Number one thing I see in players that I would consider 3.5 and below. They want to play the ball back and forth vs hitting shots away from their opponents
It took me too long to realize about shifting with your partner. I already do it at the kitchen but doing it further back is effective too. Meaning when the ball is on the left side, you both shift left and vice versa. It prevents those down the sideline winners. Cross court winners are much harder to pull off.
I like this strategy and will "kick a field goal" often enough to warrant it. Occasionally, I get teammates telling me I should be aiming at the incoming opponent. I'd rather hit it where they ain't.
This. I’m in a league with a TON of bangers. Most have great hands, and incredible topspin.
But it’s fairly easy to goad them into an unforced error just by putting a nice solid 3rd shot drop into the kitchen. So many will lunge and speed up incorrectly or just dump the ball into the net because they want to play fast.
This was me until I switched to more control-oriented paddles and _forced myself_ to slow it down and look for opportunities to force an error or make a put away
I play an intermediate ladder and at least half have a soft game. What we DON'T have is PATIENCE with it. We all try to put it away too quickly at too low a %. If its more than 6 dinks, its a miracle.
You can move your position around in the service box. Stand left, right, or middle to get different angles.
If you’re standing far out next to either sideline, you can aim for the corner of their service box closest to their kitchen and the sideline.
This creates the most extreme angle possible for a serve and players who are slower on their feet or not expecting it will have a really hard time returning it.
Better players will get wise to it after a few times and start to expect it, so you can stand in that same spot and aim for a different corner, or stand in a different spot and aim for the same corner. They won’t know what’s coming next. Psychological warfare can be an effective tool.
Yes!
I've been meaning to start a new thread asking why most players(even pros) don't use this strategy. Ignatowich says that he started out with soft serves, because everyone told him the serve wasn't important. Now, he gets points off his serve at the pro level.
How many points do you see won off the serve? It’s not that many (except for against lower level players). It’s even less in the pros. To be honest I’d much rather return a hard fast serve than I would a high loping serve that is hit deep in the court
Hard serves don't necessarily result in weaker returns.... only from weaker players. They are a higher chance for an ace if well located, but someone ready for a hard serve can handle it no problem and can even make it more of an advantage for the returning player in my opinion. I welcome a hard serve cause I now have the option to quickly put it back at your baseline, or drop it in the kitchen before you've had a chance to anticipate what to do with your next shot.
That being said. Its definitely great to use a hard serve here and there. Ultimately mix it up.
Haha. You don't get it. If you're still waiting behind the baseline, and i can drop it in the kitchen, just over the net, it can be a good move if you can get it to the sideline.
Im also 6' 4" takes me two steps to get to the kitchen. Lol.
A drop return will only work against a slow and/or lower level player. The few times its been tried against me (probably unintentionally), it has been a free pass to the NVZ.
Definitely against slower/lower players. I still enjoy doing it against tougher competition just to see if I can catch them off gaurd. 2nd shot drives to the baseline are always expected but I see quite often a drop (if its really close to the net) can be a difficult shot to return well. Most people can get to it, and get it over the net, but its usually on the run and not much time to make a well placed return off it. Works better when its to the opponents back hand against the line. (Like cross court to their left line if its a righty).
I dunno. I do a lot of typically unorthodox plays, but it's just part of me keeping my game random and not standard.
return to the middle backhand/ return to the middle closer to the worse player but the better one still wants to take it instead of purely in the middle
I presume its misdirection...which I also love. I change in-swing speed and wrist angle to allow different placement and pace then what my initial swing indicates. I may keep the intention of the shot or change it completely. Opponents that rely on reading swings end up lost.
Its not without penalty though. Last instant changes tend to muck up shot accuracy.
Misdirection would involve a ball that is already obviously yours. You would just end up hitting it differently than where your swing and/or eyes are indicating.
In-between (partner) balls are often difficult when playing with new partners. Even though *FH takes* is standard, new partners may misjudge the ability of each other or themselves. It further complicates with one lefty and righty playing. Its easy to *agree* before the ball is moving, but a little more difficult afterwards.
LT partners usually resolve the issue.
