INSTRUCTION By Morgan Evans
Match Questions—Return of Serve
What’s your prematch
routine?
Do you have one?
Before a match, I
like to ask myself three questions
to create some structure to my
strategy. This also helps to break
down the overall objective of
winning the match into smaller,
more manageable tasks that can be
easily measured.
First, who should we return
to? To answer this, you need an
understanding of the quality of each
of your opponents’ third ball—both
in drives and drops. If you don’t
know their games well, then watch
them during the warm-up. Look for these things:
• Are both players exclusively practicing drops? If so,
which player is least consistent?
• Which player’s footwork and balance is inferior?
These two things are great metrics for judging overall
effectiveness.
• If one or both players are practicing third shot
drives, which player has the weaker and/or more
inconsistent drive?
Whether it’s background knowledge or information
you’ve gathered from the warm-up or during the first
few points of the match, you’re essentially looking for
weaknesses and tendencies. If one player looks to be
exclusively driving the ball and your own team’s skill
set is well-suited to handle pace, then returning to the
driver is a great option. However, most players feel
more comfortable dealing with a third shot drop—if
that’s you, then try to return to the player with the
weakest drop.
Second, which player on their team would you like
to keep pinned back the longest? Typically, I’ll choose
the most dangerous player to keep back to avoid them
getting in early and poaching off their partner’s drop
or drive.
Finally, which player on your team would you like to
be receiving the third ball? If I’m playing with a person
of greater height, reach and power, then it’s worth trying
to get that person the ball as often as possible when our
opponents are hitting a third ball. Your “danger” player
will have a better chance of contacting the ball as a volley,
therefore halting his or her momentum.
To effectively do this could mean stacking so your
danger player is able to use his or her forehand in the
middle. More often than not, it means returning to the
player cross court from your danger player. Generally,
most players are much more comfortable hitting their
third shots cross court compared to down the line, so
following this rule of thumb is a great way to direct the
ball in your favor.
Take the time to think about this important match
question. It not only will help you exploit your
opponents’ weaknesses and play to your own strengths,
it will mentally give your team a strategic focal point.
Armed with this knowledge, you’ll have a great chance
to consistently force quick side-outs and start scoring
points. •
Morgan Evans is a Selkirk Pro and team coach. He is
also co-founder of coachmepickleball.com and head
pro at Palm Desert Resort. For more information, visit
coachmepickleball.com for a video on this topic.
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