For the optimal setup, it’s best to
be dinking cross-court. A slice on
your backhand dink is useful, as
it can force a slight pop-up from
your opponent. The other method
to get a good setup is to volley the
ball out of the air on a dink. This
has a few advantageous effects: it
takes away your opponents’ time,
making it more difficult for them
to hit quality dinks; it keeps you
low and leaning forward into the
kitchen, which is the ideal position
from which to hit the backhand roll;
and it also disguises your backhand
roll because your opponents see you
volleying dinks and don’t expect a
roll right at them.
2. THE EXECUTION
Once you’ve set up the shot, you
just need to execute the roll itself.
The most important part of this
shot, as you’ll hear me say about
almost every shot, is stay low! It can
be tempting to pull up or stand lazily
straight-legged, but if you want to
hit this shot, you must stay low to
the ground. The objective on the
backhand roll is to both brush up on
the ball for topspin and attack the
ball with power.
To do this, you need to start the
paddle from below your anticipated
contact point and swing upward.
The swing path from your starting
swing point to contact point should
be approximately a 40-degree angle,
but some variation is OK. Your
paddle face should not be tilted
upward. It should be close to 90
degrees, or even a slight downward
tilt is OK. Your swing path should
be what gets the ball up and over
the net, not an upward tilt of the
paddle. The combination of an
upward swing path with an even
paddle face generates topspin.
However, that alone is not going
to generate enough power for the
shot. To generate power, start your
swing with the portion of your arm
from elbow to wrist tucked in so
that it forms a 90-degree angle with
the portion of your arm from elbow
to shoulder. As you’re swinging,
you should extend your arm until it
reaches full extension right as you
make contact with the ball. This
motion creates that recognizable
“snap” that makes the ball shoot off
the paddle.
Many people ask about the
placement of this shot. My favorite
spot is at the right hip of the person
down the line from me. There are a
few reasons for this: the opponent
down the line has a difficult time
reading that I’m going to hit down
the line off a cross-court ball; he/
she has much less reaction time
than the opponent cross-court
does; and aiming at the right hip
jams righties—it’s difficult to hit a
forehand or backhand in that spot,
let alone with any authority. Of
course, for lefties, I’ll aim for the
left hip.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my tutorial
on the backhand roll. Now get
to it! •
Here is an example of the roll.
Notice how the position is almost
identical to the one where I was
reaching into the kitchen and dinking
the ball. This is the primary reason the
shot is difficult to read.
SOME DO-NOTS
OF THIS MOTION
Don’t pull up! Finish your swing
and follow through before coming
up from your low position at all.
A related do-not is when you’re
getting low, make sure you’re
bending your knees and not
just bending at the hips. Lastly,
don’t flick your wrist during the
swing. A lot of people have the
misconception that you generate
power from snapping your wrist on
this shot, but it will only make you
lose control over the ball. Keep that
wrist firmly locked in place!
Ben Johns is 21 years old and the
world’s #1 ranked player. He’s also
co-owner of Pickleball Getaways—
luxury pickleball vacations—and
a junior at the University of
Maryland.
JUNE/JULY 2020 | MAGAZINE 45