While playing pickleball singles is not as popular as playing doubles, it can be equally fun and challenging. However, singles play a little bit differently than playing doubles since both you and your opponent are covering the whole court on your own. Here is a breakdown of the pickleball strategy for singles so you can understand which shots to take and why.
Pickleball Strategy For Singles
Serve Deep
As in doubles, serving deep is an important pickleball strategy for singles. If your aim is good, aim for the corner between the baseline and the sideline. The reason is that it will require your opponent to move out of their base position and make it harder to make a good deep return. The harder you make it for your opponent to make a good return, the easier your next shot will be.
You will also want to stand as close to the centerline when you’re serving so that you’re close to the center of the court when your opponent returns the ball. If you’re standing farther from the centerline, it makes it easier for your opponent to return the ball on the side of the court that you’re not in. You will then have to work harder and move further to return that ball.
Return Deep
Returning deep goes hand in hand with serving deep because it makes it harder for your opponent to make their next shot. If you’re able to aim by towards the sideline of your opponent’s backhand, it will make it even harder. It will require your opponent to run to the corner and then use their backhand, which tends to be harder for most people than using their forehands.
It will also give you more time to get to the kitchen line where you will be able to defend against a third shot, whether it is a drive, a drop, or a passing shot attempt. At non-pro levels, it is rare for most people to be able to do a strong backhand drive from the far backside of the court. If they drop the shot, you will be ready to return it without issues. And if they attempt a passing shot, you should have more advantage to block it from the kitchen line.
Get To The Kitchen Line
You will always hear that you need to get to the kitchen line, whether you’re playing doubles or singles. The reason is that you will be able to cut off more angles that your opponent may try to take. The farther back in the court you are, the more room that your opponent could angle the ball which makes it harder for you to return.
A quick YouTube video of the pros Ben Johns versus JW Johnson play will give you the pickleball strategy for singles. You will see that both pros rush to the kitchen line as soon as they make their service return. If one player is in the kitchen and their opponent is far back, the player at the kitchen will hit shots to keep their opponent back. You will find that the player at the kitchen will often win the point against the player that stayed far back.
Shoot To Pass Your Opponent
The one pickleball strategy for singles that is a little different than doubles is that you will need to make a lot more passing shots to get past your opponent. In doubles, passing shots are less often made because there are two players to cover the court. In singles, it should be your main goal. If you’re not able to make a passing shot, you will most likely see your opponent at the kitchen court.
Drop Safely
Drops can still be a useful shot in singles as it is in doubles. If you’re able to drop safety at each corner of the court of at your opponent’s feet, you can buy yourself more time to get to the kitchen. Aiming drop shots at your opponent’s backhand will also give you an advantage since most players have a weaker backhand than their forehand.
If your opponent is already at the kitchen line and you’re not comfortable with a passing shot, make a drop shot. You will often find the pros do the same.
Lob To Buy Time
While you may not see lobs being used often, they can be an effective way to buy yourself time. This is especially if you’re far back and your opponent is already at the kitchen. Or if you’re out of position getting a ball back and you need the time to reset.
Make sure you keep the wind into account when you’re lobbing. Wind can greatly affect the direction of the ball. You also want to keep note of your opponent’s strength when it comes to overhead smashes. Players with a badminton background are great at overhead smashes and may able to put away the ball. You also don’t want to overuse lobs if you’re not able to return your opponent’s overhead smashes.
Get Your Opponent Moving
To win a game in pickleball, someone has to make an unforced error. Unforced errors usually occur when one is having to move out of their stable position. So you want to keep your opponent moving. You do this by hitting crosscourt or hitting toward the courts where your opponent is not at. The more effort your opponent has to make, the higher the chances are for unforced errors.
Vary Your Shots
If there is one pickleball strategy for singles that you need to remember out of everything else is to vary your shots. You want to keep your opponent guessing what you will be doing next. You don’t want to make a third shop drop every time or drive every time. If your game is predictable, your opponent will already be in position to return your next shot.
Last Tips
Playing pickleball singles can be fun and extremely challenging. While the strategies are similar to playing doubles, it is a whole different game. However, like doubles, you will need to drill to get better at playing singles. Drilling with a partner and a basket of balls will help with your shots. For other tips and strategies, check out pickleball strategy for doubles in the next article.
Read Next: Pickleball Strategy For Doubles