears to be similar in pickleball too, so it’s worth considering when getting your pickleball paddle.

7. You already know this practice drill. Use it!

I wanted to finish with something practical that’s easy to do something about right away.

A simple badminton drill is hitting the shuttle up in the air and changing sides of the racket between each hit. This exercise is useful to get a feel for the difference between pickleball paddles and badminton rackets and practice hitting the sweet spot.

It’s so simple that it’s easy to ignore, but I like it because you can do it at home before your first game.

Since there’s no spin on shuttles in badminton, that’s what you have to look out for in pickleball. “Slicing” or spinning the ball while performing this drill can help you get used to it.

Summary

Have you noticed other similarities between pickleball and badminton? 

Leave a comment below.