From Practice to Performance, Part 4: Mastering Performance Anxiety in Pickleball (The Science, Psychology, and My Personal Routine)

In the previous post of this series, we explored how to build mental resiliency for competitive scenarios in pickleball. In this Part 4, we’ll dive deeper into the psychological and physiological roots of performance anxiety—and how they affect us on the court. I’ll also share something personal: the warm-up routine I use to activate Self 2—the intuitive, high-performing version of myself—so I can overcome nerves and step fully into peak performance mode.

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What Is Performance Anxiety? A Scientific Breakdown for Pickleball Players

Let's define performance anxiety from an anatomical and physiological perspective to understand how it can impact our performance in sports—both negatively and, surprisingly, sometimes positively.

From a physiological standpoint, performance anxiety is governed by the autonomic nervous system, specifically the sympathetic branch, which activates the body's "fight-or-flight" response. This mechanism floods the bloodstream with adrenaline (epinephrine), cortisol, and norepinephrine—hormones and neurotransmitters that increase heart rate, dilate pupils, heighten alertness, and redirect blood flow away from the digestive tract and toward muscles. The body is primed for survival, not subtlety. In this state, every system is recalibrated to prioritize immediate, life-preserving action. To be "primed for survival" means the brain and body interpret the environment as hostile or dangerous—even if the threat is merely psychological, like public scrutiny or performance pressure. This response can be essential: to escape predators or fight through battle while incurring injury.

“The same system that protects us from mortal danger can sabotage our ability to perform with mastery—unless we learn how to train it, tame it, and turn its power into flow.”

The survival state is characterized by binary thinking and brute motor responses—run as fast as possible or fight with every ounce of strength. There's no room for nuance, deliberation, or fine motor control. That’s why in moments of extreme pressure, athletes might feel like their hands don’t belong to them or that their practiced finesse evaporates. The body’s energy is diverted from the prefrontal cortex (responsible for clear, adaptive thinking) toward the limbic system and motor cortex to favor instinctual action.

Whether fleeing a tiger or pushing through a grueling match point, the body interprets it similarly: sweat glands open to cool the body, pupils dilate to track fast movement, and muscles receive an oxygenated blood surge to maximize explosiveness. In elite sports, however, we don’t need to run for our lives—we need to thread the needle, respond creatively, and execute with precision. And therein lies the paradox: the same system that protects us from mortal danger can sabotage our ability to perform with mastery—unless we learn how to train it, tame it, and turn its power into flow.

In sports, this heightened state can manifest as trembling hands, a racing heart, dry mouth, shortness of breath, and gastrointestinal discomfort. Cognitively, it disrupts the prefrontal cortex's ability to process information rationally, leading to overthinking, tunnel vision, or even paralysis in decision-making. It can suppress motor coordination as fine-tuned, learned movements are overridden by crude survival reflexes. This is why an athlete may suddenly lose the ability to perform a basic skill—they're not in "play mode" anymore; they're in "panic mode."

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When Performance Anxiety Becomes Paralysis: Understanding the Yips

In extreme cases, the impact of performance anxiety can be so profound that it leads to what's commonly known as "the yips." While I haven’t personally experienced the yips, I was surprised to learn—during my recent time competing in the U.S.—that even some pro-level pickleball players struggle with them. For some, it’s just a fleeting glitch, a brief moment of disconnect. But for others, the yips can become a persistent, even career-altering condition—one that strips away their ability to execute shots they once performed effortlessly, even during casual games.

Before we go further, let’s define what the yips actually are—medically and neurologically.

The yips are a sudden, involuntary loss of motor control that interferes with well-practiced movements, often under conditions of performance pressure. Although once thought to be purely psychological, research now shows that the yips exist on a spectrum between psychological anxiety and neurological disruption. In many cases, it’s a form of task-specific dystonia—a neurological condition where the brain sends conflicting signals to muscles, resulting in jerky, interrupted, or frozen motion.

