Success in pickleball often comes down to intent and execution — specifically, knowing exactly where to target your shots to keep your opponents off balance. Here is a strategic breakdown of where to aim your shots on the court to gain an immediate competitive advantage.
1. The Serve: Target the Weakness
When serving against two right-handed opponents, your primary target should be their backhand.
- Divide the Boxes: Visually divide each service box in half and aim for the left side of the box from your perspective.
- Exploit the Backhand: Most players do not have as good of a backhand as they do a forehand. Hitting to this zone can pull your opponent off the court or force a tough decision between hitting a backhand or a forehand.
- Serve Execution: Beyond placement, ensure your serve is hit deep, has good pace, and kicks into your opponent.
2. The Return of Serve: Deep and Strategic
The golden rule for a return of serve is to target the back fourth of the court. This keeps the serving team pinned deep and makes their third shot significantly harder to hit. Once you hit the return, immediately run to the kitchen line to secure an offensive advantage.
- Managing Aggressive Opponents: If your opponents have excellent passing or angled shots, hit your return down the middle of the court. Hitting down the middle cuts off their angles and prevents them from hitting hard passing shots.
- The Stacking Strategy: If your team is stacking on the return, you need to buy yourself time to run diagonally to the opposite kitchen line. Instead of hitting a diagonal return — which gives the opponent a short shot right to where you are heading — hit your return straight down the line. This forces them to hit their longest possible shot from corner to corner, giving you maximum time to get set.
3. The Third Shot: Focus on Depth and the Middle
Whether you choose a third-shot drop or a third-shot drive, your primary objective is to get the ball to dip over the net. This forces your opponent to hit upward, allowing you to advance to the kitchen and play offensively. You do not need a perfect kitchen landing every time; a dipping ball is enough for success.
Pro Tip: Aim for the middle of the court rather than the angles. The net is lower in the middle, giving you a higher margin for error. It also confuses opponents on who should take the ball and strips away their return angles. Only go for sharp angles if you are prepped early or the ball sits high.
4. The Fourth Shot: Lock Them in the Back
The fourth shot is your response to the serving team trying to move up off their drop or drive. Your main goal is to keep the ball deep in the court.
- Aim for the Feet: Hitting directly at your opponent's feet is highly effective because it forces them to keep their paddle down and hit defensively upward.
- Avoid Empty Angles: Going for angles without hitting deep to their feet allows them to easily run up, get into position, and hit a better ball.
5. Dinking: Patience and Placement
Your choice of dink depends heavily on how balanced and prepped you are. Hit a defensive lift dink if you are off-balance, and be more aggressive if you are on-balance. When looking for targets:
- The Middle: Hitting a dead dink down the middle is incredibly frustrating for opponents because it eliminates aggressive angles and forces them to speed it up right back to your middle or risk hitting it out wide.
- The Backhand: Constantly look to find your opponent's backhand, as it is a tougher shot for most players.
- The Outside: You can change locations and attack the outside of the court if your opponent starts pinching toward the middle and you are prepped early. However, be ready for multiple return locations, as this opens up angles for them as well.
6. The Lob: An Offensive Weapon
A well-executed lob can be a phenomenal offensive shot that pushes opponents off the kitchen line and forces them to work their way back. Keep these positional strategies in mind against right-handed players:
- Avoid the Middle Forehand: If you are on the right side, do not lob down the middle, as it tees up a great forehand shot for the opponent directly in front of you.
- The Right-Side Strategy: From the right side of the court, aim for the backhand corner or hit a crosscourt lob to the opposite corner. A crosscourt lob offers a massive distance margin and forces the opponent to run a long distance to recover the ball. Target the back fourth or third of the court.
- The Left-Side Strategy: If you are playing on the left side, avoid lobbing to that side and instead aim straight over the opponent directly in front of you to dodge their forehand.
7. Attacking and Speeding Up the Ball
Where you should attack depends entirely on your position on the court and where the ball lands. Here is the strategic breakdown for handling attacks without using predictable routines:
Attacking from the Left Side (Forehand Side)
- Ball at your inside foot: Attack the middle with less pace to use as a "bait ball" to set up your next shot.
- Ball at your backhand: Attack down the line while keeping the ball low, or pull it across your opponent's body to force a last-minute reaction.
Attacking from the Right Side (Backhand Side):
- Ball at your inside foot: Avoid pulling an attack here because the angles will go out, making your straight attack highly predictable and easy to anticipate.
- Ball sitting in the corner area: This is the ideal spot to pull an attack because it allows you to go straight down the line, down the middle, or hit a sharp angle dink to keep opponents from anticipating your move.