I played pickleball yesterday and I had a few thoughts on the game as a result of my and my partner’s play. May of these are obvious but worth repeating.
Communication is the Fundamental: You and your partner need to figure out how to communicate on multiple types of shots like who will take a shot down the middle, when to switch sides and who covers lobs?
We start off with the basics that the person who has forehands takes most middle shots. This works well when people use the same paddle hand. But it falls apart when you have a left and a righty playing together when you both may have forehand up the middle. In these cases, you just need to call it.
I have found that when it comes to hitting lobs, most people revert to the side that the lob is on. So this means that if you are defending the right side of the court and it is lobbed to that side, you would be responsible for the lob. This does not always work since when you are running back for a lob, it is more difficult to track the ball if you running straight back as opposed to your partner running on an angle. I have suggested to my partners that we cross over and take the other person’s lobs since you can see it better. More times than not this has resulted in better returns.
Another area that communication helps in when you or your partner poach a shot and your momentum leaves a hole on your side. To avoid an easy winner from the other team, it pays for the not poacher to cross over and take the poacher’s side of the court. This only works if you and your partner communicate on who is taking what side.
Shot Placement: It is more important to focus on shot placement than at power. By placing a shot at your opponent’s feet is much more effective than trying to hit a body shot against them. A body shot can be hit back at you easier than digging one at their feet. And the return of a body shot will invariably be a fast shot back to you which may be difficult to return. As opposed to a return from one’s feet. In that instance, the ball will more likely than not be popped up for an easy kill.
Patience is Key: Nothing feels better than hitting a slam to hit a point. The challenge that you always have is what shot are you trying to hit the slam on. Power only works in certain circumstances. I have seen with bangers that when they try to return with overwhelming power in all instances, they can end up hitting it out or into the net more than they would like. The main focus in doubles is to keep the ball in play and await a mistake by your opponents. If they pop up the ball, then that is time for a kill shot rather than forcing it. By consistently moving your opponent and putting them off their game, it forces them to make difficult shots that lead to easier shots for you. A better placed ball will win in the end.