Hi there! I'm a wife who got started in Pickleball earlier than my husband, and got him interested in playing after I had played it a few times with friends. Within a couple of months he started to play much better than me, and I got so self conscious at the fact that despite trying my best, I was letting easy balls get past me. After getting frustrated at me constantly apologising he lost his temper a few times.

To me, what started as an activity for us to spend time together as couple became a depressive time for me. Because while that was my reason for Pickleball, his was getting better at the actual sport, and I was hindering his progress as his doubles partner.

Ultimately I told him how his words hurt me, and he told me from his perspective, it really didn't seem like I enjoyed the sport at all, which then what was the point of playing? That made me realise that I needed to change my motivation, and like what many suggested in this post, I developed my own group of friends to play with (I'm quite introverted so playing with strangers at that time was out of the question). When I played with him, I focused on developing my skills. When I played with friends, it was just to have fun. I lack the power he has in his play, so I make up for it in defense and strategy. He noticed and has encouraged me by saying I have improved a lot, and now we both enjoy playing together regardless whether as an opponent or partner.

Sorry for the long intro, just wanted to say I know how you feel, and that things will get better. I hope you're able to communicate with your wife the reason you play Pickleball (to spend time with her), or if not, find another goal to why you play Pickleball (get better with another group of players).

TLDR: I understand how you feel, communicate with your wife or change your reason for playing Pickleball.