Every Player Feels It—Few Players Fix It

The Pickleball Cowboy on Competing When the Stakes are High

You’re in a tournament. The match matters. Maybe it’s for the gold medal, maybe it’s to avoid a drop in your rating, maybe it’s just a game against a rival you’ve never beaten. You’ve been playing solidly all day—clean serves, consistent dinks, effortless resets. Then the score hits 8-all.

And something shifts.

Your paddle feels heavier. Your feet slow down. You float a serve long. You pop up an easy third-shot drop. Your mind starts racing—thinking about the score, thinking about the crowd, thinking about what happens if you lose—instead of just playing pickleball.

This is the mental game. And it happens to everyone.

I’ve been coaching and competing at the professional level for over six years, and in that time I’ve worked with somewhere around 10,000 players across all skill levels. What I can tell you is this: The mental side of pickleball is the great equalizer. I’ve seen technically flawless players fall apart at 8-all, and I’ve seen players with significant mechanical flaws win gold medals because their minds were locked in.

When I work with players, I’m not just watching their technique—I’m watching how they breathe between points, how they react to a missed put-away, how they look at their partner when the match gets tight. Those tells are often more revealing than anything happening in their game.

I’ve been on the winning end of high-pressure moments and I’ve been on the losing end. The difference almost always comes down to one thing: who was better prepared—mentally—for that pressure.

This article is about getting prepared.

The score doesn’t change the game. Your reaction to the score does.

PART ONE: UNDERSTANDING THE PRESSURE PROBLEM

Pickleball is unique in how quickly momentum can shift. In a game to 11, every point in the final stages carries enormous weight. At 8-all, you’re two points from match-point territory. The brain registers that—and it panics.

Adrenaline floods your system, your heart rate spikes, muscles tighten, fine motor control degrades. This is your body’s fight-or-flight response—evolved for survival, not for executing a soft crosscourt dink. The result? Players do things they simply don’t do in rec play or warm-ups:

• Serves sail long or land in the net.

• Easy put-aways get dumped into the net.

• Footwork breaks down—feet stop moving, players start reaching and hitting off-balance.

• Swings become tentative—the same shot that’s aggressive in warm-ups gets pushed or guided under pressure.

• Strategy goes out the window—it becomes pure reaction.

One of the most telling signs that pressure has gotten to a player is their feet. Under pressure, they go flat. They stop moving and start reacting. The swing follows—shorter, more passive, more guided.

You can see confidence drain out of someone’s game just by watching their feet and their swing. None of this means you’re a bad player. It means you’re human. The best players in the world aren’t immune to it—they’ve just built systems to manage it.

The Infrequency Trap

Not playing competitive matches often enough is one of the most underrated contributors to tournament nerves. When a tournament feels rare and precious, the stakes automatically inflate. Every match becomes do-or-die. The antidote: compete more.

The frequent competitor has normalized the environment—the crowds, the scorekeeping, the line calls—and approaches it like a regular Tuesday. The pressure doesn’t disappear, but it becomes familiar. Familiar pressure is manageable pressure.

The Invisible Weight

At the higher levels, ratings add another layer of mental weight—now you’re not just playing to win, you’re playing to protect something. Players may start managing fear instead of playing their game. This creates what many call “playing not to lose.”

Recognize when you’re carrying too much. When your mind is consumed with what a loss means for your rating or reputation, you’ve stopped playing pickleball. You’re playing chess with your anxiety. Anxiety almost always wins that game.

Play the ball in front of you. Not the scoreboard. Not your rating. The ball.

PART TWO: HOW THE PICKLEBALL COWBOY FIXES IT

1. Drill until it’s automatic.

The most effective long-term solution to tournament nerves is also the most unglamorous: drilling. When something is truly automatic—when you could do it in your sleep—your brain doesn’t have to intervene. It just happens.

When a player tells me they struggle in tournaments, one of the first things I ask is: “What does your drilling routine look like?” Nine times out of 10, the answer reveals the problem. They’re rallying and playing games—but not doing the deliberate, targeted repetitions that build true automaticity.

There’s a difference between practicing and drilling, and the difference shows up at 8-all. This applies to footwork as much as any shot. Drilling movement patterns is what keeps your feet active when the match gets tight.

2. Train how you play, and play how you train.

If you spend most of your court time goofing around and then flip a switch into serious-competitor mode at a tournament, you’re going to feel like a stranger in your own game. The best players practice with the same tone and intention they bring to competition. Track scores. Care about the point you’re playing. Keep your feet active and your swings intentional even when nothing is on the line.

Start your practice games at 7-all instead of 0-0, best of three. Add a small stake—push-ups for the loser, or a friendly wager. That discomfort in practice is exactly what makes 8-all in a real match feel familiar. Also get to the tournament venue a day or two early if you can—play on those courts, with that ball, in those conditions.

The smaller the gap between practice environment and tournament environment, the faster you’re playing your game instead of adjusting to a new one.

3. Build a pre-point routine.

Watch the best players between points. They’re not thinking about the last point. They have rituals—a bounce of the ball, a grip check, a glance at their partner, a word, a nod. A pre-point routine gives your nervous system something concrete to focus on, and creates a consistent trigger that tells your brain: We’ve done this a thousand times. This is normal. Let’s play.

Some examples:

• Take one slow breath before every serve.

• Bounce the ball three times, every time.

• A simple phrase to your partner—“Let’s go,” “We’ve got this,” etc.