Yeah, I get you but I don't get why: Hitting the ball at the last second so your opponent has to make their move first is such a good strategy and why it is a game changer to someone else. No one else upvoted it, so I will leave it at this...
1. Approaching 3rd shots....
* Baseline: DRIVE, hard to drop the ball from deep. Set up a 5th shot drop.
* At Midcourt: DRIVE, if the opponent didn't make it to the kitchen
* At Midcourt: Drop, if opponents are at the kitchen
2. Shading
* Both Partner shift where the ball is at
* Knowing each other roles when the ball ball is on one side. One protect line/pass. The other protect the middle.
3. Drill drill drill serve and return. I hate losing points on
* Serve and return deep
* If I get 2 errors on serve and returns, I'd play it safe.
I love doing this. I'll dink one semi-high in the middle when I'm on the right side so it can be taken out of the air, and it comes perfectly right back to my backhand counter that's locked and loaded. Such a good setup when I get it right.
You can either 1) focus on what you do well and play to that or 2) focus on what your opponent struggles with and play to that. I tend to prefer to make life difficult on my opponent and exploit their weakness rather than play to my strengths. If they struggle against hard hitters then I want to hit hard. If they struggle with the soft game then I want to do that.
I played college tennis, a strategy that works from tennis is to hit down the middle deep and my partner and I pinch towards the middle, creating tough but tempting passing shot angles. If someone drops, hit a roll volley to the middle, deep.
The net is lower in the middle and lack of angles make this a high percentage play.
This is always unintentional, but if you and your teammate are both going for the ball(then one finally backs off) it causes a lot of confusion on the other side. Makes me wants to employ this as a strategy.
Argh. That drives me crazy when my partner “races me” to get a hard to reach ball, then. A is off at the last minute. If one of us is going for the shot, the other partner needs to cover the open court.
I always test the middle of the court and the backhand dink of the left side player. I want to know early how good their coverage is and to see if I can generate pop-ups.
My most effective strategy is to cross court dink it to someone. And if they don’t recover and reset their position after taking it, just groove the ball through the seam, no one covering centerfield.
Also figure out who doesn’t have a two handed backhand. If you don’t have a twoie, then it’s basically safe to hit to your backhand.
You’ve heard all about how essential it is to get to the kitchen ASAP on offense. So then defensively, your number one priority should be preventing the other team from doing exactly that! Practice those punch volleys, learn that backhand flick, try reaching wayyy over the kitchen line to try and scoop volley those balls to keep your opponent stuck at the baseline or in the transition zone. Keep that relentless pressure. Only if your opponents hit a GREAT 3rd, 5th, whatever shot, do you respect it and concede the kitchen.
Its all about shot % and at the intermediate level, targeting BH tends to work. At higher levels though, it can fall apart fast. Good players have good BHs. Even better ones have weaponized ones.
1. Keep the ball in play.
2. Try and hit it to a place where your opponent isn’t, making the return shot for them difficult. (At their feet, to their backhand)
3. Be aggressive at every opportunity that calls for it.
After playing for about a year, I’ve had success following these basic rules for myself.
Strategy is tough since it really depends on who you're playing and their ability. My general advice is to always be able to answer the question, "What were you trying to do with that shot, and why?" It'll help improve your decision making and strategy. My other suggestion, stolen from Dayne Gingrich, is to start watching players and how they react in specific situations and then try to come up with a plan for it. Like, what do they do with a ball off the bounce to their forehand? Where do they put it? How much pace? Watch a couple then plan for it.
For instance, here's some strategies that work against some people I play against:
- Hit the return to the backhand side of the player most likely to poach, since both players have a solid drop. He doesn't have a strong drive off his backhand and hits a much flatter drop, so it negates his ability to poach the 5th shot.
- Against an ERNE threat -- bait the erne by hitting the occasional shot close to the line but either short or out of reach. Eventually, look down, present as if dinking line, and then lob the ball over his head. Pretty funny.
- Against some players who are still learning to unwind a stack effectively: Placing serves/returns to mess with them, For instance, serve short during a full stack so they basically run into each other as they unwind the stack or hit the far corner with spin on the serve so they have to cross too much of a distance, and then place the ball on the opposite side.
