RETREAT
Consider a couple of scenarios.
Situation 1: You are on the serving team, and you are hitting the third shot. Your partner has charged up to the kitchen as you hit your third shot. Let’ s say that your third shot is so-so. Not high enough to smash, but high enough for your opponent to hit a semi-drive. Where is your opponent going to hit the ball? Most likely he / she will drive it deep to keep you back. Smart play. Now let’ s say that your third ball is just lousy. The opponent will most likely smash it at your partner who has little time to react.
Situation 2: Both teams are at the kitchen in a dink rally. Your partner dinks cross-court to your opponent in front of you. The dink is too high and is attackable. Where is the most likely place for your opponent to hit the ball? Well, at you. Why? Because you are closer to him / her than your partner, and you have less time to react to the shot.
Link 3 has 11 amazing points from the recent Men’ s 19 + US Nationals final at Palm Creek, AZ. In those points, Gabrielsen /
Yates retreated four times after having attained position at the kitchen line while Moore / Staub retreated twice. Now, those six retreats in 11 points might not be representative of the match as a whole, but still, it is clearly different than what Dave Weinbach did at the US Open.
So what is the right way to play? The proponents of holding your ground seem to be very boisterous in their opinions while other top players who occasionally retreat don’ t seem to say much about the subject. It is clear that all top players try to maintain their spot at the kitchen when realistically possible and they feel that they are at a disadvantage when the position is lost.
Maybe it’ s like boxing. Roberto Duran and Mike Tyson almost never retreated; whereas, Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard retreated as much as they attacked. They are four of the top boxers of all time with very different styles. Pickleball is a young sport that continues to evolve, and retreating vs. holding your ground will remain an individual decision. •
“ It is clear that all top players try to maintain their spot at the kitchen when realistically possible and they feel that they are at a disadvantage when the position is lost.”
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 | MAGAZINE 31