Winning* Pickleball

 

Bill Tudor, Roscommon

This blog is intended for pickleball players or those who would like to learn more about the game.

It is a detailed accounting of my ideas about playing the game at a high level and using strategies to enhance your play. Non pickleball players will probably find this blog a waste of their time. 

 

*The intended sense of the term ‘Winning,’ in this case is more than simply having the most points at the end of the game. Rather, winning is intended to mean having fun while enjoying and encouraging both your partner and your opponents, and playing the game to the fullest extent of your abilities. The strategies outlined herein can help you in winning.

 

Glossary

 

Volley Strokes – striking the ball while it is airborne.

Baseline – the rear-most boundary of the court. The line indicating that balls past this point are “out” and the line behind which the server stands when he is serving the ball to his opponents. Server may not cross the line or step on it during his serving motion.

Ground Strokes- striking the ball after it has bounced within the boundaries of the court.

Boundaries of play – the court is 44 feet long and 22 feet wide. The court boundaries are marked with lines that indicate the boundaries for play. Balls landing outside the boundary lines are considered “out,” thus ending that play and requiring another serve to begin play anew. Balls landing on the line are considered “in” since the court’s boundary lines are located within the legal width and legal length boundaries. Balls called “out” are those that land outside the line, with a visible space between the ball and the boundary line. If the ball lands on your side of the net and you are uncertain whether it is “in” or “out,” etiquette demands that you call the ball “in”.

Lob-a soft shot hit over the heads of the opponents

Court Etiquette – Avoid celebrating your winning shots or hinting that the opponent’s good shots were a matter of luck.

Poaching- Moving to your partner’s side of the court to return a shot. This gives an advantage to your team but also raises a risk since a large portion of the court is unattended.

Kill Shots – Returning an easy pop-up via an overhead slam.

Out and In Calls – In normal doubles play without umpires, team members closest to the ball call balls either “in” or “out,” thus allowing points to be awarded for in balls only. Normal protocol for good sportsmanship play without umpires, is that the decision concerning in or out calls are made by the players on the side where the ball lands with the player closest to the ball making the decision. Sometimes this player may need to consult with his partner for confirmation of the call. Players on the opposite side of the court should not dispute nor offer unsolicited opinions about the accuracy of the call.

Best practice for making a call is the following: call balls in or out when the location of the ball is clear. When uncertainty exists, call on your partner’s help in making the call or, call the ball in, or ask for assistance from the opponents who understand the following priority of making calls: 1. Closest player to the ball, 2. Team member of the closest player, and 3. Opponents who have a clear view presuming those closest to the ball agree to letting the opponents make the call. If the issue is still undecided, ask if opponents will agree to replay the point.

 

Winning Strategies for Doubles Pickleball

 

 

1.     Never miss a serve (make serves a defensive shot rather than attempt a difficult serve)

2.     Never miss return of serve. Make your return a defensive shot

3.     Let your partner make forehand shots even if they land close to the middle of the court where you and partner have decided in advance who will take the shot. Talk to your partner during the game to make these agreements by calling out “Yours” or Mine.

4.     Communicate with your partner during play

5.      Make easy defensive shots instead of attack shots. Most attack shots will be hit as low balls between the opponents.

6.     Plan ahead with partner to make offensive poach shots.

7.     Hit successful dink shots when opponents aren’t in a position to return your shot.

8.     Play at the NVZ (non-volley zone) and use kill shots to win the point.”

9.     Make most return shots down the middle, not high-risk shots at the court edges

10.  Avoid playing in “No man’s land” (the middle of the court) Be ready to play most shots near the kitchen or at the baseline if your opponents have the advantage and you think they will present you with a kill shot.

11.  Always be at the ready position except for the times you are moving from the baseline to the NVZ or to the right or left of center as needed

12.  Be ready to move to the right or left or up and back in concert with the moves your partner makes. Remember that the two of you are a team that plays together, offering a united front to your opponents, each serving as a back up to your partner.

13.  Talk to your partner during play so he knows where you are

 

Ready Position:

Stand with feet apart and shoulders back and assume that all balls will be returned on your half side of the court. Be on the balls of your feet, intently watching the ball from the opponent’s paddle until your paddle strikes the moving ball. Be ready for the oncoming ball by holding your paddle in front of you with arms extended so that the paddle is 12 inches or more in front of you, especially when you are at the NVZ. If you wish to change paddle grip depending upon the location of the ball, have both hands near the paddle. When you move from the baseline to the NVZ (as soon as you can), only move during the airborne path of your ball then stop when the opponents strike the ball and get into the ‘ready position’ before each of your ground strokes and volley returns. Decide early what stroke you will use and where you intend to send the ball. When you see the incoming ball inflight, decide where to position yourself and move to that position by taking short side steps and then begin the backstroke for either a backhand or forehand before the ball arrives.

