Beginner Tips To Improve Your Play

So, you discovered pickleball and now you’re hooked!  Welcome to the fandom!  As someone new to the game you’re probably looking for ways on how to improve your gameplay.  Here are some beginner tips to help you progress in the sport.

Learn the rules

• Knowing the rules help you build strategies that complements your skills
• You can choose tactics that capitalize on your strengths
• You can avoid faults and errors when you play

Beginning Tips in Serving

• It is best to go deep when serving.  This puts the receiving team in a defensive position.
• Try to place your shots when serving.  Serving to an opponent’s backhand is a good strategy since most people’s backhand is usually not as good as their forehand.
• Stay behind the line until the receiving team returns the ball. Move when you can see where the ball is going to land.  It is much easier to go forward than backward to hit the ball.

Beginning Tips in Receiving

• Always be in “ready position”: paddle up and on the balls of your feet.  Anticipate the play and be ready to move to the ball.
• As with serving, learn to place your shots when returning the ball.  A deep return puts the team that just served into a defensive position.

Beginning Tips At the Kitchen

• Get to the kitchen line ASAP! Teams that spend the most time at the kitchen line win most of the games.  Move up to the kitchen as soon as you can and avoid getting caught in the transition zone.  If you are receiving a serve, try to join your partner on the kitchen line as soon as you’ve returned the serve.  If you are on the serving team, use drop shots to fight your way to the kitchen line or if you’re confident of your lobs use them once in a while to surprise your opponents.
• Volley when you can once you’re at the kitchen line rather than taking a step back to take the ball on the bounce.
• Be patient and use slow shots to give you more time to get ready for the next shots.  Soft balls usually drop below the top of the net making them hard for your opponents to attack.

Beginning Tips During Gameplay

• Try to minimize hitting balls outside the sidelines by placing most of your shots toward the center of the court.  A well-placed middle shot could also confuse your opponents as to which of them should hit the ball.  If you’re on the receiving end, try and communicate with your partner as much as you can and call out who is going to return the ball when it is hit down the middle of the court.
• Get familiar with how your opponents play and make a note of their strengths and weaknesses.  At the same time, be familiar with your partner’s strengths and weaknesses as well as your own.  Use that knowledge to help you improve your game.

Work on skills off the court

• Do drills to help improve your hand eye coordination and reaction time such as hitting balls against the wall or tossing the ball and catching it with your paddle.
• Work on your fitness and do exercises to improve your endurance, agility, and quickness.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

And then practice some more. There’s no use reading about beginner tips if you don’t put it into practice. So, go out to the courts and play!

To summarize, pickleball is an exciting and fast-paced game that requires a lot of skill. To become the best at it you need to practice regularly both on and off the court. Whether it’s perfecting your drop shots or working on improving your hand-eye coordination, these beginner tips should help you in becoming a better player in no time! So grab your paddle and hit some balls today – with enough hard work, dedication, and practice anyone can be masterful at this sport!