26 tips to make you better at pickleball in 2026

 

26 Tips to Master Pickleball in 2026: Anna Bright's Ultimate Guide

Unlock Your Potential: Pro Pickleball Player Anna Bright Shares 26 Actionable Tips to Level Up Your Game This Year

In her latest YouTube vlog, professional pickleball player Anna Bright breaks the fourth wall to deliver a raw, insightful list of 26 tips designed to help players of all levels improve in 2026. Known for her meme-worthy humor and deep expertise in the sport, Bright draws from her own experiences as a pro to offer practical, no-nonsense advice. Whether you're a recreational player or aiming for competitive success, these tips emphasize intentional practice, self-awareness, and holistic growth. Dive into the timed highlights below, complete with summaries to inspire your pickleball journey. (YouTube Comment Hyper-Link List)

1. 0:26 - Brain Dump Your Improvement Goals Start by listing every aspect of pickleball you want to improve this year. Bright's own list was over 20 items long—use this as a foundation to identify your focus areas without holding back.
2. 0:40 - Prioritize Ruthlessly Review your brain dump and select the most impactful items to work on. Avoid scattering your efforts; focus on a few key areas, as trying to improve everything at once leads to inefficiency.
3. 0:56 - Watch Yourself Play Pickleball Record and review your own games, even if it's uncomfortable. This reveals more about your habits and those of your partners than watching pros, helping you spot areas for growth.
4. 1:22 - Calculate Your Kitchen Arrival Percentage Track how often you and your partner reach the kitchen after the third shot. Use this metric as a benchmark for progress—Bright plans a dedicated video on this, noting it's a key differentiator in structured play.
5. 1:46 - Seek Out Other Benchmarks Establish testable metrics like dink tolerance (e.g., sustaining 30 or 50 dinks in a row) or other counters. Get a baseline now and revisit them regularly to measure improvement.
6. 2:07 - Find a Friend to Improve With Partner with someone equally committed to getting better. Share drills, discussions, and motivation—having an accountability buddy makes the gritty work more enjoyable and effective.
7. 2:27 - Actually Drill Regularly While recreational play is fun and social, dedicate time to drilling at least once or twice a week. It allows three times more ball contacts and targeted skill refinement that games alone can't provide.
8. 2:56 - Set Intentions for Every Session Enter each court time with 1-3 specific focuses, like split stepping or wrist usage. Avoid overwhelming yourself with too many thoughts—prioritization keeps your practice productive.
9. 3:22 - Capitalize on Complementary Skills When your partner drills (e.g., thirds or resets), actively work on your own related skills like fourths or off-speed shots. Every ball hit builds habits, turning "downtime" into valuable practice.
10. 4:25 - Drill with Three People Embrace three-person drills as a "cheat code" for improvement. They offer realistic scenarios beyond two-person setups and isolate skills better than full games—Bright relies on them frequently.
11. 5:05 - Push Limits in Practice Experiment with new offensive shots without fearing losses. Accept the initial "implementation dip" when trying something new—practice is for taking risks and learning from failures.
12. 5:46 - Evaluate Your Weaknesses Honestly Identify major gaps, like poor resetting, and address them for quick gains. Improvement gets harder as you advance, so celebrate big weaknesses as opportunities for significant progress.
13. 6:42 - Evaluate Your Strengths Honestly Acknowledge what you're good at, like quick hands or a strong flick. True self-awareness includes embracing strengths without shame—give yourself credit and build on them.
14. 7:23 - Leverage Your Strengths More Often Strategize ways to create situations that play to your advantages, such as positioning for more hand battles if that's your forte. Amplify what works best for you.
15. 7:48 - Define Your Player Style Assess if you're a grinder or aggressive risk-taker, and decide your ideal style by year's end. Consider risk thresholds (e.g., attacking 55/45 balls) and how they vary by format like mixed doubles.
16. 8:30 - Eliminate Footwork Errors Eradicate lazy footwork mistakes—these are controllable. Treat them as unacceptable; better preparation and effort can prevent misses on shots like thirds that stem from poor positioning.
17. 9:10 - Develop a Disgust for Missing Cultivate intolerance for unforced errors, which gift points to opponents. Notice patterns and reduce them—lower error rates directly correlate with higher skill levels.
18. 9:57 - Become the Ideal Partner Bring positive energy, intensity, and support to partnerships. From her experiences with various mixed partners, Bright emphasizes that being vibe-compatible elevates everyone's performance.
19. 10:30 - Stick with a Paddle You Love Choose a paddle (like a wide body for most players) and commit to it. Constant switching wastes time and money—the player, not the equipment, drives improvement.
20. 11:20 - Strengthen Wrists and Forearms Especially for women building flicks, incorporate simple dumbbell exercises (5-15 lbs) 2-3 times weekly. Bright saw rapid strength gains, enabling new skills she previously lacked power for.
21. 11:54 - Use Medicine Balls for Power If you struggle with torque or kinetic chain usage (common for non-racquet sport backgrounds), do medicine ball circuits. Link to Connor Derken's video for routines to connect legs, core, and hips.
22. 12:28 - Prioritize Holistic Fitness Enhance mobility, stretching, agility, and gym work for better play and injury prevention. Consistency here extended Bright's career and improved her on-court performance noticeably.
23. 13:05 - Incorporate Breath Work and Meditation Use techniques like box breathing or NSDR meditations for mental centering. Hiring a coach helped Bright manage anxiety, leading to better results on and off the court—subscribe to her newsletter for more.
24. 14:12 - Trust the Process Shift to process-oriented thinking over outcomes. Like gently cupping sand instead of squeezing it, this mindset reduced pressure for Bright, contributing to her team's MLP Cup win.
25. 14:57 - Seek Out Competition If competing is your goal, simulate pressure in rec games (e.g., bets or push-ups) or join local money balls. Build experience with stakes to avoid freezing in real tournaments.
26. 16:05 - Learn from Everyone Stay open-minded and extract insights from all players, even amateurs. Pickleball's diversity offers endless lessons—Bright has gained much from watching her boot camp participants.

In-Depth Summary: A Roadmap to Pickleball Excellence in 2026

Anna Bright's vlog is more than a list—it's a comprehensive blueprint for intentional growth in pickleball, blending tactical drills, mental resilience, and self-reflection. At its core, the tips advocate starting with self-assessment: brain dumping goals, prioritizing them, and honestly evaluating strengths and weaknesses to create a personalized improvement plan. Practical elements shine through in recommendations like regular drilling (including innovative three-person formats), setting session intentions, and pushing boundaries in practice to embrace temporary setbacks for long-term gains.

Physical and technical advice forms a strong pillar, from tracking metrics like kitchen arrival percentages to building strength via wrist exercises and medicine balls. Bright emphasizes efficiency, urging players to capitalize on every opportunity—whether warming up or leveraging complementary skills—and to minimize controllable errors like lazy footwork or unforced misses. Equipment loyalty and holistic fitness underscore sustainability, ensuring players can enjoy the sport longer without injury.

Mentally, the vlog promotes a profound shift: developing disgust for errors, trusting the process over outcomes, and incorporating breath work or meditation for composure under pressure. Social aspects aren't overlooked—finding improvement buddies, becoming an ideal partner, and learning from everyone foster a supportive community. For competitors, simulating high-stakes environments bridges the gap between practice and tournaments.

Overall, Bright's approach is empowering and realistic, acknowledging that progress is non-linear and harder at higher levels, yet achievable through consistency and mindset. By implementing these tips, players can not only elevate their game but also deepen their love for pickleball, making 2026 a year of transformative play. As Bright reminds us, improvement is about being better than yesterday, one intentional step at a time.