Your Opponents Will HATE This Defensive Strategy

Welcome to The Pickleball Clinic Coaching Newsletter!

Playing defense in pickleball can be tough.

Whether you’re getting slammed by your opponents after you have popped the ball up, or trying to hit a third shot off a monster return, being able to play effective defense is an integral part of the game.

Today, we’re going to break down a key defensive strategy that will help get you out of trouble, even when you miss your target and hit the ball too high.

Let’s dive in 👇

When we think about defending against our opponents’ attacks, we usually think about resetting the ball into the kitchen. Being able to put the ball into the kitchen when under pressure is important. A hallmark of the best players is their ability to put the ball in the kitchen no matter where they are on the court.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way. It’s really difficult to put the ball in the kitchen every single time when you’re being attacked, even for the pros!

So when you’re on defense, you should add another strategy to give you and your partner the best shot at getting out of trouble if your reset goes too high: hitting the ball to the middle of the court.

The middle is your best target for defense for four reasons. Two of the reasons are geometric, meaning that the middle is higher percentage, and two are strategic meaning they give you a particular advantage over your opponent.

Geometric Reasons

1. The net is lowest in the middle. The pickleball net is 36 inches high on the ends and 34 inches high in the middle. I know what you’re thinking: it’s only two inches lower, how much of a difference can it really make? Think about how many times your shot has hit the net cord and dribbled back over onto your side, causing you to lose the point. That’s the difference of two inches.

2. Compared to down the line, the kitchen is longer. A straight line from your baseline to your opponent’s kitchen line is 29 feet. Basic geometry tells us that if we make that line a diagonal, it will be longer. Hitting the ball towards the middle of the court instead of down the line will give you an additional foot or two to hit, which makes a huge difference in whether or not your opponent will be able to hit an effective attack.

Strategic Reasons

1. Your opponents have less angles in the middle. It’s difficult to angle the ball off the court when you’re hitting it from the middle. If your opponents want to hit it hard, the ball will most likely stay within the sidelines, making it easier for you and your partner to defend the next one because you won’t have to move as far. If you pop the ball up on the end of the court, your opponent can easily hit it hard and angle it off to the side, making it extremely hard to cover.

2. The middle causes confusion, especially among opponents who don’t play together often. Ah, the age old debate of “who covers the middle?” Use it to your advantage! Even a second of hesitation on a middle ball is enough to make a difference!

All of those reasons combined means that defense gets a LOT easier when you reset to the middle. It won’t work every time, but it will give you a higher success rate of getting back to neutral when you’re in trouble.

See you on the courts!

- Matt Slowinski (Co-Founder, Pro Player & Coach)

Ready for a defensive masterclass? Pay attention to the resets that the far team hits in this clip. 👇

Notice how all of the resets went back to the middle of the court, so all the opposing team could do was hit the ball hard back through the middle. You’ll also notice that there was an attempt to angle the ball off the court from a middle reset, but to hit the angle and keep the ball in the player had to hit it very softly, giving the opponents time to approach the kitchen.

The Ones You Want to Keep

Your eyes are really important. They may be small, but you need them to see and therefore move, let alone play a sport. So it might just be a good idea to protect them. 👀

It actually reminds us of the story about a guy who asks his dentist if he really needs to brush his teeth. And the dentist answers, "No. You only need to brush the ones you want to keep." So along those lines, only protect the eyes you want to keep. 😀 Assuming you want to keep both of your eyes, we highly recommend BLUE CUT's protective glasses.

With a durable elastic frame, clear or prescription lenses, and an anti-fog coating spray, it's really a no-brainer. Plus, if you visit the BLUE CUT site, they’ll send you a code to take 20% off.

Insights from Pickleball Pro, Coach, and Creator Tanner Tomassi

Hitting to the middle of the court is a great option if you’re on defense.

There are three main benefits to going through the middle:

1. It gives your opponent less angles to work with.

2. The net is lower by two inches.

3. It causes confusion for the opponent because there’s two people who could take the shot.

See you all for my next bulletin!

For more from Tanner, follow @tanner.pickleball on Instagram & YouTube!

The better your skills, the more likely you’ll be able to perfectly execute your strategy! So if you really want to get your defense down, you have to practice! Here’s a must-do drill that will help you master the soft game from all areas of the court.👇

The Accordion Drill

Grab a partner and both set up at the kitchen across from each other. One of you will be staying at the kitchen line, and the other will be moving back and forth. Start by hitting a dink. The player who is moving should take one small step backward towards the baseline every time they get the ball to bounce in the kitchen.

Eventually, you’ll make it back to the baseline. Once you make it all the way back, take a step forward with a shot that bounces in the kitchen and work your way back up to the kitchen. Your goal should be to make it all the way to the baseline and back up to the kitchen without missing.

This drill is effective because it forces you to hit drops and resets from varying depths throughout the court!

Well, that’s a wrap… so let’s recap what we learned this week about speedups.

• Prioritize placement over power

• Most players are weak when they stretch for a backhand or are jammed with a forehand to their dominant shoulder

• Utilize a minimal backswing to disguise the speedup

• Patience is key when looking for a ball to speed up… Don’t rush it!

Thanks for reading! We hope you can put these tips to good use the next time you’re out on the courts!

Reply to this email with anything you want to see in our future newsletters 😄 

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic