Pickleball Therapy

Coach Tony has been reading Until the End of Time by physicist Brian Greene. It isn’t a pickleball book, but one sentence fits the game exactly: “Vital realizations not only provide unforeseen clarity, they also energize us to dig deeper.”

In this episode:

• Why you’ll never exhaust pickleball, and why that’s a gift
• What a real “aha” does for you: clarity, plus the drive to keep going
• When your curiosity and the coaching plan point different directions, and why you should choose knowingly
• Two legitimate side roads: learning a shot just because you want to, and solving the thing that’s getting in your craw
• The risk of too many balls in the air, and why one vital realization at a time builds a sounder foundation

The Riff: At a recent PPA event, the top seeds challenged a ruling while up 11-0, 10-0. Tony thinks that was fine for professionals doing their job. He contrasts it with a high school coach who called an onside kick up 56-0 and was let go. Then he asks which one amateur players should look more like.

Links

• Your Pickleball Coach: https://yourpickleball.coach
• Camps: https://tonyroigpickleball.com/camps

This is a bookmark episode. Save it. Come back to it before you play.

Coach Tony shares three questions that came out of TRP's camp development process. Each one has a different job.

Question 1: Today I'm going to the courts to...
Exercise, friends, competition, or just seeing how well you can hit a shot. Naming your reason sets the standard for the day. Wins, losses, and the trickler that cost you a game become noise.

Question 2: Today I'm going to make an extra effort to...
This is additive gratitude. Warm up before you play. Ask a friend how they're doing. Invite someone new onto your court. Point out something good. The key is to decide before you arrive, because once the ball starts flying, all bets are off.

Question 3: Today I'm going to focus on...
Pick one area. Let everything else be what it is. Tony walks through the order of priority used in TRP coaching, and explains why focusing on one thing gives your brain the bandwidth it needs.

In this episode:
- Why this is a bookmark episode
- A Sorry NOT Sorry update from open play
- Framing your day
- Additive gratitude
- Choosing one focus area
- The coaching order of priority: return of serve, fourth shot, serve, footwork, court positioning
- Why the third shot drop comes later
- Bandwidth and the one-thing rule

The three questions in writing: https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/blog/three-questions-pickleball-mental-game
Camps, coaching, and free resources: https://tonyroigpickleball.com

In Mailbag Episode #2, Coach Tony answers your questions from the TRP community. Should you keep blocking the banger's hard shots, or let them go? Why does the shake and bake keep beating your team? And if you serve or return from the wrong side in a stack, is it a fault?

As always, Tony gets into the why. Why most hard balls at net height and below are headed out. Why fake outs stop working once you have a book on a player. Why a deeper return takes the air out of an aggressive driver. Why you face the ball, not the net.

Have a question for the next mailbag? Post it in the free TRP community: https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/products/communities/v2/ypc/home

If you haven't signed up for the Community, you can do so here. https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/s2u4oi6n/checkout

Strategies for 50+ Play (free course that includes the vision training exercises Coach Tony referenced in the episode): https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/hvYMUFR8/checkout

The Shots That Matter (free course): https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/zMK4VHNQ/checkout

TRP shirts and merch: tonyroigpickleball.myspreadshop.com

#pickleball #pickleballtips #pickleballtherapy

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Coach Tony Roig helps players understand the game instead of just collecting tips: strategy, the mental game, and the decisions that decide pickleball rallies.

🌐 Website: tonyroigpickleball.com

We recommend Pickleball Central for your pickleball needs. Using our affiliate link at https://pickleballcentral.com/tonyroig helps fund content like this. Customers will get up to a 10% discount. Discounts may vary by product, and some exclusions apply. We earn a commission on purchases.

🛒 Tony's Amazon storefront — books, training tools, and gear Tony uses:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/tonyroigpickleballformerlyin2pickle?ccs_id=77992b29-49a7-48a5-a01b-9035a0cc01a2
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Contact: [email protected]

Connect
Instagram: @bestpickleballcoach
Facebook: @tonyroigpickleball
TikTok: bestpickleballcoach

We all play the same game.

Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Waters, the best player at your facility, and you. This week, Coach Tony explains why every player's game shares the same blueprint. He calls it the PickleWall.

The bottom row of the wall is the same for everyone: serve, return of serve, block volley, punch volley. Pros don't skip the return. Beginners don't skip the serve. What separates levels is execution, and sometimes a missing block.

The order matters. You can't set block 10 until the blocks underneath can hold its weight. Tony explains how to choose the block that gives you the most return for your time, and why the first block works like a gym for every shot that comes after it.

In the riff, Tony turns to who sits at the center of your improvement. It should be you. Not the algorithm, not the trend at your courts, not the tip a friend just heard. Every tool should orbit you.

In this episode:
- Why the pros play the same game you do
- The PickleWall 
- Finding your missing block
- Priority and precedence: what comes first
- Why chasing random tips leaves holes
- Your Pickleball Coach and pay what you can
- You at the center of your journey
- The two-handed backhand black hole

Your Pickleball Coach: https://yourpickleball.coach
Camps, coaching, and free resources: https://tonyroigpickleball.com

What if it works out?

Coach Kyleen joins Coach Tony this week to share a video from TikTok Mima. Her message is simple. We spend plenty of time imagining how things could go wrong. Give the other possibility a little attention.

Tony and Kyleen tie it to pickleball. Many players decide it won't work before they even try. They tell themselves a story before they leave the house. Kyleen shares the question she now asks instead: what's the best that could happen? Tony explains why "don't miss" can backfire, and the two talk about a gold medal match where one player missed every serve and her team still won.

In the riff, Tony talks about 50+ coaching. Same game, same rules. But lived experience matters. Tony shares how he stays competitive against younger players with smarter play and better court positioning.

In this episode:
- TikTok Mima: What if it works out?
- The stories we tell ourselves before we play
- What's the best that could happen?
- Why "don't miss" works against you
- Every serve missed, gold medal won
- Pickleball is messy
- Why 50+ coaching matters
- Smarter play and court positioning

Join us on October 15, 2026, for the live Stacking Lab. Sign up here - https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/ofCAzfB3/checkout

Learn more about Your Pickleball Coach, the most comprehensive online pickleball coaching. Visit YourPickleball.coach

Interested in a Tony Roig Pickleball Camp experience? Check out https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/camps

How deep does your pickleball knowledge go?

This week, Coach Tony Roig looks at the difference between Google knowledge and real knowledge. Google knowledge is surface-level. Real knowledge means understanding the why, so you can see how the pieces of the game fit together. Tony uses the forehand in the middle vs. Respect the X debate to show what that difference looks like on the court.

In the riff, Tony takes on information overload. Too many voices, so you can't hear any of them. He explains how to be more discerning about what you let in, and why trusting one source for now helps you build the knowledge to decide for yourself later.

In this episode:
- What Google knowledge is, and why it often comes up short
- Forehand in the middle vs. Respect the X
- Why it's always about the why
- The cost of letting everything in
- A Twilight Zone lesson in being discerning
- Long term: move toward real knowledge
- Short term: find a source you trust
- This week's challenge: cut one input

Read "The Myth of Forehand in the Middle": https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/blog/pickleball-myth-forehand-in-the-middle

Free mini-courses, blogs, and other training opportunities: Click here to view the episode transcript.

In this special mailbag episode, Tony answers questions from the TRP community. How tightly should you hold your paddle? If the third shot drop isn't your priority yet, what is? How do you use partner play strategy when your partner changes every game?

As always, Tony gets into the why. Why a lighter grip gives you more power and protects your arm. Why a drop and a dink are the same shot. Why getting beat on the outside dink probably isn't where your points are going.

In this episode:
- Grip pressure and the 10-5-3 scale
- What to work on before the third shot drop
- Drop vs. dink: one shot or two?
- Partner play when your partner changes every game
- Forehand in the middle vs. Respect the X
- Where to stand when you serve
- Split step or keep moving through the transition zone?
- Getting beat on the outside dink
- Back braces and staying healthy
- Finding practice partners, local and virtual

Have a question for the next mailbag? Post it in the free TRP community: https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/s2u4oi6n/checkout 

Read "The Myth of Forehand in the Middle": https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/blog/pickleball-myth-forehand-in-the-middle

Tony's comments on back braces reflect his personal experience only. He is not a medical professional.