• Roll your shoulders, check your feet—are they active and ready?

The routine only works if it’s ritual—the “ready” signal your brain recognizes, every single time.

4. Reset after bad points, physically.

Emotional bleed is one of the most damaging patterns in pressure play. You miss a put-away and you’re frustrated, and that frustration leaches into the next point. And the next.

One technique I teach and use myself: smile. Not performative—a genuine moment of lightness. It physically interrupts the frustration cycle. Also, move your feet between points and carry that movement into the rally.

One of the clearest signs that tension has taken over is when a player stops adjusting mid-rally—they go passive, waiting for the ball instead of attacking it. You can play conservatively, but never play passively.

There’s a critical difference between a deliberate reset and hitting on your heels because you’ve mentally checked out.

5. Control your presence.

How you carry yourself is communicating something—whether you intend it to or not. Slumped shoulders, a dropped head, a look to your partner that says here we go again… those signals add up, and the opponents see every one of them. But your body language doesn’t just signal to them—it signals to yourself. Standing tall and moving with purpose physically shifts your internal state. You’re not faking confidence. You’re building it.

This matters most when you’re losing. If you’re down and your body language confirms you’ve accepted it, your opponents relax. But if you’re still moving with urgency and competing for every ball, they feel that. It creates doubt even when the scoreboard says it shouldn’t.

After a bad point, reset your posture the same way you reset your feet. Shoulders back. Head up. Walk to the next position like you own it.

6. Play from joy, not fear.

Play because you love it, not because you’re afraid of losing. Fear-based play is: conservative shots, hesitation, feet that stop moving, swings that get short and passive. Joy-based play is: trusting your training, going for your shots, moving with looseness and energy. Active feet. Full swings.

The goal is to access that joy-based state when everything is on the line. The score at 8-all isn’t a threat; it’s an invitation. You’ve worked hard to get here. This is exactly where you want to be.

You don’t rise to the occasion. You fall to the level of your preparation. Make sure your preparation deserves the moment.

7. Communicate with your partner.

Two nervous systems trying to cooperate under pressure is a unique challenge. Silence breeds tension. Communication breaks it. Simple, positive words (“Nice reset,” “I’ve got the middle,” etc.) keep both players anchored in the present. And don’t underestimate physical connection—a high-five, a fist bump, direct eye contact and a nod.

Looking your partner in the eye in a tight moment says everything words sometimes can’t: I see you, I’ve got you, we’re in this together. Avoid retreating into silence when the match gets tight. That’s exactly when it matters most.

8. Make adjustments in real time.

You might cruise through your first game and suddenly find yourself in a tight third game wondering what changed. Wind, sun angle, a fresh ball versus a worn one—these can shift the game in ways that are easy to miss from inside the match.

Use your time-outs as reset buttons, not just rest breaks. Use the towel between points to wipe your face, clear your head, and slow the pace without burning a time-out. Listen to your coach or a trusted partner on the sideline—they’re seeing things you can’t.

And look for patterns: What does this opponent do on the big points? The ability to recognize and counter those patterns on the fly is where the game is really won.

THE COWBOY’S CHECKLIST: BEFORE, DURING, AFTER

Before the Match

• Establish a warm-up ritual—same sequence, same shots, same timing at every event.

• Get to the venue early and play on the tournament courts in tournament conditions.

• Practice at the same time of day the tournament starts in the weeks prior.

• Maintain your normal food and sleep routine—don’t change what works.

• Talk with your partner about strategy before you start.

• Set a process intention, not an outcome: “Stay patient at the kitchen,” not “I need to win.”

During the Match

• Pre-point routine—every single point, no exceptions.

• Keep your feet moving—the moment they stop, your game stops with them.

• Stay aggressive in your intent—adjust strategy if needed, but never play passively.

• One breath of frustration after a bad point, then reset—posture, feet, mindset.

• Communicate with your partner—high-fives, eye contact, check in with them.

• When the score gets close, slow down—take your full time between points.

• Use your towel, your time-outs, your coach—don’t suffer through a momentum shift in silence.

• Smile… even just once. You might be surprised how much it shifts things.

After the Match

• Assess honestly: Where did your mental game hold up? Where did it crack?

• Note the moments when tension affected your play—those are your training targets.

• Don’t carry the weight of a loss into the next event. Carry the lessons.

The best players aren’t fearless. They’ve just practiced being afraid and playing well anyway.

FINAL THOUGHT: THE SHOWDOWN IS YOURS TO WIN

Pickleball is a sport of self-mastery. The physical skills can only take you so far. At some point—and that point usually comes around 8-all—the game you’re really playing is the one inside your head.

Having coached thousands of players, I can tell you the mental ceiling is real, and it’s the last ceiling most players ever work on. They’ll spend hundreds of hours perfecting their third-shot drops, their resets, their dinks—and zero hours building the mental routines that would help them execute those shots when it counts. That’s the gap. And it’s a big one.

Drill until your shots are automatic. Keep your footwork sharp. Train the way you want to compete. Build routines that anchor you to the present. Control your presence. Play from joy.

Do those things, and 8-all won’t feel like a threat. It’ll feel like exactly what it is: the showdown you’ve been preparing for all along. •

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Kyle McMakin, aka The Pickleball Cowboy, is a touring pickleball professional, former Division I tennis player (UC Davis) and head pro for LevelUp Pickleball Camps. He is a two-time Triple Crown winner and a 6.0 DUPR-rated player in doubles and singles.

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