25 Pickleball Tips to Improve Your Game

It is no surprise that pickleball, at first sight, may be a bit difficult to some. We believe that anyone can learn how to really get the hang of the sport. There are so many pickleball tips we can tell you about in great detail to help you improve. Becoming a great pickleball player means more than just practicing all your shots, as there are little habits that you can use on and off the ball to truly become an excellent player.

Here are our 25 pickleball tips for you to improve your pickleball game.

Move in Sync With Your Teammate

To help minimize this risk of leaving too much space unprotected, always keep a constant distance away from your teammate while also moving and stopping in whichever direction they shift. For example, if your teammate decides to move exactly six steps up the court, walk exactly six steps as well as they are doing this.

To truly immerse yourself in the habit of walking in sync with your teammate, practice it before games by walking and then running to areas such as the net and kitchen and back to the baseline repeatedly. The pattern caused by continually doing this exercise will help you be more alert in getting the ball.

Maintain Communication With Your Teammate

Teamwork is always important when playing pickleball, and therefore you must keep communicating with your teammate to avoid confusion that can lead to errors. Be sure to communicate both verbally and through gestures, especially when deciding who takes a shot, whether the ball is in or out of play for your teammate, and other key moments.

When Dinking, Try to Do so With a Volley

Dinking the ball is essential to the gameplay of pickleball.  Therefore, when you are receiving the ball and intend to dink it to your opponent, always hit the ball before it bounces inside the kitchen.

Repeating this technique is helpful because you will give your opponents less time to prepare a shot. Keeping your gameplay at a consistent rate will save you time from having to think about how to dink the ball and take away time from your opponent to prepare for their next move.

To see an example, click here.

Dink a Bouncing Ball as it Goes Up.

There will come a time where it will be impossible to dink a ball before it bounces. Should you find yourself in this situation, you should follow these two steps:

1. Take as close a step near the bouncing ball as possible.
2. After the ball bounces, be sure to take the dink as the ball remains in its ascending motion.

By following this step, you can easily set a faster pace for the game while also giving your opponent less time to prepare for their next shot.

To see an example of how to dink the ball in an upward motion, click here.

Move Your Dink Around

Dinking the ball is more than just a basic shot in the game of pickleball. You can strategically use it to your advantage by dinking the ball in different directions as the game goes on. By dinking the ball towards multiple directions, you can increase your chances of one of the following things:

• The opponent hits a pop up shot, giving you an easy chance to score on your opponent.
• The opponent is less prepared to hit a powerful shot.

While Serving, Use Your Entire Body Strength

When you find yourself serving the ball, use your entire body, including your arms, legs, and core, to do so. By serving in this method, you can effectively maximize your potential at serving the ball properly, especially when you learn different kinds of serves.

Notice how in this video, the man slightly moves his legs and upper body while serving. He does not use his full strength but instead uses his upper body and legs to support his strength in the serve to ensure that the ball crosses over the net.

Be Sure That You are Serving in a Loose and Smooth Motion

Instead of serving the ball while holding the racquet tightly and swinging fastly, you should instead try to hold the racquet loosely and swing smoothly. This provides a more consistent and reliable serving technique.

To learn more on how to perfect serving in a loose and smooth motion, click here.

Notice the minimal amount of tension the instructor has as he holds the racquet, as he purposefully does not have a strong grip on the racquet.

Practice Your Stances While Serving

While it may initially seem ideal to serve the ball in an open stance, which is a stance where you are facing the net, you should also practice a closed stance or a semi-open stance. A closed stance is when your shoulders are facing parallel to the net, while a semi-open stance is when you are positioned between the open and closed stance, essentially facing the court at a diagonal point of view.

Use The Serve To Your Absolute Advantage

Though you cannot score on a serve, you can still use it to your advantage. If your playing style is very fast-paced and you wish to start on your offensive game immediately, then serve the ball in the deeper end of your opponent’s half. By doing this, you can immediately put your opponent under pressure, increasing the chance of them committing an error.

Be Aware of Your Stance While Playing the Game As Well

At any moment during a pickleball game, you must be ready for a sudden change in pace, as an attack can come up at any time after a serve. To help keep yourself always prepared for the game to intensify, we recommend that no matter which direction you face or where you are on the court, that you are doing the following at all times:

• Hold your paddle out in a parallel direction to your body with your hand pointing towards the left.
• Always bend your knees but keep your back straight at the same time.

This video shows how to properly stand in position depending on the shot you are about to take during gameplay compared to when you serve the ball. Notice how the footwork and the body language changes once the game is in full swing.

Drop The Ball While Serving, Not Throw

Another way to serve the ball effectively and consistently is to drop the ball, instead of throwing it up in the air. Throwing the ball up and then serving the ball can easily lead to inconsistent serving, as your serve may be either too strong or too weak. Be sure to drop the ball at waist level right before you perform your serve.