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Carol, a member of our community, posted about a pattern in her weekend group. After almost every point, someone apologizes. She keeps telling them there are no sorries in pickleball. It isn't sinking in.

In this episode, Coach Tony invited Coach Kyleen from the TRP coaching team to join him in the conversation. Kyleen has lived the experience Carol conveyed. She started playing with a group of women who were all new to the game. Same level, same mistakes. They still apologized to each other. We see it at our camps too, especially on the first morning.

Mistakes are built into this sport. Your partner is going to make them. So are you. So are professionals. We talk about why the "sorry" habit sticks and a simple way for a group to break it together.

Then a harder question. Are you good enough to play with this group? Coach Tony shares the story of a player who, while traveling, approached a group of men, was asked her level, and was turned away. Tony talks about what he told her to say next time.

The bigger point is simple. Someone welcomed every one of us into this sport. If they hadn't, we wouldn't be playing.

Kyleen and Tony will be in Tampa this October for two camps, including a women's camp on October 22 and 23. If you're curious, book a call with Kyleen. She'll give you the facts, and you can decide if it's right for you: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ1kdoeYXFOcUDj4tGqrzJAXwC9bD5kZr4qWMhBWUn9KoHhTbVhWGRv0xwoCgij4L1wM_QV2QRV-

——————————————————————

Coach Tony Roig helps players understand the game instead of just collecting tips: strategy, the mental game, and the decisions that decide pickleball rallies.

🌐 Website: tonyroigpickleball.com

We recommend Pickleball Central for your pickleball needs. Using our affiliate link at https://pickleballcentral.com/tonyroig helps fund content like this. Customers will get up to a 10% discount. Discounts may vary by product, and some exclusions apply. We earn a commission on purchases.

🛒 Tony's Amazon storefront — books, training tools, and gear Tony uses:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/tonyroigpickleballformerlyin2pickle?ccs_id=77992b29-49a7-48a5-a01b-9035a0cc01a2
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Contact: [email protected]

Connect
Instagram: @bestpickleballcoach
Facebook: @tonyroigpickleball
TikTok: bestpickleballcoach

A player I have known for years told me they did not think they could advance in the game. If that player believes it, others do too. So this week I want to be clear. There is no real limit on your growth as a pickleball player. Not age. Not ability. The only limit is your decision not to grow. What actually derails players is trying to do too many things at once. The fix is one thing at a time. Lock it in, let the positive feedback loop build, then move to the next one.

Second, a conversation from our Boston-area camp about expectations on the serve side. Because of the two-bounce rule, the serve team starts every rally at a positional disadvantage. When you go back to serve, you are more likely to lose the rally than win it. Not because you did anything wrong. Because that is how the sport is built. Set your expectations with that in mind.

Third, our Partner Play series starts at the end of September and we are collecting stories. Share up to three things a partner has done that rubbed you the wrong way. Post it in the comments, in the community, or email [email protected] with "My Story" in the subject line. Improvement stories are welcome too.

Camps for 2026 and 2027: https://tonyroigpickleball.com/camps
Your Pickleball Coach: https://yourpickleball.coach

Pickleball Therapy: The Book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Be well,
Tony

Doubles pickleball is a team sport just like football or basketball. Two players instead of 5 or 11, but the same dynamics apply: your team plays its best when both players are in sync.

You cannot control your partner. But you can communicate with them, and there's a constructive way to do that. 

The second idea is sonder. Everyone on the court is walking their own path. Your partner included. That matters most in the small moments, like when someone apologizes after a miss. Tony explains why the "sorry" reflex tends to make the dynamic more uncomfortable, and what to say instead. 

The through line is simple. How you treat your partner shapes how they play. How they play shapes how your team plays. Partner play is a skill, and it's one you can hone.