Indian pickleball dialect: converts, kids, and the game carving its own identity

This story dives into the roots of highly addictive pickleball sport and looks at where its unique identity is headed next in India's booming racquet ecosystem.

Pickleball may borrow the language of tennis, the touch of table tennis and the geometry of squash, but in India it is rapidly becoming its own dialect. And who better to illustrate this evolution than the dozen-odd athletes who took part last week in the inaugural Indian Pickleball League (IPBL) in Delhi, players for whom taking up the sport wasn't just a change in equipment, but a fundamental genre shift. From tennis hitters learning to “unhit”, to squash players slowing their instincts, to swimmers picking up a paddle for the first time, these athletes are discovering that pickleball is not a softer version of any racquet sport, it is a new game with its own physics, psychology and culture. This story dives into the roots of a highly addictive sport and looks at where its unique identity is headed next in India's booming racquet ecosystem.

The IPBL, the country's first official pickleball league, backed by the Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) and recognised by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, was held on a makeshift court inside the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, complete with a touch of glamour and glitz. To the untrained eye, it resembled a slower tennis match played on a badminton court, punctuated by flashes of table tennis–like strokeplay. But the league didn't showcase a watered-down version of familiar sports. It exposed a truth every convert eventually learns: pickleball is not a transition sport. It is a reset.

The true advent of pickleball in India can be traced back to the Covid lockdowns. As uncertainty engulfed organised sport, many athletes were left restless. While some trained within the confines of their homes and others drifted towards social media, a few embraced what would become the country's most viral new sport, pickleball. Most came from racquet-sport backgrounds, which made the initial learning curve gentler. But picking up a paddle wasn't simply about switching equipment. It meant abandoning reflexes trusted for over a decade. Tennis players had to learn how to “unhit”. Table tennis players had to stop slicing everything. Squash athletes had to slow down in a game that punishes impatience more than weakness. Even those with elite athletic backgrounds discovered that fitness alone meant very little at the kitchen line.

“I think people come in thinking it's easy,” says Mumbai Smashers' Sindoor Mittal, a former national-level swimmer who took up pickleball only last year and is already competing at the highest level in India. “But once you start playing seriously, you realise it's a thinking sport first.”

That idea, that pickleball rewards restraint over aggression, decision-making over dominance, binds together a remarkably diverse group of athletes. At the IPBL, converts from tennis, table tennis and squash weren't just adapting to a new sport; they were collectively defining what Indian pickleball might look like.

For most converts at the IPBL, the hardest part of pickleball wasn't learning a new shot — it was suppressing an old one.

Hyderabad Royals' Shreya Chakraborty, who played professional tennis for India before two knee surgeries ended her career, felt that conflict immediately. “In tennis, if you hit a good serve, you go in,” she said. “In pickleball, you have to stop yourself. You have to let the ball bounce. That instinct takes time to kill.” Singles, she admits, came naturally. Doubles did not. “We don't go slow in tennis. There's no concept of drop, drop, drop. Patience was the hardest thing.”

That lack of patience is a recurring theme among tennis converts. Lucknow Leopards' Aditya Ruhela, a multiple-time national-level player, put it bluntly: “Tennis players don't have the patience to dink.” Power, once a weapon, becomes a liability at the kitchen line. “You can't win with power here,” said the No. 1 men's singles pickleball player in the country. “You have to wait, create angles, make people uncomfortable. That's very difficult when you're trained to finish points early.”

For table tennis players, the challenge lies elsewhere. Pearl Amalsadiwala, who played TT at the national level for seven years, brought lightning-fast hands and reflexes — but had to abandon her reliance on spin. “In table tennis, everything is underspin,” she explained. “In pickleball, you have to let that go. You can't slice everything. You have to push, especially while dinking.” Even rhythm had to be relearned. “TT is much faster. Pickleball feels slower, but that doesn't mean it's easier.”

Across backgrounds, the third-shot drop emerged as the universal humbler — the shot that exposes impatience, ego and muscle memory all at once. Tennis players overhit it. TT players over-spin it. Squash players rush it. Mastering it, players agreed, was less about technique and more about restraint.

That is where pickleball breaks from its cousins. It doesn't reward the fastest, strongest or fittest player — at least not immediately. It rewards the one willing to pause, reset and rethink. In forcing athletes to unlearn years of instinct, pickleball reveals its true nature: not a hybrid, not a shortcut, but a sport that asks its players to start over.

