If you want to advance your pickleball skills, the basics of the game will only get you so far. Learn how to take your pickleball game to the next level, including when to move away from the baseline after your return, the best way to hold your paddle, and why you shouldn’t be using your wrist to hit shots (and what to use instead). Here are five pickleball tips that you won’t learn in a beginner class, that you can work on during your next pickleball game or practice.
Tip #1: Get to the kitchen line (and stay there)
A lot of beginner pickleball players make the mistake of playing the majority of the game in the backcourt or transition zone. Your game will level up instantly when you learn that staying at the kitchen line is the best and most offensive play.
The kitchen line is the best place to play on the pickleball court and it will help you win more games.
Tip #2: Return & run
To get to the kitchen line, you will want to find the right time to move up. A good thing to remember is to “return and run.” In doubles, when you return a serve, you will want to use your momentum to return the ball, get to the net, and establish yourself at the kitchen line where you can create the most pressure that will help you win the most points in pickleball.
Tip #3: Don’t hit your shots with your wrist
One of the biggest mistakes beginners tend to make is being very “wristy” when they're dinking: meaning that they'll use their wrist to hit the ball. This causes a lot of unforced errors because you're relying on these tiny muscles to hit the ball over the net, which is difficult and ends up being really inconsistent.
Something that's going to level up all of your shots, especially your dinking, is keeping your wrist in a static position. Use your bigger muscles, like your shoulders, to get the ball over the net. Using these muscles will help you be a lot more consistent and reliable.
Tip #4: Take balls out of the air
Another tip that will help improve your pickleball game quickly is to learn to take more balls out of the air. When players are dinking, many will decide early on they're going to let every ball bounce and then they get pushed back.
While it can be advantageous to let balls bounce so you can create offense, sometimes it's more advantageous to take balls out of the air because it will allow you to take time away from your opponents. If you can learn to know when to take balls out of the air, you’ll have much more success long term.
Tip #5: Keep your paddle in the ready position
A simple adjustment that will transform your entire pickleball game is coming back to the ready position and eliminating a lot of extra movements.
Many beginner pickleball players will dink the ball and then their paddle will fall to their knees, like they're carrying a bag. This creates a lot of unnecessary movement, because you're constantly going: paddle down, paddle up, paddle down, paddle up. That's very inefficient.
You will want to think about creating efficiency on the court and eliminating extra movement, because that's going to keep things a lot more consistent. So instead of dropping your pickleball paddle down, focus on having your paddle up in the ready position as soon as you hit the ball. This will help you keep your chest facing forward and keep you more aggressive. You'll be able to be a lot more offensive, because you already have your paddle in that starting position.
If someone hits a speed-up or a high ball, keeping your paddle in the ready position will be a simple adjustment that will help win you points.
To watch these tips, including how to improve your skills with pickleball drills, watch the video above.