The ABCs of Pickleball

Why you should always believe you are the best player on the court

By Stephen Pyka
May 20, 2026 • 5 min read

BY THE TIME most pickleball players step onto a pickleball court, the match has already started in their head.

I can see it in players and my student players during warm-ups. They will notice an opponent’s spins or crisp drives and when a player tightens up at the net. He or she may spot expensive paddles, tournament shirts, or may know their opponent’s DUPR rating, which may mentally place the player as the underdog role before the first serve is even struck.

Too many players spend more energy worrying about who is across the net than focusing on the skills they themselves bring to the game. This mentality is one of the fastest ways to lose in pickleball.

One of my philosophies I share to the players that I teach is surprisingly simple: Always believe you are the best player on the court. Not in an arrogant way. Not in a disrespectful way. In a prepared, composed, mentally steady way. That mindset forms what I call the ABCs of pickleball:

A = Always believe you are the
B = Best player on
C = Court

At first glance, it sounds bold, maybe even unrealistic. But the deeper meaning has very little to do with ego and everything to do with mentality. In pickleball, mind over matter matters because confidence directly affects the way players move, think, communicate, recover, and compete.

The Match Begins in the Mind

Pickleball is one of the few sports where confidence can visibly change the flow of a game within minutes. A hesitant player moves differently. Their feet slow down. Their paddle tightens. Their decisions become cautious. Instead of swinging freely, they begin steering the ball. Instead of reacting naturally, they start second-guessing themselves.

Confident players tend to do the opposite. They commit to shots. They trust their instincts. They recover faster after mistakes and maintain better communication with partners during momentum swings. Even when they miss, they rarely look defeated because they understand that one point never determines the outcome of an entire game.

Believing you are the best player on the court does not mean you think you are unbeatable. It means you refuse to mentally place yourself beneath the competition before the match even unfolds. That distinction matters because too many recreational players lose the mental battle before the scoreboard even starts moving.

The best competitors respect everyone but fear no one.

Confidence Changes Everything

Mentality influences mechanics more than players realize. When players doubt themselves, their shot selection changes almost immediately. They stop attacking balls they should attack. They guide serves instead of swinging naturally. They become reactive instead of proactive, hoping mistakes do not happen instead of confidently trying to create opportunities.

That hesitation shows up everywhere on the court. It appears during kitchen exchanges, speed-ups, third-shot drops, resets, and serve returns. Players who trust themselves usually make cleaner decisions because they fully commit to what they see.

There is also a major difference between losing aggressively and losing passively. Coaches will almost always take the aggressive competitor because confidence creates growth while fear creates hesitation. Passive play rarely produces improvement because the player is competing not to lose instead of competing to win.

The players who improve the fastest are usually the players willing to trust themselves before they fully feel ready.

Body Language Speaks Loudly

Pickleball players often underestimate how much body language impacts a match. Opponents notice everything. They notice slumped shoulders after missed shots. They notice frustration between points. They notice when communication disappears between doubles partners.

Energy spreads quickly on a pickleball court, especially in doubles.

Players who carry themselves confidently create pressure without saying a word. That does not mean screaming after every point or acting theatrically. In fact, the calmest players are often the most intimidating because they never appear emotionally rattled. They reset quickly, move with purpose, and maintain the same level of composure whether they are leading or trailing.

Strong mentality becomes contagious. So does weak mentality.

Partners feed off each other constantly, which is why emotional steadiness can completely change the atmosphere of a match. One composed player can stabilize an entire team simply through confidence, presence, and attitude.

Respect the Opponent, But Never Surrender the Court

One of the biggest misconceptions about confidence is that it equals arrogance. The best competitors rarely think that way because they understand how difficult the sport actually is. Respect and intimidation, however, are not the same thing.

You can acknowledge an opponent’s skill without mentally handing them control of the court.

Too many players begin matches already assuming the other side deserves to win because of reputation, age, rankings, or appearance. Once that happens, the entire mentality of the match changes. Instead of asking, “How do I compete?” players begin asking, “How do I survive?”

The ABC philosophy flips that mentality completely. Instead of shrinking the moment, players embrace it. They stop worrying about whether they belong on the court and start focusing on imposing their own game.

That shift changes everything because pickleball rewards conviction and punishes hesitation.

Pickleball Punishes Tentative Play

Unlike some sports where caution can buy time, pickleball tends to expose indecision immediately. Tentative dinks sit too high. Half-committed drives find the net. Slow reactions at the kitchen line get attacked quickly.

The game rewards players who trust themselves. That is why mentality matters so much in pickleball specifically. The court is small, exchanges are fast, and momentum swings happen constantly. Players have very little time to mentally recover once doubt creeps in.

Believing you are the best player on the court helps eliminate that hesitation. Again, this is not about pretending to be a professional player. It is about entering every match believing you are capable, prepared, and dangerous. The moment players stop fearing mistakes, they often begin playing freer and significantly better.

Confidence creates freedom, and freedom creates better pickleball.

Great Competitors Have Short Memories

Every pickleball player misses shots. Every player gets targeted. Every player loses points they should have won. The difference is how long they mentally carry those moments forward.

Weak mentality drags mistakes into the next rally. Strong mentality resets immediately.

Great competitors understand that emotional recovery is part of the sport itself. They treat every point like a new opportunity instead of replaying previous mistakes in their head. This becomes especially important in doubles, where emotional swings impact two players instead of one.

The strongest players are not always the players who make the fewest mistakes. Often, they are simply the players who recover the fastest after making them.

That ability to emotionally reset is one of the hidden skills that separates average competitors from dangerous ones.

Own the Court

There is a reason so many top instructors teach confidence alongside mechanics. Physical skills matter, but mentality often determines whether players can actually access those skills under pressure.

The players who improve the fastest usually trust themselves enough to take chances. They accept mistakes as part of growth. They compete freely instead of protecting themselves from failure.

That is the true meaning behind the ABCs of Pickleball. Always believe you are the best player on the court. Not because rankings say so. Not because trophies prove it. Not because you will always win. Believe it because confidence allows you to fully access the game you are capable of playing.

And in pickleball, that mental edge matters far more than most people realize. ●

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