When you see the opponent strike the ball, stop and get into the ready position, only moving to a new position if forced to do so by the flight of the incoming ball. Your movement to the new position will occur by short steps to either side or steps forward or back as needed to strike the oncoming ball. It is during these steps that you will decide where to strike the ball, which stroke you will use, and where you would like to place the ball.

Make a plan with your partner in advance about chasing down balls that fly over your head. Practice moving rearward to return long shots that fly over partner’s head. Also discuss poaching strategies and any other moves that you intend to use during play.

General guidelines for doubles play

You and your partner must play together as a team, each acting as a back-up for the other and each attempting to be part of a united front in opposition to your opponents. Communication during play will enhance your ability to play together and prevent the two of you missing a shot if you interfere in your partner’s play or fail to back up an open area on the court.

Common problems between players are the following; players are unaware of their partner’s position on the court, partners fail to call ‘IN’ or ‘OUT’ to help partner decide whether to stroke the ball, players are pulled off the court to stroke a wide ball, leaving a wide-open area for opponents to place the ball, and finally, the common problem of being unable to reach a lob that sails over your heads but stays IN.

These opportunities for your opponents to find weak spots in your defense can be ameliorated by communication between players DURING THE PLAY. Here are a few typical player’s comments that can be very helpful: ‘MINE’ or ‘YOURS,’ ‘I GOT IT,’ ‘SWITCH,’ LETS GO FORWARD (OR BACK).

Defending against a lob is an especially important but difficult movement for a team. Both team members need to recognize an incoming lob as soon as possible. Carefully watching the opponent’s paddle may provide the clue that a lob is about to be issued. The player to whom the lob is directed should stay forward while the team member on the opposite side of the court turns and rushes toward the baseline to either call the shot out or to begin his return of the lob by a forehand shot. (NOTE – Never run backward to reach a ball because of the increased risk of falling, especially if you are a senior.) During his runback the player should call ‘SWITCH’ to his partner indicating that she should move to his now vacated half of the court for the opponent’s next return of the ball. The success of this defense is contingent upon an early awareness of the incoming lob to allow the partner sufficient time to reach the area near the baseline where the ball is likely to drop. Practice in defending this shot may be extremely helpful to both partners.

Another partner-sensitive shot occurs when opponents send the ball near the edge or the court such that one of team members needs to run near or past the outside of the court boundaries to return the ball. The teammate should recognize that this will allow a large area of the court to be open where the opponents are likely to drive the next ball after a return shot from the partner at the edge of the court. The defense against these two good shots is that both players recognize the sudden open court area and move toward that area even if another part of the court becomes more open. The remedy for this or a similar circumstance is for reach teammate to assume they are roped to their partner by a 10-foot rope (½ the width of the court). Thus, when one player is forced to the sideline or beyond, the teammate will necessarily follow because of the rope connecting them. The essence of this defense is having each partner planning ahead for the succeeding shot and moving in advance to the appropriate area where the next ball is likely to be directed while the teammate moves to close any open court areas.

A frequent mistake that is often made when players are pulled to the side or back to return a shot is that players will often stop at the point where they made the return shot to await the next incoming shot. This is often a fatal mistake – players must return to their normal court position quickly after making the defensive shot without standing at idle for the next play.

Serve (First Shot of the Game)

Practice serving until you can serve with the confidence that you can play several games without a serving fault. Your intent should be to place the ball deep in the service court with sufficient control over the ball such that you can serve a ball to require either a forehand or backhand return. If your opponent is awaiting your serve at one of the edges of the court, aim your serve to force his weaker backhand shot. Most times, accurately placing the ball by the server is more important than the ability to hit a hard serve.

The serve is considered the first shot of the game while the return of serve is the second shot. The server’s subsequent return is considered the third shot of the game and is the beginning of a game where strategy becomes the most important feature in conducting the following shots.

Return of Serve (Second Shot)

Wait for the serve in the Ready Position near the center of your court half and about one foot behind the baseline until the opponent’s paddle strikes the ball and you judge where the ball is likely to land on your side of the court. Try to remember the server’s strengths in serving and prepare in advance where you will wait to receive the serve. At this point your partner will already be standing near the NVZ. Take as many short but rapid steps to the ball as needed with a bias toward using your forehand. Make the return of serve in the forehand position if possible and aim to avoid an unforced error by making a soft and safe return to the middle of the court. Aim toward a target five feet or less from the baseline and slightly to the left of center to force the opponents to respond with a backhand shot. While your soft shot is airborne, run toward the NVZ on your side of the court to join your partner who is already positioned nearby in her side of the court at the ready position.

