Posture Fixes That Improve Your Game Immediately

Your Ready Position Is Probably Wrong

Watch a pro play and watch a recreational player play. The biggest visible difference isn't their shots — it's their posture between shots.

The Ideal Ready Position

• Feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider
• Knees slightly bent (athletic stance, not deep squat)
• Weight on the balls of your feet (not heels)
• Back straight but tilted forward at the hips (hip hinge)
• Paddle up at chest height, not hanging at your waist
• Eyes level — don't look down

Common Posture Mistakes

The Huncher: Rounds their upper back and drops their head. This loads the neck and shoulders, causes fatigue, and limits arm mobility for overhead shots.

The Waist Bender: Bends at the waist instead of the hips. This puts all the stress on the lower back instead of distributing it through the legs and glutes.

The Stiff Legged Player: Stands upright with locked knees. Can't move laterally, reaches with their arm instead of their body, and absorbs all impact through their arm joints.

The Low Lurker: Stays in a deep crouch the entire rally. Exhausts the quads and causes knee issues. You should be dynamic — dip for dinks, rise for drives.

Quick Posture Reset (Do Between Every Game)

1. Stand tall, reach your arms overhead
2. Take 3 deep breaths
3. Roll your shoulders back and down
4. Squeeze your shoulder blades together (3 seconds)
5. Shake out your arms and hands
6. Drop into your athletic stance fresh

The Phone Check

Your phone posture carries onto the court. If you spend hours looking down at your phone, your neck and upper back are locked in forward flexion before you even start playing. Try to hold your phone at eye level when possible, and do chin tucks (pull your chin straight back like making a double chin) 10 times before play.