Before playing pickleball, favor dynamic stretches — controlled movements through a full range of motion — over static stretches that involve holding a position. Good pre-play dynamic movements include ankle circles, dynamic hip flexor lunges, torso rotations, wrist and forearm circles, and shoulder pendulums.
Hold off on static stretching — stretches held for 30 or more seconds — until after you play. Performed on cold muscles before activity, static stretching can temporarily reduce muscle power output and may increase acute injury risk. Dynamic movement is the better choice to prepare your body for play.
Once your muscles are warm from play, static stretching becomes valuable for improving flexibility and aiding recovery. Good post-play stretches include calf stretches, quadriceps stretches, forearm extensor stretches (particularly important for elbow health), and a posterior shoulder stretch — each targeting the muscle groups most heavily used during a pickleball session.
Research has shown that holding static stretches on cold muscles can temporarily reduce muscle power and explosiveness, which is counterproductive right before a sport that demands quick, explosive movement. Dynamic stretching achieves the mobility benefit without that power reduction.
A focused dynamic stretching routine typically takes 3–5 minutes as part of a broader 5–10 minute warm-up that also includes light aerobic movement and a sport-specific dinking warm-up before competitive play begins.
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