3 Mistakes Older Players Make Against Younger Opponents (And How to Fix Them)

I had a student a while back — I won’t use her real name, but let’s call her Linda — who came off the court after playing a group of college kids and just shook her head at me. “CJ,” she said, “I used to be able to hang with anyone out here. Now I feel like I’m standing still.” She wasn’t slower. She wasn’t playing worse. She was just playing the wrong game against the wrong opponent.

That’s actually really good news, because it means the fix isn’t about turning back the clock on your reflexes. It’s about strategy. I get this question all the time from players in their 50s, 60s, and beyond: how do I beat younger pickleball players who move like lightning? So today I want to walk you through the three biggest mistakes I see, and exactly how to fix each one.

Mistake 1: Trying to Match Their Pace

The first mistake is the most tempting one — trying to go toe-to-toe on speed. If a younger player is hitting the ball hard, the instinct is to hit it back just as hard. The problem is, they can keep that pace up rally after rally, and eventually you’re the one who misses first.

Instead of matching pace, your job is to control it. The shot that does this is the block volley. Here’s how it works: get into your ready position with your paddle out in front of you, right around the 12 o’clock position. If you can see the shot coming hard, cheat a little early — start moving your paddle toward 10 or 11 o’clock (or 1 o’clock if it’s coming from the other side) before the ball even arrives. That small anticipation gives you the extra fraction of a second you need to simply block the ball back rather than trying to match its speed. You’re not overpowering anyone. You’re taking their pace away from them, and that’s how you start to beat faster, younger pickleball players even when you can’t match their speed.

Mistake 2: Using Shots That Only Work on Older Players

The second mistake is relying on finesse shots that worked beautifully against players your own age but fall apart against faster feet. I see this most often at the non-volley zone line — a ball comes over a little high, and the instinct is to go for that soft little dink. Against an older player, that shot can be a winner. Against a younger player with quick feet, they’ll get there and put it away.

The fix is simple, and it works no matter who’s on the other side of the net: hit the ball at their feet. Whether you’re 20 or 50, a ball around your ankles is genuinely hard to defend. So instead of inviting a younger player up to the net with a soft angled shot, keep the ball low and aimed at their feet — even if it floats a little, keep it deep and headed for their feet until they’re the one making the error. Holding that discipline is what keeps you in control of the non-volley zone, which is really the most valuable real estate on the court.

Mistake 3: Speeding Up Too Early

The third mistake happens during those patient dink rallies at the kitchen line. You’re locked in, nobody’s popped the ball up yet, and then — out of nowhere — you decide to speed it up from a low position. The problem is physics: that ball has to travel low to high on its way over the net, which gives a player with faster reactions plenty of time to see it coming and counter it right back at you before you can recover.

The fix here is patience paired with a little strategy. Instead of forcing the speed-up, work your opponent left to right — left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot — until you either draw a pop-up you can attack, or force a miss. Either outcome is a win, and both are far more reliable than trying to out-hand a player whose reactions are simply faster than yours right now.

How to Beat Younger Pickleball Players Going Forward

None of these fixes require you to move faster or hit harder than you did ten years ago. They require you to play smarter — controlling pace with the block volley, targeting feet instead of finesse, and staying patient until the right shot presents itself. Fix even just one of these, and you might be surprised who’s shaking their head at you after the match.

If you want more strategies like this broken down step by step, you can find my full library of lessons at betterpickleball.com.

If even one of these fixes changes how your next match goes, that’s exactly the kind of shift I love helping players make. Come see how I help players over 50 build real strategy, confidence, and consistency on the court — visit my About page to discover more about my approach to helping you level up your pickleball game.