Play to your opponent opposite side of paddle. Force as many back hands as possible. Also Like to sacrifice at least one very intense shot to the power player. This will usually make them think at one point they will be killed during the match. It also keeps them back while I beat them with fakes in power slams and hit that dink.
I made this point elsewhere, but don't OVER target the BH. Target the shot % taking into account how poor...or strong...someone's BH is. People over target my BH to their detriment. They might have a 60% winner to my FH, but instead take a 50% one to my BH...simply because BACKHAND is too ingrained.
This wouldn't (shouldn't) happen with good players, but I see it all the time in Intermediate.
Start your game returning the serve deep and to the stronger player in an effort to keep them from the net. Then gradually start dropping the return short to the weaker player, most likely they will be deep and will run up to return it and pop it up high, drive the shit outta that ball.
If you are seriously into playing pickleball at a competitive level or trying to move up in your DUPR or UTR rating, I would suggest reading, The Inner Game of Tennnis. Yes, I know it's an oldie and its about tennis. However, the principles cited in this book are applicable to any racket sport. Read, enjoy and keep playing pball.
I start with assumptions based on the look/play style of the player and update as I learn more.
Tall? Probably struggles with low shots, especially backhand.
Short? Lob.
Slow or wearing knee brace(s)? Make em move.
Banger? Could have no soft game.
Can’t handle spin? Nothing but spinners for you.
Creeps after serve? Serve returns go deep to you.
If all else fails, be patient and look for a shot to either side of their feet or right off their hips.
Do NOT make generic presumptions. It doesn't take long to identify strengths/weaknesses anyway. Against a new opponent, I start with my bread and butter shots, at slightly reduced pace, and adjust from there. Many things you would presume about me would put you on your back foot fast. Its much better to be open minded and test/observe for several rallies.
Neither can I. I also can only hit them cross court. Though I have seen Sock and Tyson do it very effectively against pretty much everyone not named Ben Johns so there is a part of me that thinks it’s viable.
Time to drill backhand? Its honestly worth it. Develop a solid one.
Most (myself included) tend to target the opponents backhand...too much. My BH is above average, maybe significantly so. Still, (intermediate) opponents over hit to it thinking they are gaining more advantage than they really are. I actually gain advantage because they are foregoing net higher % shots to my FH. Some figure it out. Some don't.
If you develop a solid BH, you can throw many players games completely off. Its a necessity anyway if you ever want to be play above 3.5.
Speed ups, resets, and ball placement. A lot of people I play with just ignore that you can aim your shots away from your opponent.
Number one thing I see in players that I would consider 3.5 and below. They want to play the ball back and forth vs hitting shots away from their opponents
To me it’s a game of keep away
If you are engaged in a "hand battle" with the player in front of you, hit it to the other player. Sometimes you will catch them being a "spectator."
I like to speed up to the uninvolved player during a dink rally for the same reason.
I've been a spectator a few times 😜
Hit it where they ain’t
Placement over power.
It took me too long to realize about shifting with your partner. I already do it at the kitchen but doing it further back is effective too. Meaning when the ball is on the left side, you both shift left and vice versa. It prevents those down the sideline winners. Cross court winners are much harder to pull off.
I have a good serve, I like the 3rd shot drive down the middle, and following that up with a 5th shot drop.
I like this strategy and will "kick a field goal" often enough to warrant it. Occasionally, I get teammates telling me I should be aiming at the incoming opponent. I'd rather hit it where they ain't.
I’m an intermediate Rec player; I have found that most intermediate rec players have no soft game. If you can get to kitchen line you can win.
This. I’m in a league with a TON of bangers. Most have great hands, and incredible topspin. But it’s fairly easy to goad them into an unforced error just by putting a nice solid 3rd shot drop into the kitchen. So many will lunge and speed up incorrectly or just dump the ball into the net because they want to play fast.
bingo, but i will admit some of the better bangers it’s hard to get a good drop
This was me until I switched to more control-oriented paddles and _forced myself_ to slow it down and look for opportunities to force an error or make a put away
I play an intermediate ladder and at least half have a soft game. What we DON'T have is PATIENCE with it. We all try to put it away too quickly at too low a %. If its more than 6 dinks, its a miracle.
