When you play singles, it’s hard to argue you’re not getting your cardio in.

Pickleball might catch flak for being “unathletic,” but step onto the court for a competitive singles match and you’ll feel the burn pretty quickly.

Still, for many players, cardio is just one piece of a broader training plan. And according to strength and conditioning coach Connor Derrickson, it might not be the most important one.

Derrickson—who’s worked with top pros like Catherine Parenteau, Anna Bright, Hayden Patriquin, Federico Staksrud, Hurricane Tyra Black, Andrei Daescu, and Kate Fahey—believes other elements of training can have a bigger impact on your performance.

“It’s a hot take of mine, but I don’t think cardio is important for pickleball,” insisted Derrickson. 

“Unless you’re a high-level singles player, when you’re fatiguing out and losing stamina after long points, it’s usually not your lungs,” he explained. “When I’ve talked to people, typically they’re rarely out of breath, their legs are just fatigued. Their legs are feeling super heavy by the end of the day and they’re just slowing down by that last game. It’s never a respiratory issue.”

“It’s not a lung capacity issue, it’s a leg tolerance issue,” emphasized Derrickson. “You’re not out of breath, your legs are under strain. To me, you’re tired and fatigued because it’s a strength issue, not an endurance one.”

Players, myself included, tend to assume that post-match fatigue means we need more cardio, like logging extra miles on a run. But Derrickson believes there’s a smarter, more effective approach.

“Because of that, I don’t think that a long, slow two-mile jog is beneficial,” said Derrickson. “For me, I think it’s more about building up your work capacity with lower-body strength and strength endurance, so that you can withstand the demands of playing five matches a day at a tournament and still move quickly by the end of the last match.” 

“You need more strength endurance in your legs. Squats, deadlifts, lunges. You need more tolerance within your legs,” he explained. “For conditioning, I recommend short burst sprints with a lot of rests, so instead of running two miles, run 10 yards down and back, then rest—and doing that max every time. Instead of a slow, monotonous half-speed, you’re running sprints, rest period, sprint, then rest period. It’s more like an agility style.”

Derrickson’s approach tracks when you think about how singles actually plays out. Watch any high-level match and you’ll see players moving in explosive bursts, charging the net to finish points or sliding laterally to track down tough shots.

Instead of leaning on long, intense cardio sessions, prioritize strength training to see better results on the court.

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