How to Play
Grip, stance, serves, dinking, third-shot decisions, and advanced tactics.
- Dinking: the soft game that wins pickleball The dink is the slowest, softest shot in pickleball — and the one that wins more points than any other. Here's what it is, why it matters, and how to practice it.
- Grip and ready position: the foundation nobody teaches How to hold the paddle and how to stand between shots. These are the two habits every other skill in pickleball depends on, and almost nobody learns them deliberately.
- Stacking and switching in doubles Stacking lets doubles teams keep their stronger side on the forehand — a legal strategy that looks confusing but is actually pretty simple once you see it.
- The third shot drop: pickleball's most important shot What the third shot drop is, why every doubles team uses it, and how to learn the shot that determines whether your team gets to the Kitchen line.
- Returning serve: the most neglected shot in pickleball The return of serve sets up the whole rally, and most recreational players hit it wrong. Here's what a good return looks like, why depth beats power, and why you should follow it straight to the Kitchen.
- Volleys at the net: punches, blocks, and resets Once you're at the Kitchen line, most of your shots are volleys. Here are the three kinds you'll actually use, when to use each, and why the block volley is the most underrated shot in pickleball.
- The lob: when to hit one, when not to, and how to defend one The lob is pickleball's most loved and most hated shot. Here's when it actually works, when it's a gift to the other team, and how to handle one coming at you.
- Communicating with your partner in doubles Pickleball doubles runs on seven or eight short words that you'll say a hundred times per game. Here they are, what they mean, and why silent teams lose to talkative ones.
- Drilling vs. open play: why 30 minutes of drilling beats 3 hours of games Open play is fun, but it's the slowest way to improve at pickleball. Here's why drilling works faster, what drills are worth your time, and how to convince a friend to drill with you.
- Playing pickleball in the wind (and other outdoor adjustments) Wind changes every shot in pickleball. Here's how to read it, which side to pick, and how to adjust your serve, return, dink, and lob when the air is moving.
- The forehand drive: when power actually helps The forehand drive is pickleball's most satisfying shot to hit and the most frequently misused. Here's when a drive is the right call, how to hit one cleanly, and why soft shots still beat hard ones most of the time.
- The backhand: pickleball's most exposed weakness Your backhand is the side every opponent will aim at until you prove they shouldn't. Here's how to hit a backhand drive and a backhand dink without embarrassing yourself.
- The overhead smash: when to swing big and when to play safe When you get a lob, the overhead is the highest-percentage put-away in pickleball — if you hit it right. Here's how, when, and why so many rec players miss this shot.
- The ATP and the Erne: pickleball's two famous trick shots The Around-The-Post and the Erne are the most dramatic legal shots in pickleball. Here's what they are, when they're possible, and how to actually hit one (without looking silly on your first try).
- Spin in pickleball: topspin, slice, and when spin is wasted effort The plastic ball and short strokes of pickleball make spin harder to generate than in tennis — but not impossible. Here's what topspin and slice actually do, when they help, and when they're a distraction from better fundamentals.
- Poaching in doubles: when to cross the middle and take your partner's ball Poaching is when you cross into your partner's half to intercept a ball. Done well, it wins points and intimidates opponents. Done badly, it breaks your team. Here's when to do it and how to do it right.
- Singles pickleball: why it feels like a different sport Singles pickleball isn't just doubles with fewer players — it's a different game with different strategy, different positioning, and a completely different endurance demand. Here's what changes.
- How to beat bangers and pushers Two frustrating opponent types — the banger who hits everything hard and the pusher who lobs and dinks forever. Here's how to neutralize each.
- Shot selection: how good players decide what to hit Every ball in pickleball has a correct answer — drop, drive, dink, lob, or volley. The difference between a 3.0 and a 4.0 isn't shot-making, it's knowing which shot to hit.