Confessions of a Pickleball Girl: What No One Warned Me About Before Hitting the Courts

Aureum Pickleball
5 days ago
3 min read

I didn’t grow up an athlete.

I didn’t dream of tournament brackets or drilling third-shot drops.

In fact, my introduction to pickleball had less to do with sport and more to do with trying to make new friends as an adult without it looking weird.

One day I borrowed a paddle, Googled “what is a dink?” in my car, and walked onto a court hoping no one would notice that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

Reader… they noticed.

But here’s the plot twist: it didn’t matter.

Because pickleball doesn’t just teach you a game — it hands you a whole new identity, community, and emotional support system with cute court shoes.

What They Don’t Tell You Before You Start

1. You will get addicted… immediately

Not after a month. Not after a few games.

No no. It’s instant.

First it’s “I’ll play once a week for fun.”

Then it’s “Wait, do we have open play Friday? Saturday morning? Sunday night?”

Then suddenly your camera roll is 89% court sunsets and paddle close-ups.

2. Your paddle becomes personal. Weirdly personal.

You’re not buying sporting equipment.

You’re choosing a soulmate. A companion. A battle partner you will defend passionately even when someone suggests theirs might be better.

The minute you find “your paddle,” you’ll know:

Shots feel cleaner
Confidence is higher
And somehow you look 5–10% cooler holding it

Science? No. Fact? Yes.

3. The learning curve is humbling… and hilarious

Your first month looks like:

80% “sorry sorry sorry!”
15% chasing stray balls into other courts
5% accidental good shots you refuse to admit were accidents

You’ll question your depth perception, coordination, and whether nets are higher in real life than online.

Then one day… you hit one perfect shot — and suddenly everything makes sense.

4. Your pickleball friends become your lifeline

I’ve known pickleball friends for 3 weeks and trust them with:

Relationship updates
Family drama
My emotional state
And detailed analysis of why we definitely should’ve won that last match

The bond accelerates when you sweat together, lose together, and chase the same tiny plastic ball into the bushes together.

5. Confidence matters more than skill (at first)

I’ve seen shy 3.0 players outperform nervous 4.0s simply because they believed in their shot.

Pickleball punishes hesitation more than it rewards perfection.

The real turning point in your game will be the moment you stop thinking:

“Don’t mess this up…”

and start thinking:

“I’ve got this.”

Even if you don’t got this. Act like you do. It works.

6. You learn the unwritten rules

the fun way

No one hands you a manual. So you learn by experience:

Don’t celebrate too hard (even if it was an amazing shot)
Always say “great rally” even if internally you’re saying, “HOW DID YOU RETURN THAT”
Code: “just for fun!” means we are counting every point silently
And no matter what, call your own lines honestly. The game only works if we protect it together.