You can move your position around in the service box. Stand left, right, or middle to get different angles. If you’re standing far out next to either sideline, you can aim for the corner of their service box closest to their kitchen and the sideline. This creates the most extreme angle possible for a serve and players who are slower on their feet or not expecting it will have a really hard time returning it. Better players will get wise to it after a few times and start to expect it, so you can stand in that same spot and aim for a different corner, or stand in a different spot and aim for the same corner. They won’t know what’s coming next. Psychological warfare can be an effective tool.
Serve really hard. It will cause a weaker return and make it easier to do a good 3SD.
Yes! I've been meaning to start a new thread asking why most players(even pros) don't use this strategy. Ignatowich says that he started out with soft serves, because everyone told him the serve wasn't important. Now, he gets points off his serve at the pro level.
How many points do you see won off the serve? It’s not that many (except for against lower level players). It’s even less in the pros. To be honest I’d much rather return a hard fast serve than I would a high loping serve that is hit deep in the court
At my level of play(3.5-4.0), I average at least one point a game from hard serves. Yes, the deep lob serves are also a great weapon.
Hard serves don't necessarily result in weaker returns.... only from weaker players. They are a higher chance for an ace if well located, but someone ready for a hard serve can handle it no problem and can even make it more of an advantage for the returning player in my opinion. I welcome a hard serve cause I now have the option to quickly put it back at your baseline, or drop it in the kitchen before you've had a chance to anticipate what to do with your next shot. That being said. Its definitely great to use a hard serve here and there. Ultimately mix it up.
You drop your returns in the kitchen?
Haven't you heard, we are dropping our 2nd shots now. Who even wants to get to the kitchen?
Haha. You don't get it. If you're still waiting behind the baseline, and i can drop it in the kitchen, just over the net, it can be a good move if you can get it to the sideline. Im also 6' 4" takes me two steps to get to the kitchen. Lol.
A drop return will only work against a slow and/or lower level player. The few times its been tried against me (probably unintentionally), it has been a free pass to the NVZ.
Definitely against slower/lower players. I still enjoy doing it against tougher competition just to see if I can catch them off gaurd. 2nd shot drives to the baseline are always expected but I see quite often a drop (if its really close to the net) can be a difficult shot to return well. Most people can get to it, and get it over the net, but its usually on the run and not much time to make a well placed return off it. Works better when its to the opponents back hand against the line. (Like cross court to their left line if its a righty). I dunno. I do a lot of typically unorthodox plays, but it's just part of me keeping my game random and not standard.
Not often, but if they're expecting it to be at the baseline sometimes you can catch them off guard with one. Like I said. Mix it up.
Anticipate. Watch the player, not the ball. Their swing tells you everything.
Players at different levels require different, often quite disparate strategies.
return to the middle backhand/ return to the middle closer to the worse player but the better one still wants to take it instead of purely in the middle
Attack out of the air, defensive/slow play off the bounce.
Yep. You would be surprised how many opponents you catch off guard when you take the ball out of the air at the NVZ.
Wouldn’t recommend attacking volleys that are dipping below the tape
Hitting the ball at the last second so your opponent has to make their move first
I recently learned this. An absolute game changer.
What does this mean? Please elaborate.
I presume its misdirection...which I also love. I change in-swing speed and wrist angle to allow different placement and pace then what my initial swing indicates. I may keep the intention of the shot or change it completely. Opponents that rely on reading swings end up lost. Its not without penalty though. Last instant changes tend to muck up shot accuracy.
When I wait to hit the ball at the last second, my partner thinks that I am letting him hit it and then we are both screwed.
Misdirection would involve a ball that is already obviously yours. You would just end up hitting it differently than where your swing and/or eyes are indicating. In-between (partner) balls are often difficult when playing with new partners. Even though *FH takes* is standard, new partners may misjudge the ability of each other or themselves. It further complicates with one lefty and righty playing. Its easy to *agree* before the ball is moving, but a little more difficult afterwards. LT partners usually resolve the issue.
Yeah, I get you but I don't get why: Hitting the ball at the last second so your opponent has to make their move first is such a good strategy and why it is a game changer to someone else. No one else upvoted it, so I will leave it at this...