Neurologically, the yips appear to involve abnormal firing patterns in areas like the basal ganglia (which helps regulate voluntary motor control and procedural learning), the sensorimotor cortex, and the cerebellum, which governs timing and coordination. These disruptions are often amplified by psychological stress. In essence, the brain and body are trying to execute a familiar movement, but the system gets hijacked—either by excessive self-monitoring or by a deeper breakdown in motor programming.

In athletes, especially those in precision sports like golf, baseball, and now increasingly pickleball, the yips manifest as an inability to perform a simple motion—like a serve or two-handed backhand—that they’ve executed thousands of times. The paradox is brutal: the more the athlete tries to consciously control the motion, the worse it becomes.

Understanding the yips as both a psychological and neurological phenomenon can offer a roadmap to recovery. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, motor retraining, mindfulness, and even altering movement patterns can help rewire the system and restore flow.

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Turning Anxiety Into Fuel: The Yerkes-Dodson Law and How to Use It

A moderate amount of performance anxiety isn't necessarily bad. The same adrenaline that causes shaking can also boost reaction time, increase blood glucose availability, and improve short-term memory consolidation. When an athlete learns to harness this physiological energy rather than be overwhelmed by it, anxiety becomes arousal—fuel for performance. This is known as the Yerkes-Dodson law: performance increases with arousal up to a point, beyond which too much anxiety causes performance to plummet into negative returns.

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Thus, the key is not thinking that you can eliminate performance anxiety completely but understanding and training the body-mind system to regulate it. Breathing exercises, visualization, and identity rituals—as we’ll discuss—are ways to rewire the nervous system so it interprets performance environments as exciting challenges rather than threats. As we learn in The Inner Game of Tennis, we perform at our best when we approach competitive scenarios as opportunities to explore our potential and express our skills. By reframing anxiety as excitement, we shift away from an ego-driven fear of failure and instead channel that adrenaline into heightened focus and energy.

“By reframing anxiety as excitement, we shift away from an ego-driven fear of failure and instead channel that adrenaline into heightened focus and energy.”

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My Inner Game Pickleball Warm-Up Ritual

For me, poorly-framed performance anxiety makes me play tight and cloud my decision-making. As Preston Bies reminded us at the JOOLA Celebration in 2024: "Remember—tight is not right."

If you experience performance anxiety, this personal warm-up routine might help you quiet Self 1—the inner critic—and ignite Self 2, your intuitive, high-performing self.

This routine is specifically designed to settle your nervous system, contain performance anxiety within optimal limits, and bring Self 2 to the forefront. The goal is to get you into the zone. It takes just 6–10 minutes to complete and can be used before drills, recreational play, or competition.

Practicing it before drill sessions—where anxiety may not be present—is actually crucial. Repetition builds habit, and those low-pressure environments are perfect for wiring the neural pathways you’ll rely on when pressure mounts. In doing so, you associate calm focus and self-trust with the beautiful rhythm of pickleball.

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1. Breath & Body Reset (2 minutes)

Goal: Calm your nervous system, shift out offight-or-flight.

Instructions:

• Stand or sit in a relaxed posture.

• Box breath for 5 cycles: Inhale 4s → Hold 4s → Exhale 4s → Hold 4s

• As you breathe, do a body scan: Relax jaw… neck… shoulders… hands… hips… knees…

Self 2 Cue: “I am safe. My body knows what to do.”

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2. Visualization of Flow (1–2 minutes)

Goal: Trigger confidence and positive anticipation.

Instructions:

• Close eyes and visualize 3 rallies:

1. One with perfect timing.
2. One where you recover from a bad spot and win the point.
3. One where you feel relaxed and focused under pressure.

Self 2 Cue: “I trust myself no matter the situation.”

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3. Bounce-Hit Shadow Drill (1 minute)

Goal: Synchronize rhythm, timing, and focus.

Instructions:

• Mimic shadow rally swings while saying: “Bounce… Hit… Bounce… Hit…”

• Keep your breathing steady and smooth.

