Saturday, October 29, 2011

Pickleball Strategy: Playing singles


Last Thursday night I had a great time to shy away from the doubles scene for a few games of singles. Singles mentally challenges you to make sure your strokes are precise, and where you place a shot will put you in good place for a put away finishing shot. I've put together some tips for playing better singles.

  1. Serve from the center of the court, deep and in.  Some books and instructors say to serve within one foot of the back line.  NO – that is a low percentage shot.  Deep means within three feet of the back line.  That way, if you miss by a little, the ball will stay in.
  2. Try to hit to opponents backhand.  Hitting to the backhand whenever you can is a higher percentage shot, because 80 to 90 % of the time, people are stronger on their forehand side than their backhand.
  3. Return serve deep to corners and go only halfway up.  Going halfway up to the net means halfway between the back line and the 7 foot no volley line.  That way, in singles you can go left, right, up or back on the first ground stroke from the server.
  4. Take the net (7 foot line) when you can, but do a split step just before your opponent hits the ball.  For any shot after the service return, if you are not at the net, stopping with your feet at shoulder width will allow you to run down the next ball coming your way.
  5. When your opponent is at the net, hit a (1) passing shot, (2) lob, or (3) drop shot.  In order of highest percentage, when your opponent is at the net, the drop shot is best, the passing ground stroke is next, and in singles, the lob should be your last choice.

1 comment:

  1. thanks for the info. Today, I play my first singles tournament at SSIPA World Championships in Griffin GA. Rarely play singles so this information helped a lot.

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