If you decide for some reason that you intend to remain near the baseline, be sure your partner is aware of your plan so that she can cover short shots that you will likely be unable to reach in time. If your opponents have the temerity to attempt a lob over you or your partner’s head, you will delay your run to the NVZ to return the lob with your forehand.

Be ready to sprint toward the NVZ if the serve is a soft shot that will bounce to become a dead ball before you can reach it. If you determine that the opponent can perform this soft short shot on a regular basis, only then will you stand in front of the baseline to return serve. If the ball appears likely to go out either at the baseline or at either edge of your side of the court, wait an instant before striking the ball to determine if the ball is indeed out, by call of your partner or by your call. If the call is too close to the line to be clearly out, assume it is ‘in’ and play on as a good sport should, even if your delay forces you to miss the shot. Note that the boundary lines that are drawn or taped onto the court are inside the measured size of the court, therefore all balls landing on the marked lines are in.

You may return the serve with a spin if you are proficient in that capability. You can spin the ball with a topspin, backspin, or side to side spin either left or right. Practicing spin shots can be helpful toward becoming a skilled player as the spin may confuses opponents, causing faulty return shots, however; its effectiveness is lost if the same spin is used consecutively on too many shots such that opponents begin to expect it.

Effect of spin

Ball spin during flight causes the ball to curve like a baseball pitcher intends and also jump after landing on a surface that has sufficient texture to alter the flight of the ball. Four spins are possible: topspin, backspin, and spin to the right or left. Ball spin is induced by the motion of the paddle as it strikes the ball. Most skilled players can induce spin via a forehand but few can induce all four possible spins via a backhand shot.

Topspin causes the ball to speed-up after striking the court surface, giving the appearance of a low, fast, flat shot that is more difficult to return. Backspin causes the ball to retard or stop its forward flight after hitting the court surface. Backspin is an especially effective shot when the intent is to dink the shot over the net into the NVZ, forcing the responding player to rush to the NVZ to strike the ball. Right hand spin provokes the ball into moving to the right while left hand spin makes the ball move toward the left. The right or left spin is most effective when the spin results in moving the ball from a position for a return forehand to a sudden new position that forces a backhand return.

Topspin is induced by striking the ball with an upward motion of the paddle during the impact swing of the paddle. To induce backspin, the player must strike the ball while the swing of the paddle is in an upward arc. In a twist of logic, a right-hand spin is induced by swinging the paddle in a right to left motion. Left hand spin requires that the paddle strike the ball while it is moving from left to right. Considerable practice may be needed to induce spin that is controlled.

3^rd Shot Drop

The follow-up shot by the serving team is called the third shot. This shot is taken near the baseline since the serving team must wait until the ball bounces on their side of the court before taking their shot. Many of the highly skilled players recommend that the serving team use the 3^rd shot drop (also known as a dink shot) as the preferred play to force opponents to rush to the NVZ with the possible problem of being too late and missing the return or hitting a weak, high return that allows the serving team to hit a kill shot (a hard overhand shot that opponents are unable to reach or return). The 3^rd shot drop is a difficult shot to make from the baseline and considerable practice is needed to make this shot consistently, especially since the rebound from your paddle varies in accordance with the pace of the ball when you strike it. Faster serves are more troublesome in this regard.

Don’t try the 3^rd shot drop in a game until you have carefully practiced it and determined that you can make the shot several times in a row without failure. The chances of hitting the net on this shot are high just as is hitting the ball too hard and making it an easy put-away shot for your opponents. Hence, it is a risky shot for those who are not practiced.

A better shot for most players is to hit your 3^rd shot down the middle and deep to the opponents, moving forward on the ball’s flight until your opponent’s paddle strikes the ball. As mentioned earlier, if the 3^rd shot is easily reached and struck with your forehand, this may be a good time to try one of the spin shots, especially if it is a surprise to the opponents.

Play at the NVZ

Skilled pickleball players conduct most of their offensive play while standing near the NVZ. This means that these players try to reach a position no more than a foot or so outside the borderline defining the NVZ near the center of their ½ court while their partner’s position themselves on their side of the court also at the NVZ. Both players assume the ready position with paddles held aloft and in front of them allowing rapid movement to a defensive position when a hard ball is returned to them. The player must be ready to rotate the face of her paddle for either a forehand or backhand shot, making it flat and pointing at the opposite side of the court, thus requiring the least amount of movement to strike an incoming ball. Most times a player at the net will push his paddle forward as a backhand motion in a lunge, unlike the ground stroke movement.

