To improve from a beginner to advanced level player in pickleball you need to understand the fundamental strategies that are going to help you play efficiently and effectively. Barrett and Danea Bass will take you through an entire pickleball point and give you the top secret strategies to take you from beginner to advanced pickleball player.
Tip #1: Strategy behind your pickleball serve: Depth & placement
Depth and placement are the two most important strategies to improve your pickleball serve.
Pickleball serve depth
Depth is the most important thing to think about when you're serving in pickleball, and is created through a combination of both speed and height. When the ball is crossing over the net, you want there to be some height so that as the ball gets deeper. It will also cause a bounce that will be more difficult to handle than if the ball is nice and flat on that trajectory.
You will want to aim with some margin over the net and let that ball be dipping as it nears the baseline.
Pickleball serve placement
A great rule of thumb for serving is to serve to your opponent's non-paddle side. When you do that, they have to decide “do I hit a backhand?” or “do I run around this ball and hit a forehand?”
Tip #2: Strategy for your pickleball return
Similar to the serve, it's really vital to hit the return of serve as deep as possible because it makes the serving team have a harder third shot — whether they drive it or drop it.
If the ball lands deep in the court, it will be hard for them to handle and to get up to the kitchen line. It's important to keep in mind that when you hit the return, you should then run into the kitchen line immediately. As the returning team, your biggest advantage is that you have time to get to the kitchen line before the other team — so always think “return and run forward.”
Tip #3: How to consistently get to the pickleball kitchen
Another strategy that separates beginners from advanced players has to do with consistently getting to the kitchen line. To consistently get to the kitchen line, you want to make sure you're choosing whether to drive the ball or drop the ball properly, and when and how to advance forward through the transition zone.
During the third shot, many beginner players only hit a drop shot or they only hit a drive, because they don't understand the purpose behind these shots.
For example:
- You get a deep return and it's a difficult ball to drop.
- Higher level players will probably hit a drive at 60 percent, not with the intention of hitting a winner, but to set up their next shot.
- That ball is going to stay low and dip over the net, and your opponents are going to block the ball.
- The ball's probably going to end up somewhere in the transition zone.
- Now you have a much easier ball to drop and make your way forward.
So if you're getting a return that's already taking you into the transition zone, think about dropping it. If you're getting a return that doesn't have much spin or action on it, go ahead and drop it. But if you have a lot going on with that return and it's a really aggressive return, try a nice 60 percent drive, keep it low, let them respond, come up and drop that ball, and work your way into the kitchen.
If you can do that, you'll get to the kitchen much more consistently like advanced players do.
Bonus tip
One extra tip to keep in mind: We say “don't flirt with the net, respect the net.” That means: do not hit the ball into the net because that's the worst shot in pickleball. Give yourself margin, and if you leave the ball up you can always hit another shot.
Tip #4: Shots to keep the serving team back
If you're the returning team and the serving team is making their way to the kitchen, it's important to give them the most difficult time on their way up.
A great spot for you to aim the ball is at the service team's feet, because they have the indecision of whether to let the ball bounce or take it out of the air.
Another great strategy is to try to get them off balance, meaning hitting certain angles on the court. A ball you should be attacking is any ball that you can reach above net level. Attack it by hitting down on it and keeping your opponents back.
However, there is a reality that you have to respect a good shot when they hit it, so if they hit a shot that dips below the net, you have to hit up on it — and that's okay. Go ahead and hit up on that ball, even if that means letting them in because if you attack that ball you're going to hit an unforced error by hitting it in the net or hitting it out.
Tip #5: Pickleball dinking strategy
An important difference between beginner and advanced players is their dinking strategy. Here are some strategies to consider:
- Make sure you're moving the ball around, because when you change up the location it adds pressure and makes your opponents uncomfortable. If you’re hitting to the same spot over and over again, then your opponent will become pretty comfortable — and the point of dinking is to make your opponent uncomfortable, to force them into a mistake.
- Most players prefer their forehand over their backhand, so you should be targeting their backhand as much as you can.
- During a dink rally, you will occasionally want to take some balls out of the air. Getting pushed back off the line isn't necessarily a bad thing, because stepping back can be advantageous for attacking — but whenever you're stepping back off the line you're getting out of position. When you're taking balls out of the air, you're taking time away from your opponents and you're staying up at the line in a pressurized location that will then allow you to attack the ball out of the air.
Tip #6: Strategy at the kitchen line with your partner
Having a strategy at the kitchen line with your partner is important to create both a good defense and a good offense on the pickleball court. Many beginner players will play pickleball like it's 50/50 — with you taking one side and your partner taking the other side.
Think of playing the pickleball court like it's both of your jobs: imagine that there is a six-foot rope between you and your partner at all times. Sometimes you will play on your partner’s side and sometimes your partner will play on your side.
The way to determine where you should be is where the ball bounces. For instance:
- If the ball goes to your sideline, your partner is going to hug the middle and help defend those shots.
- If the ball goes to the middle, both you and your partner should be on your respective sides, getting the ball.
- If the ball goes to your partner’s sideline, you should squeeze the middle and make sure that you’re supporting them in the middle roll.
Tip #7: Determining which shots to attack (red, yellow, and green light zones)
While you can win points by only dinking, it's important to know which balls to attack because that's the another way you're going to win points. When you're at the kitchen line, you can think of traffic light zones as red, yellow, and green:
Red light zone
You probably don't want to attack this. This could be anywhere from the mid-thigh to knee down — it's hard to attack a ball from down here.
Yellow light zone
The yellow light zone will be from your mid-thigh up to your chest level. This ball is going to be okay, you can attack this ball, but proceed with caution. You can't hit this ball quite as hard, you may have to utilize a little more spin.
Green light zone
Anything from your chest level or above is your green light zone. In this zone, you can really unleash your power on the ball and attack it. When you’re dinking at the kitchen line, if you get a ball that's a little higher, it’s easier to apply pressure and attack the ball out of the air.
There's also a way you can attack off the bounce: If you're choosing the right ball to attack when you're dinking off the bounce, that's going to be a ball that sits up a little bit higher and doesn't have as much spin on it. But, if the ball is shallow, even if it bounces high, it's difficult to attack. The deeper the ball gets, the more you can attack it (because you have more room to work with).
Tip #8: Using the pickleball lob as a strategy
It's important to think outside of the box when it comes to the pickleball attack. Many beginner players think the only way to attack the ball is to speed it up at the kitchen line, but that's not always true. A creative way to cause some chaos on the other side of the court is to do something like lob your opponents. This can be as simple as being in a dinking battle and then throwing up a lob — now your opponents have to go all the way back to the baseline or transition zone and work their way up again.
Don't be married to “I only can speed up to attack the ball” — make it your goal to make the other team uncomfortable and get them out of position.