Must-Know Secret To Cover The Middle

WEEK 42

Welcome back to the Road to Pro!

Here’s what I’ve got for you this week:

• An easy solution for covering the middle

• How to communicate with your partner on the court

• Advanced hand signals you should be using

• A new question to answer for the chance at a new paddle

Thank you all for your participation in last week’s newsletter! Noah received the most votes for his answer, so as promised, he’ll be getting a new paddle. The new question is located at the bottom of the newsletter, and the three best answers will be featured in this Friday’s issue.

Now let’s get to it!

Tip #1: Who Gets the Middle?

One of the most common disputes in pickleball is: which player covers the middle? There’s a simple rule you can follow in order to avoid confusion: the player cross-court (diagonal) from the ball is responsible for the middle.

For example, if your partner on the left side of the court hits a dink to the opponent in front of them, they have to cover their sideline and their body. That means you would be responsible for covering the middle. The same rule applies if you hit a shot in front of you - your partner would take care of the middle while you’re busy covering your sideline.

In the rare case that your opponent hits a shot directly from the middle of their court to the middle of your court, both you and your partner should be covering your own portions of the middle. Because no one is actually cross-court from a straight shot like this, you could talk with your partner beforehand about who would take it, so there’s no confusion during a rally.

For slower shots, like third-shot drops, you’ll have more time to communicate and decide who takes the middle. This can vary depending on your strategy or familiarity with your partner. Overall, if you follow these guidelines, you’ll avoid confusion with your partner and be able to cover the court more effectively.

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Tip #2: Partner Communication

You need to have effective communication with your partner to help you stay in sync during a game. Here’s a list of 5 simple keywords you can use:

Go: When you hit a drop on your third shot, saying “go” signals your partner to move quickly to the kitchen line to look for a poach or attack.

Hold: If the return-of-serve is aggressive and prevents you from hitting a controlled third shot, saying “hold” tells your partner to stay back and not move up to the net yet.

High: Whenever you happen to hit a shot too high in the game, saying “high” warns your partner to prepare for an attack so they can move back and get their paddle ready.

Stay: If you ever move across to take a shot out of your partner’s zone, saying “stay” tells them to hold their position while you return to yours.

Switch: When you move so far across the court that it’s easier to swap positions, saying “switch” lets your partner know to move over and cover your side while you stay on theirs.

These quick, clear keywords simplify communication and help you and your partner stay on the same page. You’ll notice your teamwork become so much better when you communicate well.

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Tip #3: Advanced Hand Signals

Most of you probably know the basic hand signals you can use with your partner as the returning team: the switch signal (open hand), which tells your partner to switch sides of the court, the stay signal (closed fist), which tells them to stay on their side, and the fake signal (talking motion of your hand), which means you and your partner are going to fake switching sides.

But, there are two advanced signals you might not be using. After you give the switch, stay, or fake signal to your partner, try out these two additional signals:

Closed fist with pinky out: Directs your partner to return the ball to the opponent that’s on the side of the court the pinky is pointing to.

Closed fist with thumb out: Tells your partner to return to the opponent on the side that the thumb is pointing to.

Using these signals adds another layer of strategy at the beginning of a point. You can set up the opening of the rally in a way that works best for you and your partner, so that you can take control of the game right out of the gate

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