Use This Simple Trick To Hit More ATPs

WEEK 15

Welcome back to the Road to Pro!

This week we’ll be learning more about ATP (around-the-post) shots and how to hit them successfully. This discussion was sparked from a great question from a subscriber. For his question, Ryan gets a brand new paddle!

If you want the chance to win a paddle yourself, click on the button below to submit your pickleball questions. Anyone whose question is featured in my newsletter will automatically win a new paddle!

I’ll be answering this question in two parts:

1. How to create more opportunities to hit an ATP

2. How to hit one successfully

Let’s break it down…

How to create more opportunities to hit an ATP

One thing to keep in mind is that you’ll often be able to set your partner up for an ATP rather than creating it for yourself. The best opportunity to hit an ATP is when your opponent hits an aggressive cross-court dink landing in the shallow part of the kitchen near the sideline. It should land in the first third of the kitchen, closest to the net. I’ll explain why this positioning matters in the next section.

In a cross-court dinking rally, the dinks you receive will likely fall deeper into the kitchen, preventing a proper ATP setup. This is why you can create more opportunities for your partner, or vice versa. To do this, hit a soft, non-aggressive dink straight to the opponent directly in front of you. They will often respond by sending a fast shot with topspin cross-court to your partner, providing an ideal ATP setup.

How to hit a successful ATP

There are four things to keep in mind when hitting a successful ATP:

1. Location of the ball

2. Positioning

3. Timing

4. Stroke technique

Location

The closer the ball lands to the net, the easier it is to hit an ATP since you’ll have more angles to work with. When the ball lands shallow in the kitchen with a sharp trajectory to the side, you have more court to aim at. If your opponent delivers a fast cross-court dink that lands close to the net, it will travel farther to the side, allowing you to comfortably hit an ATP to anywhere on the court.

If the ball lands deeper towards the back of the kitchen, hitting an ATP becomes much riskier. While it’s possible to hit an ATP from there, the court on the other side becomes a much narrower target, making it a more difficult shot.

Positioning

Being balanced and prepared makes any shot easier to execute. To hit a good ATP, don’t let the ball get too far outside your reach. Instead, run quickly to the ball’s expected location and let the ball come to you rather than following it out to the side. By positioning yourself ahead of time, you’ll be able to control your spin and placement.

Timing

You have more time than you think to execute an ATP, so don’t rush it. After positioning yourself properly, wait longer than expected before taking your shot. Let the ball fall closer to the ground and make contact around shin height. Here’s a few reasons why this is important:

• The ball will travel farther to the side, opening up more of the court to aim for.

• You will have more time to position for a solid shot.

• Hitting the ball lower reduces bounce height, making it harder for your opponents to defend.

Stroke technique

Adding spin to any shot allows you to manipulate the ball as it’s moving through the air. When hitting an ATP, use side spin. Unlike topspin that pushes the ball down, side spin makes the ball curve to one side. This effect will help you curve the ball around the net post and back into the court. To do this, you want to brush up against the side of the ball with your paddle at an angle so you can cut across it.

For Ryan’s question this week, he won a $250 Selkirk Paddle!

If you want a chance to win a new paddle, click the button below to be taken to a Google submission form.

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

Drill Highlight

Improve your ATP shots

If you want to practice your ATP shots, grab your drilling partner and a bucket of balls. Stand at the kitchen line on one side of the court, and have your partner stand cross-court, feeding you ATP shots. Position yourself on the court as if you were in a real game rather than waiting on the sideline. Whenever you see an opportunity for an ATP, move to the side and take your shot using the technique I explained above. If your partner sends a ball that you can’t hit an ATP with, simply dink it back across the net as you would in a real game.

Videos You’ll Enjoy

• I run a second channel called Cracked Pickleball, and on that channel we just released a new video called “Answering The Top 13 Questions in Pickleball”

• We also have a video called “7 Essential Pickleball Tips EVERY 5.0 Uses.” In this video we go over how to hit an ATP, so if you are looking for a visual demonstration on how to do this, you should check it out!

• Do you want another chance at getting a brand new paddle? Check out the video below to enter my 31st paddle giveaway on Instagram.

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