Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Are you ready to start smashing tennis-style serve aces like Roger Federer or Pete Sampras? Well, you're going to have to save those overhand serves for your dreams because it's April Fools' Day, and that was a joke. 😄 But, today we will talk about the best coaching advice out there, the recent DUPR reset, pickleball courts inside cathedrals, and much more.

Let’s do this! 👇

As we all know, there is a lot that goes into being good at pickleball. It's very precise, quick, and cerebral, which means that a step in the wrong direction or a bad shot selection can lead to losing the point.

And that's not even addressing the physical part, where a slight flaw in technique will lead to consistently poor shots. As a result, people are going to have advice.

So we decided to ask all of you via our Facebook and Instagram communities, "What's the Best Pickleball Coaching Advice You've Gotten?" Here's what you had to say...

One person wrote, "The 3 L’s: Loose grip, Light on your feet, stay Low." Ooh, we like that a lot! (Buddy, don't just put that out there—you've got to charge for that advice.)

Another player wrote, "Always assume that every ball is coming back!" That's another piece of good advice because if you're not ready, then you'll be too late if and when the ball does come back.

We got the classic "Down The Middle solves The Riddle," which rhymes so it has to be good. 😉 But yes, hitting in the middle is often effective because it’s the lowest part of the net, it can cause confusion between your opponents, and it reduces the angles they can hit.

Someone wrote, "On the serve, always remember bounce, bounce, pounce." This is a great tip for beginners who might get confused on when to come up to the kitchen line.  

Then we got this one: "Hit it over the net between the lines." 😀 Hey, if you can do that on each point, you will win every single match you play! 

A ton of you wrote versions of "have fun," which is right on! And one person wrote, "Stop thinking u r better than u actually r." Wow, that sounds personal. Whoever that is, stop thinking you’re so good! 😄

Finally, one player gave this advice (that we completely disagree with!): "Take 2 weeks off. Then quit." 😂

Defend Speedups Above the Net

If your opponent is about to hit a speedup off the bounce, keep your paddle above net level. There’s no need to drop it below the net—since they have to lift the ball to generate speed, almost all speedups come from below net height. Keeping your paddle too low means you’re defending an area the ball won’t reach.

Which is better? The retrieval or the reaction at the end of the point? 😀

If you want to get better at pickleball, you definitely want to train and play as much as you can. But right up there with training is watching how the game is played and getting tips and strategies from top pros and coaches. Welcome to our YouTube channel, where we provide the highest-level coaching, highlights, interviews, and more. Check it out and subscribe here!

Welcome back to a new section where we will answer a commonly asked pickleball question. If you would like us to answer one of your questions, simply respond to this email and ask away!

Question: If I hit a ball that hits the net and then rolls over such that I win the point, am I supposed to apologize?

Answer: There are two schools of thought on this, and both sides feel pretty strongly about their position.

Option 1: Apologize with a gentle wave or audible “sorry.” This is a custom borrowed from tennis, using the rationale that it was clearly unintentional and therefore, while you are accepting the point, you are doing so while also acknowledging that it was complete luck.

Option 2: No apology. This is a very matter-of-fact approach that simply treats it as part of the game. You didn’t do anything wrong, so what is there to apologize for?

So it’s totally up to you which one you go with, and it’s probably more of a personality thing more than anything.

If you've played pickleball for a few weeks or months, you will have probably been asked "What's your DUPR?"

That question means what is your official rating? Or in other words, how good are you? There are other rating systems or unofficial ratings given by coaches, but the most official one by far is DUPR.

As you might imagine, this can be an important number for people because it affects the level of opponents they can play against, what level leagues or clinics they can join, and of course, their ego.

Like so many digital properties these days, DUPR uses an algorithm, and it is generally thought to be quite accurate.

However, there have been cases where for whatever reason, a person's DUPR rating is a full point or more away from what it should be.

Most likely because of these cases, the company decided to offer a "DUPR reset," where players will get the opportunity to reset their DUPR rating between the dates of March 16 and May 17, 2026. (So there's still plenty of time!)

Here's how it works: during that period, you have to play a minimum of 8 matches with 2 different partners for doubles, or 8 matches against 2 different opponents for singles.

The matches cannot be self-reported, but rather reported through club play or any league or tournament that reports matches to DUPR. 

If by May 17, your DUPR rating is higher than what it was before, then you get to keep that rating as your new official rating. But if it's lower, then you can simply keep your old rating. 

So there isn't any risk in trying it. However, there is a fee of $34.99 to participate in the DUPR Reset.

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I'm placing a trade on Arizona to cut down the nets. Their balance on both ends of the floor has been unmatched all tournament. But the beauty of Kalshi is you don't have to agree with me — you just have to have a take.

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Either that, or it will drive you crazy. 😄

If any of you have ever played golf, you may have heard the expression, "drive for show, putt for dough," which means that hitting the ball really far may look cool and flashy, but if you really want to be good, you've got to master the less glamorous shots, like putting. Well, same thing goes for pickleball. We've got fun and flashy shots too, like flicks, Ernes, and ATPs. However, something less glamorous, but way more important is... footwork. Here's coach Matt with an excellent footwork drill. 👇

Investors in Quebec have taken unused churches and converted them into beautiful pickleball facilities, like the one below in Chambly, Quebec. The company is very cleverly named... Amen Pickleball. "I'm not a believer at all," said Jean-Martin Bisson, a co-founder of Amen Pickleball. "But I always found the churches so important in the community, for the decorum or for what it meant to a lot of generations." The Amen Pickleball developers hope to transform many more unused churches into pickleball facilities, like 10 more in Quebec over the next 5 years.

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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