A Must Know Strategy For Tournaments

Author

Shea Underwood
April 12, 2024

WEEK 6

Welcome back to the Road to Pro!

Each week, I’ll be sharing one tip, one drill, and answering one question. BUT, that’s not all! The question I answer each week will be chosen from questions that YOU submit. The person whose question is chosen will receive a FREE gift from me. Dominic, who provided last week’s question, won a pair of pickleball shoes of his choice!

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

(There is no limit to how many questions you can submit!)

Tip of the Week

Take the bad side first.

I recently travelled to Minnesota where I trained with a professional player named Sammy Lee. He has more experience than I do, so I sought his advice on tournament strategies.

One question I had was about choosing sides of a court in a tournament. If given the option, is it better to choose the good side or the bad side of the court to start the game? Sammy explained that he prefers to start on the bad side so that he can finish the game on the good side. Here’s his reasoning:

Imagine playing a game to 15 points where you switch sides at 8 points. Worst case scenario, you’re down 0-8 halfway through the game. However, if you switch to the better side of the court, you now have better conditions to take control of your game and win 15 points from the good side. Best case scenario, you are the one to reach 8 points first and then switch to the better side of the court. Your court conditions are now even better to continue winning more points and end the game. Either way, finishing on the better side of the court offers a strategic advantage.

Drill Highlight

Incentivize letting out balls go!

When practicing drills, it's often tempting to not let out balls go because there seems to be no incentive. A common excuse is, "I didn't want to go chase the ball." While this might save you a few steps during the drill, it also stops you from being able to recognize which balls are in or out, and it will prevent you from building the muscle memory to let the out balls go in a game. Here's a simple solution to add an incentive:

Whenever you're working on a drill that involves keeping score, introduce bonus points for letting out balls go. For example, if you're playing a basic skinny singles game, award a bonus point whenever someone refrains from hitting an out ball. This reward system provides an extra incentive to let the ball go, making players more attentive to spotting those situations!

Q&A Spotlight

This week’s question comes from Brent. Time to win a prize!

When playing doubles what is the best strategy to ensure each player knows who takes what shots e.g. middle, down the line, etc.

Answer: For balls that are hit to the middle of the court, you and your partner need to decide who takes the ball. There are three areas this will come into play: at the baseline, in the transition zone, or at the kitchen. Here are a few ways you can determine who takes the shot:

Beginner Level: Whoever has the forehand in the middle will always take the shot.

Intermediate Level: “Respect the X” → The player who is diagonally opposite from the opponent who hit the ball to the middle will take it.

Advanced Level: Here’s where it gets fun!

  • At the baseline, you should be communicating with a very clear and short phrase such as, “I got it” or, “You go'.“

  • In midcourt, the player who is farther back will have more time, so let them take it. If both players are side by side on the court, then defer to the player who puts their paddle out first.

  • At the kitchen line, there are two scenarios: If a middle ball is floating and the decision is who hits an aggressive roll or volley, then the player who has their paddle out first and communicates, “mine” should take the ball. If you’re defending a middle ball from a speedup, then it belongs to the partner who is diagonally opposite from the opponent who hit the ball, since the other partner is required to cover their side line.

It’s a very tricky and nuanced topic! The main reason middle balls cause trouble is because of body language that isn’t confident. If you confidently stretch your paddle out or position your body to take a shot, then you’re communicating a clear message to your partner that you need space to take the shot.

I spun the wheel to choose a prize for Brent for providing this week’s answered question. Check out the video below to see what he got!

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 prize!

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