By Rahul Sadhu

Copyright timesnownews

Mustafa Khan has always had sport at the centre of his life. From tennis courts to football fields, and now to the pickleball court, his journey reflects a restless energy and passion for competition. Today, pickleball takes precedence as he juggles it alongside his work and business commitments. “As of now, I am working; I have a business. I am participating in three categories. I am playing the 35-plus singles, the open singles, and the men’s doubles. So, I will be playing three categories,” Khan explained. “Before, I used to play tennis and football. Currently, I don’t get to play football very often. So, I play tennis maybe once or twice a month. Paddle I try to play twice a week or so. And pickleball, around three or four times a week.” For Khan, singles feels like familiar ground. “Transitioning into singles pickleball was easier because I had previously played a lot of singles tennis. But as far as doubles go, it’s a bit of a transition because doubles, once you start playing at an advanced level, then you have to start focusing on your dinking game and the resets and things like that. That is something that doesn’t come very naturally to tennis players,” he admitted. “Generally speaking, tennis players struggle with dinking and other aspects of the game. So, still trying to get the hang of it, but getting better.” Khan knows some of his tennis strengths still give him an edge. “The drives and the volleys that we used to do, that works well for singles. But then again, once you start playing doubles, you don’t really get to drive too much. Plus, the volleys, the tennis volley is a bit of a slice. You can do that when you’re playing singles, but when you’re playing doubles, that doesn’t work too much. That is why doubles is a challenge. Singles come a little more naturally.” Yet, his evolution in pickleball has also meant learning — and unlearning. “For example, in doubles, we need to use our wrists a little more when we play pickleball. Plus, the volleys are more of a drive volley when we’re playing pickleball, it’s like a roll, not a slice volley that we used to do in tennis. Then there’s the dinking game that we do from the kitchen. You need a lot of patience. Additionally, this is a smaller area, so you must ensure the ball drops within the kitchen area. That is also something new for tennis players. So, that’s a bit of a challenge. We have to do a lot of unlearning there. But hopefully, the singles thing is a little easier.” From football fields to pickleball’s kitchen line, Khan’s adaptability continues to shine as he looks to test himself in every format on offer.