5-Minute Mental Warm-Up

Mental Fitness for Pickleball Players 

Train your mind the same way you train your strokes 

5-Minute Mental Warm-Up (Daily or Pre-Play) 

● Minute 0–1 | PQ Breathing 

Inhale 4 seconds. Exhale 6 seconds. Focus on your breath or feet. Shift from stress to calm. 

● Minute 1–2 | Body Awareness 

Notice your feet, paddle weight, and shoulders softening. Quiet cue: “I’m here.” 

● Minute 2–3 | Visualization 

Picture ONE simple play done well (serve, return, or dink). Focus on balance and calm. 

● Minute 3–4 | Reset Rehearsal 

Visualize a recent mistake. Practice your reset. See yourself competing again immediately. 

● Minute 4–5 | Anchor Phrase 

Choose one phrase and repeat once before play. 

On-Court Reset Tools 

● 3-Breath Reset: Body → Mind → Vision. Use after errors or bad calls. 

● Erase & Replace: Brush paddle, erase the mistake, replace with the correct image. 

● One-Word Anchor: Calm · Trust · Smooth · Compete 

● Partner Reset: Meet at the line, say one word each, visualize the same simple play. 

Remember 

You don’t practice perfection — you practice recovery. The goal is not fewer mistakes, but faster resets.