2 Strategies to Play Smart Pickleball

You try to score with early aggression like 3rd shot drives and early speed ups, but can’t. And when that doesn’t work, players often think, more aggression is the answer. **laughs

You’ve been there at the kitchen. Where, within 1-2 balls, you attacked from your shoelaces against an opponent standing strong at the kitchen line prepared to counter your risky speed-up.

Did it work? Maybe.

But the truth is…early aggression (like that) only works occasionally against weaker players, not consistently against tougher competition.

It's a strategy that’ll only take you so far. 

See, better players know HOW to construct points so they earn “attackable balls.” – (ie. any ball you hit — whether off the bounce or out of the air where your contact point is a few inches (or more) above the net).

They know that intelligent play, can turn small advantages into big advantages so they (can) hit rally ending shots.

So….

How do you score points when that early aggression doesn’t work and your opponents have “neutralized” you at the kitchen? Meaning — you’re at the kitchen. They’re at the kitchen. And no one has an advantage.

Here’s how... 

1. Find Your Opponent's Weakness

Pickleball strategy can be summed up like this:

If you're at a disadvantage, work to neutralize the point. 

Once you've done that, work to create a small advantage. 

Once you've done that, work to make that advantage as big as possible. 

After that, be ready to hit a rally ending shot.

And one strategy to create that “small advantage” is to find your opponent's weakness and exploit it! This is sports strategy 101, but it's easy to forget when we’re out playing. As mentioned before, many players default to sheer force, no matter who their opponent is. 

When in reality, this strategy is better. 

So in conclusion, find your opponent's weakness and hit there as often as possible until they prove they can handle it.

2. Move The Ball From Side To Side

In basketball, teams that move the ball from side to side (ball reversals) score more points than teams that don't. For example, one college basketball team found that in a 60 possession game, when they moved the ball from side to side…

• 0x = they score 38 points 
• 1x = they scored 50 points 
• 2x = they scored 66 points 

But why? 

Because, it forces the defense…

1.  to move more and 

2. communicate more 

…which often leads to defensive breakdowns.

In most sports, creating opponent movement and forcing them to communicate will cause breakdowns.

Similarly, when you move your dinks around in an unpredictable way, you’ll often get the same results. Defensive breakdowns.

That moment becomes your small advantage. And when you get that small advantage, you know what to do next. Do everything you can to turn it into a big advantage and then try to win the point. AND REMEMBER, most try to get the big advantage before they’ve ever earned the small advantage. That’s “home run pickleball.” Not as effective against good players. 

Now, know this. Getting a big advantage doesn’t always mean you’ll win the point. Especially at the higher levels, the best players can turn an opponent's big advantage back into a neutral position. So make sure you stay in the point until you've hit a winner or your opponent has missed their shot.  

In summary, remember this: 

The next time you're stuck, find your opponent's weakness and exploit it. Move the ball from side to side and force them to make mistakes. And when you get a small advantage, take it and run with it.

Do that enough times and you'll find yourself winning a lot of points and a lot of matches.

Hope this helps!

Kyle

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