The #1 Pickleball Mistake Players Over 50 Make How to Flip the Script Instantly
- Tom Kiat
- Aug 14
- 2 min read
If you’re over 50 and playing against younger, faster opponents, chances are you’re giving them exactly what they want.
And you don’t even realize it.
It’s not your foot speed. It’s not your reaction time. It’s something more subtle, and way easier to fix.
The Mistake? Playing Their Game, Not Yours
Here’s what happens:
You start dinking. They speed it up.
You reset. They rip another drive.
You get caught reacting, defending, and scrambling, not because you can’t play, but because you’re playing their tempo.
You’re trying to survive their chaos instead of creating your own control.
That’s the mistake:
You’re letting them dictate the pace.
Younger, athletic players want quick points. They want low dink rallies and fast hands battles. They want to turn every slow ball into a firefight.
Why? Because it shortens the rally and favors their speed.
They don’t want to play 10 shot dink exchanges. They don’t want to be pulled wide, stretched, or forced into resets. That takes patience, and that’s where you win.
Control the Tempo, Win the Point
The fastest way to flip the script? Slow it down on purpose.
But don’t just dink to dink. Dink with direction. Dink with depth. Dink with intention.
Hit deeper cross-court dinks that pull them off balance.
Mix in the occasional lob to reset the tone.
Use spin, not speed, to create awkward timing.
Reset into the kitchen and force them to earn every point.
This is how you go from defending their chaos to forcing them to think. And when they start thinking, they stop reacting. That’s when the unforced errors show up.
Here’s the beautiful truth: experience doesn’t fade with age.
You’ve seen more.
You’ve lost enough games to know what not to do.
You’ve got court awareness that can’t be taught in a clinic.
And most importantly, you’re not trying to impress anyone with power.
You’re here to win.
So stop playing their game.
Start forcing them to play yours.
You Don’t Need to Be Faster, You Need to Be Smarter
If you’re over 50 and still hustling on the courts, you’re already ahead of the game. But if you can pair your consistency and awareness with a little strategic control? You’ll start beating players who are 20 years younger, and wondering what just happened.
Remember that pace fades, but patience wins.
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