9 Pickleball Tips So You Win More Games - Pickleball Adventure (2024)

There are manypickleball tipsto help improve your game. Some help more than others. Three tips that helped me improve the most: 1. Getting into and holding theready position, 2. Getting to the non-volley zone quickly after the third shot, and, 3. Getting consistent with my dink shot.

The essential tips can help you increase your skill level and become a better player.

Pickleball Tips Summary:

1. Get into the ready position and maintain it.
2. Get to the non-volley zone line as quickly as possible after the third shot.
3. Perfect your serve.
4. Develop the best skills for returning the serve.
5. Perfect your 3rd shot drop shot.
6. Get efficient and consistent with the dink shot.
7. Communicate with your partner.
8. Keep an eye on your partner when they are receiving the ball.
9. Focus on hitting the ball where your opponent isn’t.

Pickleball Tips

1. Get into the ready position

Themost common mistakethat I see anew playermake is to just stand straight up, wherever they are on the court, with their paddle hanging at their side.

When you’re in this relaxed position, rather than in aready position, yourreaction timecan be slow and it becomes difficult to respond quickly enough when the ball is coming your way.

To get into the ready position:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Bend your knees slightlyor as far as you feel comfortable and will help you feel that you’re in a good position. I prefer to bend my knees quite a bit. I find that I am more easily able to respond and move to a ball.
3. Stand with the weight toward theballs of your feet, rather than standing flat-footed or back on your heels. This is a position that will help you move more quickly if you need to move for a ball.
4. Position your paddle infront of your body– keeping your paddle up in front of you is thebest wayto know you’ll be in thebest positionto respond to a ball, whether it’s hit directly at you or you need to run for it. Regardless, keeping yourpickleball paddlein theready positionwill help you play a bettergame of pickleball.
5. Use the 12 O’Clock or 9 O’Clock paddle positionas suggested in the video below

The guidelines above about how to get in aready positionare accurate for most situations but you might find that you need a slightly different posture if you’re standing close to the non-volley zone.

The short video below explains 3 options for paddle position and the pros and cons of each.

2. Get To The Non-Volley Zone Line As Quickly As Possible

The second tip that has made me abetter pickleball playeris moving to thenon-volley zone lineas soon as possible after thereturn of serve.

Some intermediate and advanced players might dispute how soon after thereturn of servebut for most players, this is a key strategy.

Here are 5 reasons to move to thenon-volley zone lineas soon as possible after thereturn of serve:

1. If you don’t get to thekitchen linequickly, your opponent will likely get there before you, gain control and work hard to keep you and your partner at the back of the court. And when that happens, you’ve lost the opportunity to gain control of the rally.
2. Your partner can see you and knows where you are and what you’re doing.
3. The net blocks your feet making it a bit tricky for your opponent to see exactly what’s going on.
4. Getting to the non-volley zone makes your opponent’s next shot (3rd shot drop) harder because they need to strategically place the ball to go past you (a hard shot) or volley the ball to keep it in but out of your reach.
5. Getting to the non-volley zone quickly puts you in thestrongest positionto hit avariety of shotssuch as a hard shot or strategically placing a dink shot,cross court, or straight away.

The easiest way to remember to get to the non-volley zone quickly is to train your brain (through practice) to automatically move up as soon as your side has hit the return of serve. Developing muscle memory will help new players improve their game.

3. Perfect Your Dink Shot

A dink shot is when a player stands at the non-volley zone and gently hits the ball over the net so that it lands on the other side of the net in the non-volley zone. A ‘dinking’ game is when both teams are playing at the non-volley zone.

The best players know that being able to hit a good dink shot is one of the easiest ways to win a game.

And the best way to win is to position yourself at the non-volley zone line where you where you have agood chanceof controlling the ball and giving theopposing teama hard time.

Thethird shot dropis often considered the most important shot in pickleball.

Hitting a great third shot gives theserving teama great advantage and the point which means they can continue serving.

It’s agreat wayto build momentum and earn points.

This is a critical part of learning how to play a pickleball game. In fact, learning the dink shot is a critical tip and essential to learning the soft game – which is a very strategic part of the pickleball game.

Many beginner players find it intimidating or difficult to remember to move up the non-volley zone line.

More experienced players understand how important the dink shot is so they make it a priority to learn

The dink shot is important because it eliminates the chance that your opponent is going to hit hard drives, smash the ball or hit a long shot. When both teams are at the net, the team who dinks consistently, and strategically has a better chance at winning the point.

Learn how to dink so the ball lands in the NVZ and you aren’t giving your opponent an opportunity to smash the ball.

Don’t make unforced errors because you don’t understand the kitchen rules.

3. Perfect your serve

Learning how to hit a good serve takes time but is an essential part of pickleball strategy for winning pickleball games.