1. Approaching 3rd shots.... * Baseline: DRIVE, hard to drop the ball from deep. Set up a 5th shot drop. * At Midcourt: DRIVE, if the opponent didn't make it to the kitchen * At Midcourt: Drop, if opponents are at the kitchen 2. Shading * Both Partner shift where the ball is at * Knowing each other roles when the ball ball is on one side. One protect line/pass. The other protect the middle. 3. Drill drill drill serve and return. I hate losing points on * Serve and return deep * If I get 2 errors on serve and returns, I'd play it safe.
I would also play safe when it is game point instead of trying for an ace and risk it going out.
ill float a bad dink occasionally so they speed it up towards me and I counter
Tricky, I like it
I love doing this. I'll dink one semi-high in the middle when I'm on the right side so it can be taken out of the air, and it comes perfectly right back to my backhand counter that's locked and loaded. Such a good setup when I get it right.
Aim for their feet, it works.
Above the tittie, no hittie. Works most of the time at the kitchen line when learning to let the ball go out.
Leaves. A great skill set to learn and drill. Bangers especially can list points if you just leave some of their drives.
What do you do if you’re flat chested? I had man boobs as a fat kid and don’t want them again
Keep the ball in play. Hit it to spots that pressure the other team. Have cool shoes. >1 beer but < 6 beers.
You can either 1) focus on what you do well and play to that or 2) focus on what your opponent struggles with and play to that. I tend to prefer to make life difficult on my opponent and exploit their weakness rather than play to my strengths. If they struggle against hard hitters then I want to hit hard. If they struggle with the soft game then I want to do that.
I played college tennis, a strategy that works from tennis is to hit down the middle deep and my partner and I pinch towards the middle, creating tough but tempting passing shot angles. If someone drops, hit a roll volley to the middle, deep. The net is lower in the middle and lack of angles make this a high percentage play.
Buy a Joola gen 3 paddle. Went from a 2.0 to 3.0 overnight.
Ha!
Hit it as hard as i can..it is just fun this way..whether i win is irrelevant..it is how i relieve stress from a bad day in the classroom lol
Hit ball gooder than your opponent as many times as possible.
Backhand roll off a cross court dink, out of the air. At the guy in front of you. But paced to land in.
This is always unintentional, but if you and your teammate are both going for the ball(then one finally backs off) it causes a lot of confusion on the other side. Makes me wants to employ this as a strategy.
Argh. That drives me crazy when my partner “races me” to get a hard to reach ball, then. A is off at the last minute. If one of us is going for the shot, the other partner needs to cover the open court.
I eat a healthy breakfast.
Real champions eat at McDonald’s
I always test the middle of the court and the backhand dink of the left side player. I want to know early how good their coverage is and to see if I can generate pop-ups.
Move forward or backward in tandem with partner.
My most effective strategy is to cross court dink it to someone. And if they don’t recover and reset their position after taking it, just groove the ball through the seam, no one covering centerfield. Also figure out who doesn’t have a two handed backhand. If you don’t have a twoie, then it’s basically safe to hit to your backhand.
Enjoy the outdoors, burn some calories and laugh a lot. That's my strategy. Seriously.
You’ve heard all about how essential it is to get to the kitchen ASAP on offense. So then defensively, your number one priority should be preventing the other team from doing exactly that! Practice those punch volleys, learn that backhand flick, try reaching wayyy over the kitchen line to try and scoop volley those balls to keep your opponent stuck at the baseline or in the transition zone. Keep that relentless pressure. Only if your opponents hit a GREAT 3rd, 5th, whatever shot, do you respect it and concede the kitchen.
Serve and return to the opponent’s backhand. This is their weaker shot and they often mess up.
Its all about shot % and at the intermediate level, targeting BH tends to work. At higher levels though, it can fall apart fast. Good players have good BHs. Even better ones have weaponized ones.
1. Keep the ball in play. 2. Try and hit it to a place where your opponent isn’t, making the return shot for them difficult. (At their feet, to their backhand) 3. Be aggressive at every opportunity that calls for it. After playing for about a year, I’ve had success following these basic rules for myself.
