If so, you might be falling victim to five common mistakes that help you lose pickleball games instead of win them.
Charging in after your third puts you in a vulnerable spot for your fifth. Too often players are caught on the move and make a mistake on their fifth.
A controlled, balanced approach toward the kitchen is the only way to survive at higher levels. You need to get comfortable moving through the transition zone. Split step and be prepared for whatever shot is coming your way.
The speed of your serve return determines how much time you have to reach the kitchen line. It might be worth taking pace off of your return to ensure you reach the line in time to hit a strong fourth shot.
Your opponents don't have to hit a particularly good third ball if you're nowhere near the line, if making your opponent's third ball more difficult comes at the cost of your chance to play a great fourth ball, then the trade-off probably isn't worth it.
An attempt to add spin in such a tight space can leave you in a world of hurt. Too often the ball travels a little too far when slicing a dink down the line. The result? An easy putaway for your opponent.
Save the slice dink for the cross-court exchange where there is more space to work with and more room for error. If you want to dink straight-ahead, use a flat dink.
The attack is all about removing time for your opponent to react. When you attack cross-court you give your opponent more time to react than with an attack straight ahead.
To make things worse, your partner is the one who pays for your mistake. An errant cross-court attack will likely be countered straight ahead putting your partner in harm’s way.
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