If the incoming ball drops into the NVZ, the defending player may step into the zone to return the ball. Stepping into the zone is a bit of a double-edged sword. Since you may be unable to reach the ball outside the zone, a step inside the border to the NVZ is both allowed and required to continue the play. This wants to be done quickly. The player needs to make his shot and then quickly leave the zone inasmuch as by rule, any part of the player that remains in the zone when the ball is returned on the following stroke is deemed to be at fault and the point is given up. A strategy to help avoid this penalty is to try never to put both feet into the zone. Rather, a player forced into the zone to reach a ball is encouraged to place only one foot into the zone while making the shot and then quickly stepping backwards to exit the zone, thus avoiding the penalty associated with violating the zone rule.

Note that the rule about not stepping into the NVZ also comprehends a player’s momentum as follows; if a player strikes a ball outside the NVZ but his body momentum provokes his foot or any part of his body into a temporary entry into the NVZ after the stroking the ball, this is considered a fault just as if the player stepped into the zone to make the shot. Good sportsmen call out their own mistake when they violate the NVZ rule.

Players at the zone have several options for play depending upon the flight path of the incoming ball. Often the best play is to make a return volley shot, taking the ball out of the air and returning it. For fast incoming balls that are at shoulder height or below, this is best done by striking the ball with your paddle using a defensive movement of pushing the paddle forward to meet the ball in the air using a short, punch movement with the paddle face angled in the direction you want the shot to take. Note that hitting the ball hard at the NVZ has one negative consequence -the ball is likely to come back to you at an equal or even faster pace than that which you induced during your shot if you hit the ball in a way that allows the opponents to return a volley with a volley shot.

If the incoming ball is at or above your head, you will generally have more time to respond to the shot. For example, incoming ‘pop-up’ balls offer a chance for a put-away shot (the so-called kill shot). In this case, an overhead slam shot is a high percentage winning shot that most skilled players will use to their advantage. The most effective overhead slam shot is done by directing the ball to the opponent’s feet on the backhand side of their paddle. You may need to reduce the speed of the slam to enable better control in placing the ball. Placement is generally more effective than ball speed in winning a point.

Dink shots from the NVZ are also effective shots both as a defensive measure and offensive shot, especially if the dink is a surprise to the opponents. If the opponents return your dink, don’t give up. Try several more dinks, moving the ball from the center to the edge of the NVZ. Skilled players are rarely surprised by dinks as you will see when you watch final matches at tournaments. Instead, these players try to move their opponents back and forth with many shots sent to the edges of the court forcing them to move quickly to return the ball. They also may use a series of dinks and then suddenly hit a hard shot when it is unexpected.  

Play at the Baseline

While play at the NVZ is most often an offensive position, stroking the ball at the baseline is generally a defensive shot. If your opponents drive the ball via an overhead slam or another hard, fast shot, you will have more time to address the ball the closer you are to the baseline. Your chances to keep the ball in play from this position depend on the placement of the ball and how quickly you can reach the ball to stroke your return. 

Skilled players will try to drive the ball toward the deep center of the court. If the opponents have reached the NVZ, and you have retreated to the baseline, you will need accuracy and finesse with one of the three following shots.

1.     A lob over the heads of the opponents.

2.     A carefully directed, harder shot between or around the opponents. This may require an angled shot close to the edges of the court, one with increased risk of going out.

3.     A dink shot into the NVZ like the 3^rd shot drop discussed earlier. This may allow you and your partner to rush to the NVZ and begin making offensive shots as discussed earlier.

Summary

One of the most important parts of a pickleball strategy is to prepare for each shot by watching and anticipating the movement of the ball. When you make a judgement concerning the flight of an incoming ball, you should move quickly to the position where the ball will land and prepare for your shots before the ball arrives. You are urged to reposition your feet after each of your shots in anticipation of the ball’s return. Some players become so engaged in watching and admiring their strokes or those practiced by their opponents that they stand in place, instead of moving to be ready for the next shot. Often, this is a failure leading to the loss of a point.

Most importantly, you want to have fun when you play. If all these strategy ideas are too much and cause a loss of enjoyment as you worry about following the suggestions, forget them and concentrate on play that can be interrupted by a bit of levity. Making both your opponents and your partner feel good about the game and themselves during their play is a big part of the game and one that will pay dividends. Complimenting opponents and avoiding celebrations when you have won a point goes a long way in making opponents feel good about you and your play.

Keep playing and enjoy yourself whether you win or lose. Remember that it is only a game and win or lose you will have gained a bit of exercise while occasionally wearing out a pair of sneakers.