David Zapatka
Two months ago, we wrote an article on being the best partner. This month is about being the best you on the court by focusing on your skills to strengthen your side of the partnership.
Open space—The best players I’ve played against in my pickleball-playing career have been the ones who could create open space on my side of the court and then hit the next shot into that open space. They were not the hard hitters. They were the highly-skilled finesse players. Remember, it’s a finesse game, not a game of brute force. Have you ever noticed that when you’re playing a skilled player and hit it hard at them, they easily and quickly block the shot back and take time away from you and your partner out-positioning you? What happened? You hit a shot too hard to deal with the short time it returned to your side of the court. Do not hit harder than you can recover and hit the next shot. It just gives pace and openings to your opponent. Instead of hitting hard, create openings on the opponents’ side of the court by hitting wide angles or by hitting an opponent’s weaker side whether forehand or backhand. Hit deep down the middle to reduce the opponents’ angle shots. If the opponents are tight to the non-volley zone, lob them! The idea is to open space on their side of the court with a well-placed shot so you can follow that up with a clean shot into the open space. Plan two, three or four shots ahead to create a pattern where this will happen.
Plan to hit specific shot combinations—Playing in a recent game, during a timeout, my partner asked me not to hit speedups to the opponent in front of her because the subsequent block came in her direction with too little time for her to prepare to hit her next shot. I understood and my change in hitting pattern paid off for us. Work with your partner as a team. Don’t just hit shots you know and like. Hit what works for the partnership. Create patterns that will help your side play more effectively. Plan combinations such as hitting a low, wide shot for your partner to cut off the angle to the middle with a poach.
Hit serves and returns deep with pace or not—Depth is key. It gives you time to get to the non-volley zone and keeps the opponents at bay. To hit a hard drive, get your paddle back early and have it cocked and ready to hit. Transfer your weight forward. Use your whole body to follow through. Your eyes, shoulders, hips, legs and feet should all follow your paddle through the stroke.
Have a question about pickleball? Want to know more about the sport, the rules, equipment, or have some pickilicious news you would like to share with our pickleball community? Email David Zapatka at [email protected].