There are many pickleball players that may have played for months or even years without understanding the fundamentals. This post will go over the pickleball strategies that you must know so that you can implement them in your next games and improve overall as a player.
Fundamental Pickleball Strategies
More than expensive pickleball paddles or learning fancy spins, there are fundamentals to the game of pickleball that many people overlook. But if you want to be a better player overall, here are the must-know pickleball strategies that you need to master.
Deep Serve
The deep serve is one of the most underrated pickleball strategies that is often overlooked. As a beginner, you may just want to get your serve in. But to improve your game, you should be looking to hit your serves as deep as you can without the ball getting out. Why is this important?
Because that makes the return harder for your opponent. Most people stand close to the baseline when they’re waiting for a serve. When the serve is deep, they’re having to back up and be out of balance to return the ball back to your team. That makes you and your partner have an easier third shot.
Deep Return
Just like the deep serve, the deep return is another pickleball strategy that tends to be overlooked. But a deep return in the middle of your two opponents gives you and your partner several advantages. First, when the ball is in between two players, it tends to confuse the opponents who should make the third shot.
Secondly, it gives you and your partner more time to get to the kitchen. And most importantly, it makes the third shot selection for your opponents harder. If they decide to drive the ball, the distance is longer to get it over to your side. That significantly slows the ball down so that by the time the ball gets to you, you can block the ball much easier.
If they decide to do a third-shot drop, it is a lot more challenging to drop from the baseline than it is when one is closer to the net. That is something you should consciously practice next time you’re returning a serve.
Third-Shot Selection
In pickleball, a third shot is when the game typically really begins. You will want to either drive, drop, or in rare cases, lob the ball. A regular return makes it too easy for your opponent to put away the point. So what choice should you make when you’re the player that has to make the third shot?
If the opponent returns a serve short in the middle of the court with a bouncy ball, driving the ball is a great choice if you’re able to do so. With a short return, it barely gives your opponent time to come up to the net. So you’re able to easily drive the ball in between them or to their feet while they’re still moving.
If you’re playing with more experienced players, drives will not be as effective as drops. Players that are 3.5 levels or higher are able to block drives, so you need to be ready for the ball to come back to you. Drops are much more effective because it makes the ball unattackable. A good drop allows both you and your partner to get to the net to play the point.
What is considered a good third-shot drop? Drop the ball with as little of a bounce as you can to either the middle of your opponent’s kitchen or to the backhand of one of your opponents. If your opponent is right-handed, that means to the corner right of the court.
The middle in-between two players is a good choice because any ball in the middle of two players can cause confusion about who should take the ball. The corner of a player’s backhand is also a good choice because most beginners to intermediate pickleball players have a weakness when it comes to the backhand.
Resets
Perhaps the most important of pickleball strategies is learning to reset to the ball. There are so many advantages to doing this. You and/or your partner may be out of position from a banging match, an overhead smash retrieval, or a lob. A reset with a drop or a dink is a great way to slow down the game and give your partner a chance to get back into position.
In order to learn and be competent at resetting means, you have to be comfortable with dropping the ball from all areas of the court. You must also hold the paddle with a soft grip so that the ball barely bounces on the other side.
Additional Tips
If you’re a beginner looking to level up, check out the next article for additional tips.
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