3 key points to think about on the serve 🔥

Keep the shot as simple as posssible 👊

⬆️ Click The Video Above ⬆️

Frequently Asked Questions 🚨

1. Why am I not getting power on my backhand drive?

The most common problem I see with the backhand drive is people not using both hands effectively. When hit properly, it should feel like your nondominant hand is coming around the outside of the ball. In other words, it’s more like a lefty forehand than you’d think. A second common problem is weight transfer. The two handed backhand drive is one of the few shots in pickleball that’s best to hit with a closed stance. This allows you to load from you move your weight from your back foot to front foot towards your target. Lastly, don’t open up your hips too early - they should be releasing as you’re contacting the ball.

2. What is the best way to attack a tall person?

As far as true speedups, the best spots are the chest and chicken wing. Don’t forget about the higher chicken wing too, towards their shoulder. Generally people with longer arms have a tougher time bringing them in towards their body. Another way to find offense against someone tall is hard aggressive topspin balls towards their feet. It’s harder for them to bend down, so if you can disguise your shot like you might speedup high, and then go hard and low you might find some success. Mainly just avoid the middle if you’re playing someone tall on that’s on the left.

Game planning with your partner 🏆

Game planning for matches gets easier the more consistent your opponents and partners are. You might have even played them before, or at least have a sense of what their shots look like and their intentions on the court. I think most pro’s don’t do an insane amount of strategy preparations, but we do often touch on a few important things:

⁃ Who do we return to? Who’s less comfortable getting in or more of a crash threat?

⁃ Who’s taking the majority of the thirds ourselves? Who are we targeting as we are transitioning?

⁃ Is there a shot at the kitchen we want to avoid? For example, does one of our opponents have a mean backhand speedup that can find one of our weaknesses? What dinking patterns are advantageous for us?

⁃ What are their tendencies countering? Does one player like to cheat to one side a little bit?

It’s important to remember each piece can change throughout a match. Every day is different - each player could do something better or worse than usual that day. As you improve you’ll start being better able to figure out what’s working and what’s not earlier in a match.