Don't Dink In Tournaments

WEEK 16

Welcome back to the Road to Pro!

This week we’ll be looking at a few important tips you can use for your next tournament. I’ll also share with you a cool drill you can try whether you play recreationally or competitively.

As always, I’ve answered a question that one of you submitted, and this week, Duncan gets a brand new paddle for his question! If you want the chance to win a paddle, click on the button below to submit your pickleball questions. Anyone whose question is featured in my newsletter will automatically win a new paddle!

Now let’s get to it!

Tip of the Week

Don’t Start With Dinks

In tournaments, it can be beneficial to start your first match with an aggressive approach. Avoid playing cautiously or easily for the first few points. You don’t want to let your opponents ease into the game by hitting them slow-paced, patient drops and dinks. Since most players experience some anxiety or nerves at the beginning of a match, a fast-paced start can catch your opponents off-guard. You can leverage their nerves by hitting early speed-ups to test their reaction time and see if they are hitting out balls. This approach can lead to you gaining a quick 7–8-point advantage which might be all you need to breeze through round 1!

Drill Highlight

Controlled drives

There are two variations of this drill, both starting with you and your drilling partner standing on opposite sides of the court, a few steps in from the baseline and centered on the court.

Easier Version:

Once you and your partner are in position, Player A sends easy, lofty shots to Player B, who responds with controlled drives aimed at Player A's feet. These drives should have less speed on them and more topspin to ensure they land mid-court. After you’ve done several reps of this, switch roles and run it back.

Harder Version:

To make it a bit more challenging, get rid of the easy, lofty shots, and now only hit controlled drives with topspin to each other. These shots should land just before your partner’s feet. This can be difficult to do because you won’t have as much time to hit the ball. You’ll have to hit it on the rise since it’ll be coming low and fast to your feet.

This drill mimics the type of controlled drives that you’ll use in match play. It’s not always the best strategy to beat your opponents with power. Sometimes a controlled, well placed drop is just what you need to take advantage of a poorly positioned opponent.

Q&A Spotlight

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

Answer: For tournament warm-ups, assuming you only have 3 minutes, start with the shots you know with 100% certainty that you’re going to hit – the serve and return. Since your opponents will likely be warming up right next to you, practice serving and returning straight on, rather than cross-court. Focus on keeping these shots deep. You don’t want to miss the first serve or return of the match, and you’re more likely to make unforced errors at the beginning of the match due to nerves. If you warm up these shots, you’ll handle them with more confidence during those first few crucial points.

After practicing serve and returns, move on to the third and fourth shots. One of you should be at the baseline hitting drops (third shots) while the other is at the kitchen line attacking (fourth shots). Then switch positions and run it back. Remember that the goal here is not to win the point. The goal is to put the ball in play and give you and your teammate plenty of reps from these positions.

By the time you’re both done practicing drops, your three minutes are probably up. Rather than taking up your limited time by dinking, it’s important to warm up the harder shots first. This way you’ll feel more prepared and confident hitting these shots during the match.

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

• A little while ago I made a video with Zane Navratil, and he gave me some valuable tips that I want to share with you. If you haven’t seen the video yet, you can check it out on YouTube.

• Here’s another video posted on my other channel, Cracked Pickleball. If you want some tips to master your drop shots, this is the video for you!

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