The Most Deceptive Pickleball Shot

WEEK 32

Welcome back to the Road to Pro!

Each week, I answer one of your questions, give you one advanced tip, and walk you through one helpful drill. Here’s what I’ve got for you this week:

• Question: How can I catch my opponents off guard?

• Tip: Unlock your wrist in this crucial moment

• Drill: Practice the most deceptive shot in pickleball

This week Justin asked our featured question, so I’ll be sending him a new Selkirk paddle! If you want a 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!

Q&A Spotlight

The Art of Deception

Answer: This is a great question! There are many advanced techniques and strategies I’d love to share with you, but unfortunately it would be way too much information to put in one issue, so I’m going to go over one of the most fun and deceptive shots I often use when I’m playing. It’s what I call The Kyle.

The Kyle is one of my favorite pickleball hacks. It’s named after pro pickleball player Kyle Yates who popularized the shot in pro matches. This shot mixes deception into your game, which means you can take your opponents off guard and win some free points.

So let’s talk about what it is. Imagine your opponent hits a dink to your backhand. When you prepare for the shot, it looks like you’re about to hit a backhanded dink, but at the last second, you flip your paddle around and speed up the ball straight ahead of you.

Check out this short reel below so you can see The Kyle in action.

To execute The Kyle effectively, your body language needs to show your opponent that you have every intention to hit a backhand dink, so that when you switch it up at the last second, they’re caught off guard and can’t return the ball. The key here is to wait as long as possible. Set up like you’re about to hit a dink, loading your weight on your outside foot, facing your paddle in the direction you would for the dink, then at the very last second, twist your wrist and flip your paddle over so that you can aim the ball directly in front of you.

Your opponents will be tracking the face of your paddle to determine where the ball is going to go. That’s why it’s crucial to wait until the last second to change directions and catch them by surprise.

Remember that your speed-up doesn’t have to be very fast. The strategy with this shot is deception, not power. It’s easy to hit it out of bounds, so don’t waste your opportunity to win a point with the Kyle by speeding it up too fast and hitting it out.

Another tip to make your Kyle as deceptive as possible is to look down at the ball when you’re making contact. You should be doing this with almost every shot you make anyway; however, it’s especially important with the Kyle so that you don’t let your opponents see where you’re looking to aim your shot.

Here are three scenarios for hitting The Kyle based on your opponents’ positioning and movements:

1. If you’re in a cross-court dinking rally, the opponent directly in front of you can sometimes become bored or distracted if they aren’t involved in the rally. If you see that opponent slack off and drop their paddle, take advantage of their unreadiness with the Kyle.

2. When you push your opponent out wide with a cross-court dink, and their partner doesn’t move to cover the middle, that’s a great opportunity to hit a Kyle down the open center of the court.

3. If you push your opponent out wide with a cross-court dink and their partner does cover the middle, you now have a more open line directly in front of you to hit the Kyle to.

______________________________________

If you have a question you’d like for me to answer, 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!

Tip of the Week

Flick of the Wrist

With the shot we discussed above, you need to use your wrist to hit it correctly. There are other times when your wrist helps you effectively execute certain shots, and one of them is when you want to hit a speed-up in a dinking rally.

Traditionally, you want to keep your wrist locked when hitting dinks, since the ball goes where the surface of the paddle is facing. Keeping your wrist locked creates more stability and consistency in your dinks. However, when you hit a speed-up in the middle of a dinking rally, you can use your wrist to make your shot more effective.

Just like when you’re hitting the Kyle, you want to make it look like you’re going to hit another dink instead of a speed-up. To do this, use your wrist to brush up against the back of the ball and generate topspin. This allows you to make your speed-ups more deceptive because a quick wrist movement is harder to detect than an obvious, full swing. So, even if you’re not hitting the Kyle, try adding more wrist to your speed-ups to catch your opponents off guard. And the topspin you’ll generate by using your wrist will make the ball dip down and land inside the court.

Drill Highlight

Master the Kyle

Next time you’re on the courts, practice hitting the Kyle so you can start adding it to your game. With your drilling partner, position yourselves cross-court from each other at the kitchen line. You’ll need to be on the side of the court that would allow you to hit backhanded dinks cross-court. It’s also best if one of you has a bucket of balls nearby.

Start dinking with your partner cross-court, using only one hand for your backhand dinks. Whenever you see the opportunity, hit a Kyle straight ahead of you. Remember to practice all the techniques we discussed above so that you can execute the shot well.

Every time you attempt a Kyle do this:

• Load your weight on your opposite leg

• Position yourself as if you’re about to hit a backhanded dink

• Look down at the ball

• At the last minute, twist your wrist and flip your paddle over to speed-up the ball straight ahead

You can always make this more challenging by adding another player directly in front of you (see image above). This way you can practice reading your opponent’s movements and looking for the optimal time to hit a Kyle and catch them off guard.

Videos You’ll Enjoy

• Here’s a fun video I made a while ago with some of the top pickleball pros. Go check it out!

• If you want to know some of the most common mistakes most players make in pickleball, and how to stop doing them, this Cracked Pickleball’s video goes over that exact topic!

Discounts for You

• (CODE: ADV-Shea | $10-$40 future purchase gift card at Selkirk.com or SelkirkLabs.com)

• (CODE: SheaU-104849 | 10% off at PickleballSuperstore.com)

• (CODE: Shea20 | $20 off at PickleballSuperstore.com)

• (CODE: SHEA | $100 off at ernepickleballmachine.com)

• (CODE: SHEAUNDERWOOD | Free shipping at EnhancePickleball.com)

• (CODE: shea | Free $100 Swing Stick with purchase of SwingVision Pro at http://swing.vision/r/sheaunderwood)

Share the Road to Pro Newsletter

Share this newsletter with others! The button below will take you to my website where you can copy the URL to send to anyone you think may enjoy this content.

OR copy and paste this link: https://shea.beehiiv.com/