Pickleball Tactics: What I Learnt From Playing Against The Number One Ranked Player
He was everywhere! In the right place at the right time. Point after point, I found myself scrambling for every ball with not much time to think. Feeling helpless and out of breath, it was here I learnt that pickleball has so many more aspects than I first thought. It is not just a game of agility and technique but an art form of sound tactics when playing at a competitive level. Here I will be sharing my thoughts on pickleball tactics after experiencing a butt-whooping delivered by the Singapore number one male pickleball player, Richie Ong.
The Life Changing Pickle Experience
Being a part of Play! Pickle I have been lucky to meet many players from all walks of life. I came across Richie, ranked number one in Singapore, in a pickleball match challenge which involved $100 at stake. It was the ranked pickleballer vs me (mostly a tennis player). I believed my youth and agility would give me a chance to put up a good fight and perhaps even snatch a surprise victory, but in the end superior tactics and execution from Richie was too overwhelming. I lost the match, only obtaining 7 points from the pickleball master. From this brief encounter I had learnt enormously on the importance of solid pickleball tactics.
Tactics To Deploy For Pickle Victory
We need to emphasise the advantage gained from getting to the non-volley zone line and finishing off the point with volleys. We can’t rely purely on our foot speed and brute strength, but instead, we should incorporate tactics to win points in the most efficient manner. I was not able to win many points by grinding at the baseline; my chances of winning instantly increased when getting near the net to execute volleys and dinks. So our focus should be on moving forward.
The Pickle Tactics Execution
Now that we have the tactics and mindset to move forward to the net as soon as possible, we need to be able to execute our volleys and dinks more effectively than our opponent in order to claim victory! This will come with many hours of dedicated practice, training your dinks and your volleys as well as your forward movement to get to the non-volley zone line quickly.
To conclude, when it comes to competitive tactics in pickleball, our focus must be on moving forward and winning points with dinks and volleys. If you want to know more about these specific strokes and techniques do check out our other articles.