1. Practice hitting a deep serve into the far back corner of the service box, towards the baseline.
   • Some players but not all, stand too close to the baseline which makes this a more difficult shot for them to return because they’re standing too close to the ball, making it hard to get a full swing.
   • In some cases, players will incorrectly estimate that the ball is either in or out and choose to not hit the ball (when they should have it because it was in).
2. Practice hitting the ball with the contact point below your waist, towards the middle of the court by the centerline.
   • This is the best shot because it can confuse players – they aren’t sure if the serve is going to land on the correct side of the court and that can delay their attempt at returning the ball.
   • It can also leave both opponent players unsure of who is actually going to hit the ball which is why it’s so important to have a good communication plan with your partner.
3. Practice hitting the ball so it lands close to the non-volley zone but just outside.
   • Some players will be standing back behind the baseline while you’re serving and will find it more difficult to move quickly enough to get to the baseline and return the ball. This could be an easy point for your team.
4. Target your opposing player’s weak side which is usually their backhand side (make sure you know if they’re a left-handed or right-handed player)

It’s always a good idea to figure out which serves your opponent can easily return versus which ones they seem to have difficulty returning.

Adjust your serve according to their strengths and weaknesses.

4. Develop the best skills for hitting the return of serve shot

When hitting a serve return, hit the ball down the middle of the court so it lands just inside the receiver box.

DO THIS FOR 3 REASONS:

1. It forces a right-handed person to use their backhand.
2. The middle of the net is lower helping your ball over.
3. Shots down the middle can confuse your opponents (who should hit it?).

Remember:

• The return of serve does not need to be fast or low to the net.
• Hit deep returns. Deep enough to keep your opponent away from the net and further back on the court making it more difficult for them to get to the net and take control of the game.

Learn the 7 Must-Know Pickleball Rules that will help you become a good player and take your game to the next level.

5. Perfect Your 3rd Shot Drop

The third shot drop is about returning the ball so that it lands in the non-volley zone.

It’s referred to as the 3rd shot drop because it’s the 3rd shot that is made following the serve and ideally, will go over the net and then land in the non-volley zone.

Third shot drop shot:

• The 1st shot is from the serving team,
• 2nd shot is from the receiving team and
• 3rd shot (drop) is from the serving team.

It’s an important shot because it forces your opponent up to their side of the net, giving you time to move up to the non-volley zone line.

In fact, some pickleball players believe that the third shot is the most important shot of the game.

If possible, make your 3rd shot a drop shot that lands in the non-volley zone, targeting your opponent’s backhand which is often a harder ball for players to return.

7. Communicate With Your Partner

Someone should always call the ball, MINE, YOURS, NO (or ‘out’ to help your partner understand that they should not hit the ball since it’s heading out of bounds).

There’s no point risking that you miss the ball or return the ball ‘out of bounds’ if your opponent’s hit onto your side of the court was going out.

I always suggest that you talk with your partner before you begin playing about how you want to collaborate during the game. This is really important when you’re playing with a new partner.

Consider the following questions:

• Will the ball default to the pickleball player who can easily hit a forehand shot? Or is the centerline always the defacto in determining who hits the ball?
• Are you both okay with helping each other out? As an example, if it looks like the ball is going to the back of the court and the player on that side of the court appears to not be able to make it to the back of the court, can the partner hit the ball (assuming its a doable shot)? Or do you want to agree that you both play only your side of the court?
• Do you both agree that after the 3rd shot at the beginning of a rally, you both get to the non-volley zone line as quickly as possible? This is the most common strategy and recommendation but not all pickleball players agree on this tactic. And in the case of beginner players, they don’t remember that they need to do this so a discussion prior to the game can be a good reminder.

8. Keep An Eye On Your Partner When They Are Receiving the Ball

When your partner is receiving the ball on a serve, you’ll be standing just outside the non-volley zone line.

Most of the time, a pickleball player will stand horizontally to the line, facing the opponent.

Rather than just looking forward at your opponents, keep a slight turn in your body and head so that you can help your partner determine if the ball is landing inside or outside of bounds.

The receiver is usually focused on hitting the ball and can’t always keep an eye on the lines.

9. Focus on Hitting the Ball Where Your Opponent Isn’t

Focus less on making strategic shots (close to the non-volley zone, in the back corner etc…) and focus on getting the ball over the net and into play.

If you can hit the ball where your opponent isn’t standing or where you know they’ll need to run or make a tactical move to hit the ball, aim there.

Otherwise, stay focused on hitting a shot that will remain in play.

Remember, the way that pickleball scoring works is that if you make mistakes, you will lose the ball and control over the rally.

This is truly a game of who makes fewer mistakes so keeping the ball in play is more critical than making a really strategic hit.

Pickleball Tips Summary

Hopefully, you’ve learned some new pickleball strategies and pickleball tips that will help you with your pickleball game.

There are always more and more tips to learn.

Here are the 3 tips that helped me increase my level of play and improve my pickleball game most:

1. Get into the ready position and maintain that position throughout the game.
2. Get to the non-volley line as quickly as possible after the third shot of the rally is hit.
3. Get efficient and consistent with the dink shot.

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