The BEST Pickleball Pros Move Like This

There's really only 3 movements you need...

Author

Shea Underwood
April 27, 2024

WEEK 13

Welcome back to the Road to Pro! This week we’ll be looking at how the top pros move efficiently on the court!

Each week, I share one tip, one drill, and answer one question. The question I answer every week is chosen from questions YOU submit, and the person who submitted the question receives a FREE paddle! Last week, Lenon’s question was answered, and they won a $250 Selkirk Power Air.

To submit your question(s), click on the button below to be taken to a Google submission form:

Hint: There is no limit to how many questions you can submit!

Tip of the Week

Three movements you should know

If you want to learn how to move efficiently on the court like the pros, this tip is for you.

When moving side to side to hit various shots, pro pickleball players move one of three different ways: shuffling, reaching, and pivoting. Before we explore these movements, it’s important to remember that in order to execute them correctly, you should first be in a split step position. (Learn more about split stepping in last week’s issue here).

Now let’s break down the movements:

Shuffling – From your ready position, push off one foot, bring it closer to your other foot, then extend that foot farther away from the first. The key here is to keep a low, athletic stance while shuffling to one side or the other without ever crossing your feet.

Reaching – Extend one foot far to one side. While extending, your other foot remains planted in its original spot, which basically results in a wider split step.

Pivoting – Imagine twisting your body around one foot that’s planted on the ground. The planted foot is considered your inside foot, and the other is your outside one. Push off your outside foot, keep the inside one in its place, and pivot your outside foot around to the other side of your body. This movement is the fastest way to cover the most possible ground.

Take a second to watch the top pros play and you’ll notice that every movement on the court is some combination of these three!

Drill Highlight

Improve your form

To master these movements and enhance your speed on the court, I recommend doing this exercise:

Go to the courts, or even just a concrete slab somewhere, and move side to side as you would if you were playing out a pickleball point. Pay close attention to how you are moving and compare it to the three movements explained above. Next, try to execute each type of movement correctly.

When you practice this, treat it like a workout. Do several reps of each type of movement, and focus on maintaining proper form, especially when you start to get tired. This will help to refine your technique and strengthen muscle memory for proper movement. If you want to get better at pickleball, it’s crucial to know how to move well on the court. In the middle of a game, you don’t have time to think about these movements. That’s why it’s extremely advantageous to exercise this beforehand, ingraining it in your muscle memory so you can easily apply it to your game.

Enhanced drill with a partner

Start by dinking with your partner. After each dink, touch the center line or sideline with one foot using any of the movements—shuffling, reaching, or pivoting. This will help you adjust to the quickness of each movement and learn how to immediately return to a ready position for the next shot.

Susannah Barr recently posted a reel of her and her drilling partner practicing a similar drill. Check it out!

Q&A Spotlight

This week’s question comes from Dominic. Time to win a paddle!

Is a grip with your index finger on the paddle surface OK? Someone told me not to do it, but it seems natural, and it is a hard habit to break.

Answer: Placing your index finger on the paddle’s surface is perfectly fine. If you come from a table tennis background, this might come very naturally to you. Pros like Callan Dawson and Rob Cassidy grip the handle of their paddle very high, with their index finger resting on the surface. This technique increases control by causing a smaller swing and less use of the wrist. Here’s the downside: by keeping a high grip on your handle, you aren’t able to generate a whipping effect with the head of the paddle, losing extra power and spin you could put on the ball with a different grip.

While I generally recommend not placing your index finger on the paddle’s surface, it’s important to choose what’s natural and effective for you. Pros use all kinds of grips with success.

Myself and most pros put the index finger of our non-dominant hand on the back of the paddle’s surface when hitting a two-handed backhand. We can do this because we have a lower grip with our dominant hand. When hitting with a two-handed backhand, I place my non-dominant hand above my dominant, and the index finger naturally rests on the paddle’s surface, providing more control.

Check out the video below to see which paddle Dominic won for his question.

If you have a question you’d like for me to answer, please click the button below to fill out the question submission form.

If your question is chosen for next week’s newsletter, you’ll win a free paddle!

Videos You’ll Enjoy

  • I just published a new video on YouTube, titled “3 Tips That Will Instantly Fix Your Pickleball Game” You can check it out here!

  • Do you want another chance at a FREE paddle? Check out the video below to enter my current giveaway on Instagram.

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