Having a deep knowledge of hitting fundamentals is a trait that the best pickleball players share, ultimately leading to superior on-court performances. They may not yield the exact same strokes but their range of familiarity with the various pickleball hitting techniques allows them to keep the rally going and score some serious points when it is badly needed.

In this article, we’ll talk about the gravity of a legit pickleball hit, the ways to prepare in launching one, and a few techniques to help pave your way to becoming the next Andre Agassi of this fresh, state-of-the-art game.

The Importance Of Proper Hitting Techniques

Unlike gymnastics or ice skating, style points will not get you far in pickleball. But, much like in other sports, you need to defend against and outscore your opponent to win which you can do by performing better, more accurate shots. Sure, the exceptional ones have their distinct strokes and methods but in pickleball, the appropriate form is of utmost importance.

In addition, proper pickleball hitting techniques will allow you to hit the ball faster, with more precision and less effort, already giving you the edge to outplay an opponent. And though an approach to die for does not instantly turn you into a pickleball hitting machine, you at least get to brag about how good your forehand looks.

How To Make Your Pickleball Shots A “Hit”

Being a formidable player may take more than just a few trips to a pickleball court. It is important for beginners to hone their basic strokes such as forehands, backhands, and dinks first before aiming to take their skills to a professional level. Here are a few tips for sending the pickleball back with authority.

Recognize Your Zone

To hit an excellent return, a player must establish himself in a proper position. Perform a split step by lifting your heels off the ground to allow more flexibility, getting yourself in the best stance to perform a return.

Get A Grip

There may be a few other ways to hold your paddle but the best and still the standard is done by first pretending to shake hands with it then wrapping your fingers firmly around the handle. Remember that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a death grip since you want your wrist to have the flexibility to execute the different strokes.

Swing Into Action

Because of the court’s proximity, swinging your paddle in pickleball requires discipline. Swing it too hard then you send a lightweight ball sailing past the baseline, swing it too little and you send it hurtling towards the net.

Amend Your Hit List

Bear in mind that as you make contact, you have to keep the paddle straight with its face pointing towards the net. Charge your shots by pushing your foot off the ground, rotating your upper body into the ball, and adding a slight downward action to get your opponent scrambling for the ball and scratching his head in amazement.

Follow-through

An exceptional follow-through is a crucial element that affects not just the pace and spin of the pickleball, but also its trajectory and direction. Superior athletes would attest to this as it has proven to result in accurate hits with laser-light precision.

To achieve top-notch pickleball hits, a good grip, the paddle’s position, your footwork, and even your contact point with the pickleball demand your absolute attention. Just like in any other sport, it is always best to learn the ropes first before coming out with guns blazing.

Pickleball Hitting Techniques

To be a competent player, one has to learn the fundamental pickleball hits. No doubt, trying out new shots can be quite exciting but having the basics as part of. your arsenal can turn you into a fearsome player in the long run.

Here are a few elementary and advanced strokes that you can unleash on your way to pickleball dominance:

The Drive

As the most basic among all the pickleball hits, you can juice up your groundstroke to give it a more lethal face. Drives are effective for players who have the upper body strength and are meant to be a strong, hard, and unstoppable tool to overcome opponents and win points.

The Cross-Court Dink

Dinks are soft hits that are aimed to land just beside the net on the opposing player’s side. A cross-court dink is one that is sent from one side of the court to the opposite side and is known to be one of the most potent pickleball shots. Regarded as a difficult hit to master, it requires a keen understanding of the court’s dimension but is highly-rewarding when grasped successfully.

The Backhand Punch

This shot is made by placing your paddle in the backhand position and pretending that you’re punching it back over the net, thus its name. It is a shot that is typically carried out at the net and is designed to turn a high dink by your opponent to a shot that is rushing towards them.

Centerline Ace

If you have built confidence around a powerful topspin serve then this right-off the-bat, or paddle, shot is for you. Your goal is to bring the ball careening towards the centerline with the most powerful topspin-induced serve as possible.

Around-The-Post

Regarded as one of the most advanced yet rarely seen shots, you can attempt to pull it off only when your opponent makes a powerful cross-court hit that bounces way out of the side of the court. Your athletic prowess will surely be tested as you will need to run alongside the ball and hit it lightly around the post. More like a shot that only the Harlem Globetrotters would perform, this move generates cheers whenever it is completed.

No matter your game level, it is always fun to experiment on the more advanced pickleball shots. They may open you to the risk of committing costly mistakes but when performed correctly, they can be highly devastating and effective.

Conclusion

The various hitting techniques can get confusing for a novice. But even seasoned players would agree that learning the fundamentals of the sport is an important step not only towards becoming a pickleball success but also in finding the right hits to fight back when you are backed in a tight pickleball spot.