For a sport that often looks like a futsal version of tennis, power and serve — the defining factors in tennis — have little or no place in pickleball. “In tennis, power is essential. In pickleball, too much power hurts you. You have to slow down, control the ball, and build the point,” said Aditya. Shreya added, “A lot of things that felt natural in tennis don't work here… patiently dropping the ball again and again was definitely something I had to learn.” Footwork, shot placement, and patience replace brute force, and singles or doubles require careful planning rather than simply hitting hard from the baseline.

Squash, with its lightning-fast pace and focus on deception, also translates only partially. Amol explained, “In squash you can hold your swing till the last moment and wrong-foot someone. In pickleball, you just don't get that much time — everything happens quicker. Deception requires serious skill.” Reflexes and anticipation help, but players must rethink how to attack and defend in a game where the pace feels controlled yet unrelenting.

Table tennis emphasises paddle variation and spin to control points, but in pickleball the racquet is standard and options are limited. Pearl pointed out, “Consistency — just putting the ball in, making that one extra shot — often decides the point.” Fast hands and reflexes help, but the game rewards smart, patient shot selection over spin tricks or flashy strokes.

The kitchen line and third-shot drop rule further define the sport. They force players to constantly plan their next move, create angles, exploit opponents' weaknesses, and build points methodically rather than relying on a single winner. Every shot is part of a larger strategy, demanding patience, precision, and mental discipline.

As Aditya summed it up, “Baseline play is easy for tennis players, but at the kitchen line, patience becomes the key, and that's where everyone struggles. Even top tennis players like Jack Sock struggled when they entered pickleball. Singles was fine for him, but doubles required real adjustment. It shows that pickleball needs its own set of skills and a lot of time to master. Patience is everything. You can't win with power alone. You need patience, angles, and creativity.”

Pickleball may borrow elements from other racquet sports, but its challenges — patience, strategy, and adaptability — make it an entirely unique game, demanding a fresh mindset from every player.

Ruhela and Chakraborty reckon that converts hold an edge over pure picklers. Ruhela noted that tennis players dominate in singles, while table tennis and badminton players, with their fast reflexes, excel in doubles. He said: “In singles, yes — my tennis background helps. I can run, hit passing shots, and construct points. But in doubles, players from badminton or table tennis have an advantage because they have faster hands. Tennis players usually have big strokes, not quick reflexes.”

Chakraborty, who was medically advised to quit tennis after a second knee surgery last year, echoed this view: “Players coming from badminton or table tennis have big advantages — the flick, the hands, the net game, the doubles instincts. Compared to someone who has never played a racquet sport, I definitely have an edge, especially in the first few months.”

Amol, who played squash at a national level until the age of 16, offered a different perspective, saying that while backgrounds give players a head start, competitive-level advantages are nuanced. He explained: “I don't think anyone has an edge over anyone. The sport has so many nuances — you might be better in one area, but someone else will be better in another… Even players with no racquet-sport background can start fresh and excel. That's what makes pickleball so unique.”

From a neutral standpoint, Sindoor, a Mumbai resident who began coaching pickleball within four months of learning and played her first tournament in August, summed it up best: irrespective of backgrounds, it is at the kitchen line where past ideologies converge and the game is ultimately decided. “Tennis players do come in with advantages — serves, returns, drives, and singles instincts. But the entire kitchen game — dinking, speed-ups, mid-court resets, the third-shot drop — is new to everyone, including tennis players,” the 42-year-old said.

Pickleball may be a sport of borrowed words, but in India, it is finding its own voice. The kitchen line is its punctuation mark — where all players suddenly speak the same language: slowly, softly, patiently. And the as the game evolves further in India, Sindoor expects more pure picklers to emerge into the scene. “I think it depends on the younger generation. I'm seeing a lot of kids — from ages seven or eight up to the mid-teens — getting into pickleball now. They'll be the ones who become true, homegrown pickleball players. And that's going to be very interesting to watch, because they'll be learning the sport as their first discipline rather than converting from another one.”

Aratrick lives and breathes sports. A cricket and tennis fanatic, he's a proud Rafa loyalist who never missed a match by the Spaniard. Being a sports journalist was his dream, and he's living it every day. When off the field, he's busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Read Less ...Read More

Source: HindustanTimes
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