Does
Spin
Matter?
T
he ongoing debate about the
importance of
spin in pickleball
continues. Taking
the bull by the horns—or
pickleball by the horns—we hired
a film crew to shoot high-speed
footage of top-level pickleball
players to let the facts speak for
themselves. Then we simulated
that average ball speed, RPMs, and
trajectory with a Pickleball Tutor Plus so
we could film ball after ball in order to show
consistent patterns that meet the rigors of
a scientific study. To share our research, we
produced a 15-episode video series for YouTube
called “The Science of Pickleball.”
In this column, I’d like to share the basics of
pickleball RPMs, compared to tennis, and discuss
some of the basics of spin.
First, we learned that both top men and women
can hit in the 1,400-1,500 Revolutions Per Minute
(RPM) range with topspin groundstrokes. While
this may sound like a high number, the effect on
ball flight is much less than tennis for two reasons.
First, tennis players of similar levels can hit
topspin groundstrokes with twice the RPMs, and
top professionals reach over 4,000 RPMs. Second,
tennis balls do not have holes in them! The effect of
1,500 RPMs of topspin in a “holey” pickleball is far
less than tennis, as the high pressure created above
the ball only minimally pushes the ball downward
as compared to tennis due to these holes.
Does topspin help keep the ball in play? Yes,
but just to a small extent. It’s also much more
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By Joe Dinoffer
challenging
to hit topspin
in pickleball as compared to tennis because
pickleballs are hard, do not compress on the
paddle, and the stringless hard paddle surface
makes the ball rebound twice as fast as a tennis
racquet. •
Joe Dinoffer is a master professional in the USPTA and PTR, has written nine books,
produced 22 DVDs, and has appeared on the Tennis Channel. His company, at
www.OnCourtOffCourt.com, manufactures training aids for pickleball and tennis, and is the
exclusive U.S. marketing partner for Pickleball Tutor Ball Machines. He brings that experience
and passion to his column for Pickleball Magazine.