Pickleball — Playing with a Hot Cup of Coffee in My Hand

Growing up, tennis was a huge part of my life. My parents played, my two older brothers played, and I picked up a racket when I was just five years old. I spent summers on the court in the heat, learning not just the game but also the mental toughness it builds. I played competitively in high school and trained with the same coach from third grade all the way until I graduated high school in 2015.

When I moved back to Indiana during the pandemic, I felt a pull to reconnect with tennis. In 2021, I resumed weekly lessons with my lifelong coach, and it reminded me how much I’d missed them. But around the same time, I was diagnosed with POTS—Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome—a form of autonomic dysfunction that causes blood pooling in the legs and a rapid heart rate when you change your position from supine or sitting to standing. Managing it meant rethinking how I moved. The cardio required in singles tennis quickly became too demanding.

Enter Pickleball.

While living with my mom at her lake house during this time, we started playing outside together. The shorter court and slower pace made it easier to manage my POTS symptoms. It gave me a way to stay active and work on retraining my exercise tolerance without overdoing it. At first, I assumed my tennis background would translate directly—but I quickly learned that Pickleball has its own rhythm and strategy.

I’ll never forget taking my first Pickleball lesson. The pro seemed frustrated when I mentioned I’d played tennis for years. He stopped me and said, “They’re not the same game.” I only told him that because the movements of the body are similar in some ways (typical Pilates instructor—ha!). He explained that often tennis players approach Pickleball in a state of panic. They try to hit the ball as hard as they would a tennis ball, but it really is a completely different game.

Then he gave me the advice I still think about every time I play:

“Pretend you’re holding a hot cup of coffee in your hand.”

Move smoothly. Stay aware. Be ready—but don’t rush or tense up. You don’t have to slam the ball. That mindset transformed how I approached the game.

It also reminded me of Pilates. In Pilates, we focus on moving with control, precision, and flow. When you rush through an exercise or hold unnecessary tension, you lose the benefit—and that’s true in Pickleball too.

Pilates has been a perfect complement to Pickleball. It helps me:

• Build rotator cuff strength and shoulder stability for all those overheads

• Strengthen the lower extremities so I can get down low for the short shots.

• Improve spinal mobility so I can reach and rotate. 

• Increase core strength for balance, stability, and power.

• Practice breath so I can move with ease and control

• Recover faster with gentle stretching and release work so I’m ready for the next game.

It’s also about the mind-body connection. If you feel panicked, you move panicked. If you train with awareness, you play with ease. That “hot cup of coffee” isn’t just about careful movement—it’s about finding balance. If it’s too full, you’re stiff and rigid. If it’s empty, you’re too loose. Somewhere in the middle is where you find control, precision, and flow.

That’s the space where Pilates and Pickleball meet—and where the game gets really fun.