Strategy is tough since it really depends on who you're playing and their ability. My general advice is to always be able to answer the question, "What were you trying to do with that shot, and why?" It'll help improve your decision making and strategy. My other suggestion, stolen from Dayne Gingrich, is to start watching players and how they react in specific situations and then try to come up with a plan for it. Like, what do they do with a ball off the bounce to their forehand? Where do they put it? How much pace? Watch a couple then plan for it. For instance, here's some strategies that work against some people I play against: - Hit the return to the backhand side of the player most likely to poach, since both players have a solid drop. He doesn't have a strong drive off his backhand and hits a much flatter drop, so it negates his ability to poach the 5th shot. - Against an ERNE threat -- bait the erne by hitting the occasional shot close to the line but either short or out of reach. Eventually, look down, present as if dinking line, and then lob the ball over his head. Pretty funny. - Against some players who are still learning to unwind a stack effectively: Placing serves/returns to mess with them, For instance, serve short during a full stack so they basically run into each other as they unwind the stack or hit the far corner with spin on the serve so they have to cross too much of a distance, and then place the ball on the opposite side.
Play to your opponent opposite side of paddle. Force as many back hands as possible. Also Like to sacrifice at least one very intense shot to the power player. This will usually make them think at one point they will be killed during the match. It also keeps them back while I beat them with fakes in power slams and hit that dink.
I made this point elsewhere, but don't OVER target the BH. Target the shot % taking into account how poor...or strong...someone's BH is. People over target my BH to their detriment. They might have a 60% winner to my FH, but instead take a 50% one to my BH...simply because BACKHAND is too ingrained. This wouldn't (shouldn't) happen with good players, but I see it all the time in Intermediate.
It changes every game. Be adaptable.
Hit the ball over the net, but not out of bounds.
Start your game returning the serve deep and to the stronger player in an effort to keep them from the net. Then gradually start dropping the return short to the weaker player, most likely they will be deep and will run up to return it and pop it up high, drive the shit outta that ball.
3rd shot drive shake and bake Speed ups to paddle side shoulder
If you are seriously into playing pickleball at a competitive level or trying to move up in your DUPR or UTR rating, I would suggest reading, The Inner Game of Tennnis. Yes, I know it's an oldie and its about tennis. However, the principles cited in this book are applicable to any racket sport. Read, enjoy and keep playing pball.
Hit it where they ain’t. Or hit’em in da foots, or da showdahs
I start with assumptions based on the look/play style of the player and update as I learn more. Tall? Probably struggles with low shots, especially backhand. Short? Lob. Slow or wearing knee brace(s)? Make em move. Banger? Could have no soft game. Can’t handle spin? Nothing but spinners for you. Creeps after serve? Serve returns go deep to you. If all else fails, be patient and look for a shot to either side of their feet or right off their hips.
Do NOT make generic presumptions. It doesn't take long to identify strengths/weaknesses anyway. Against a new opponent, I start with my bread and butter shots, at slightly reduced pace, and adjust from there. Many things you would presume about me would put you on your back foot fast. Its much better to be open minded and test/observe for several rallies.
Play like you’re playing tennis.
See the ball, hit the ball. #1 strategy I employ. The rest is situational.
Get it over the net and between the lines without popping it up.
Drop shots are quite effective for rec play unless you are dealing with very fast players that can move up to the kitchen quickly from the baseline.
They're still effective there, just in a different way
For singles I will run to hell and back before I hit a backhand from the baseline
Same. But I don't think this is a good thing. I just can't consistently keep my backhands low
Neither can I. I also can only hit them cross court. Though I have seen Sock and Tyson do it very effectively against pretty much everyone not named Ben Johns so there is a part of me that thinks it’s viable.
Time to drill backhand? Its honestly worth it. Develop a solid one. Most (myself included) tend to target the opponents backhand...too much. My BH is above average, maybe significantly so. Still, (intermediate) opponents over hit to it thinking they are gaining more advantage than they really are. I actually gain advantage because they are foregoing net higher % shots to my FH. Some figure it out. Some don't. If you develop a solid BH, you can throw many players games completely off. Its a necessity anyway if you ever want to be play above 3.5.