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These 25 pickleball tips for beginners will enable you to make tangible progress and allow you to continue to enjoy the game as you get better!

1. Always stretch before your first match. 
2. When in between games, keep loose by stretching or jumping rope. ​
3. Wear proper shoes to eliminate injuries.  
4. ​Hit your serve deep.  
5. No need for fancy serves.  No spin, no gimmicks.  Just placement. ​
6. Faulting on serves is a controllable mistake. Simple, deep serves eliminate unnecessary errors. ​
7. Don't attempt to skim your serve over the net. Accurate and consistent serves are best, even if they arc high. ​
8. When returning a serve, hit it deep back to the server.  
9. Hit to your opponent's backhand whenever possible. ​
10. Set yourself up for a forehand shot as often as possible. ​
11. Play it safe, consistency leads to unforced errors by the other team. ​
12. When volleying gets frantic, just keep the point alive. ​
13. Hit to open areas or gaps between your opponents. ​
14. Get to the net as fast as possible. ​
15. Keep your opponents away from the kitchen for as long as possible. ​
16. When running forward to smash, keep your momentum from carrying you into the kitchen. Perfect the jump stop. ​
17. Don't be fooled into playing with power. At it's core, Pickleball is a finesse game. ​
18. When hitting a shot from low to high, hit soft. ​
19. When hitting a shot from high to low, hit hard. ​
20. Always stand in the “ready position” - knees slightly bent, feet shoulder width apart and paddle in between your knees.
21. When hitting with power (smashing), aim for the opponents feet or an open area of the court. ​
22. As a beginner, don't lob. It's a high risk - low reward shot. 
23. Instead of a lob shot, try soft shots that arc the highest on your side of the net and land softly in the kitchen. 
24. Use the kitchen as a third teammate. Balls MUST land in the kitchen before your opponent can approach the net, which can effectively slow your opponent down, and keep them from overpowering you.   
25. Landing drop shots in the kitchen can dictate the pace of the match. The more balls you land in the kitchen, the more you control the match.