• Focus on timing, not technique.

Self 2 Cue: “I move with rhythm. Not force.”

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4. External Cue Rehearsal (1–2 minutes)

Goal: Train your attention on the ball—not your mechanics.

Pick ONE cue to use today:

• “Watch the spin.”

• “Listen for the sound.”

• “Feel the paddle angle.”

Say it out loud: “Today, I focus on…”

This becomes your anchor cue during play.

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5. Identity Activation Statement (30 seconds)

Goal: Enter your inner competitor identity—calm, lethal, focused.

Choose one of these or create your own:

• “I don’t control—I respond.”

• “I’m here to compete, not to protect.”

• “I am calm, fast, and focused.”

• “I’m a warrior in training, not a finished product.”

Say it with belief. Feel it land.

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6. Movement Warm-Up (2–3 minutes)

Goal: Connect mind to body in motion.

• Dynamic footwork drills (ladder, side shuffles, split step into sprint)

• Gentle shadow swings

• Ball drop reaction drills if available

Focus: “Move light. Breathe deep. Let it flow.”

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7. Bonus Hand-Eye Coordination Warm-Up (1 minute)

Goal: Activate the nervous system for sharper ball tracking and cleaner contact.

Instructions:

• Sit or squat in a relaxed, stable position.

• Focus your eyes on a fixed point—ideally a moving pickleball if one is available.

• Begin the coordination drill:

1. Tap both hands on your knees (right hand to right knee, left to left).
2. Then simultaneously touch your right fingertips to the tip of your nose while crossing your left fingertips to touch your right earlobe.
3. Return both hands to tap your knees again.
4. Then simultaneously touch your left fingertips to your nose while crossing your right fingertips to your left earlobe.

• Repeat this cycle smoothly, with relaxed breathing and full visual focus.

Self 2 Cue: "I see the ball."

Here's a video of me doing the exercise:

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Final Reminder Before Stepping on the Court

Say to yourself: “Observe, don’t judge. Play, don’t protect. Let Self 2 run the show.”

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By doing this ritual consistently and over time, you should find the following results:

• Self 1 gets quieter.

• Flow states come faster.

• Losses don’t rattle you.

• Your mind and body become allies.

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Final Reflections on Mental Training and Performance Anxiety in Pickleball

Scientific research suggests that performance declines due to overwhelming anxiety can be improved through consistent mental training routines. These routines, often including breathwork, visualization, and mindfulness, help retrain the nervous system and reduce the brain's threat response. As shown in studies related to neuroplasticity and performance psychology, repetition over time is key to creating new automatic responses under pressure. The routine I shared above is one such example—when practiced regularly throughout the week, it can gradually rewire performance pathways.

“You do this ritual consistently and over time: Self 1 gets quieter, flow states come faster, and your mind and body become allies.”

Through my own journey with performance anxiety in pickleball—and the consistent use of my mental training routine—I’ve begun to recognize clear signs that this kind of self-regulation work is paying off. Here are the benefits I am experiencing:

• Faster transitions into flow state: I am able to reach a focused, immersive mental zone more quickly during play.
• Reduced physical symptoms of anxiety: I’ve noticed less tension and reduced muscle tightness, which has led to smoother, deeper breathing and greater endurance. As a result, I no longer experience early nervous system fatigue, allowing me to sustain performance for longer stretches without feeling depleted.
• Improved consistency in execution: Routine shots and movements feel smoother and more natural to me, even in competitive settings.
• Better emotional recovery: My mistakes don’t rattle me as much—I'm able to bounce back from errors with minimal emotional turbulence.
• Increased confidence and clarity: I feel more centered, less over-analytical, and more trusting of your instincts.
• Greater mind-body synchronization: My movements feel more connected to intention, with less mental interference or second-guessing.
• Higher sense of joy: Ultimately, I’m enjoying my time on the court more—and that joy translates into better performance. When I’m in a good mood, relaxed, and present, my game naturally elevates.

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