In the warm-up, hit him some forehands and some backhands. Does he prepare late on the backhand? Does he prefer to hit a certain shot? Give him some lobs. Does he have a preference as to where he hits the overhead? Can he move? Does he serve short? Size up your opponent. It is a skill.
Day 23: Drop Volleys
This day is for drop volleys. This may not be a highpercentage shot, but it does keep your opponent honest. If you have touch shots, your opponents cannot just hang back. Practice taking pace off the ball when you are at the net. Cushion the shot by absorbing some of the energy and drop the drive into their kitchen. This requires meeting the ball in front and watching the ball closely. Cushion the ball to take the pace off.
Day 24: Accuracy With Cones
The theme is cones today, for a combination of accuracy, consistency and depth. Good players now serve deep down the middle on the right side. Don’ t give the receiver an angle. Force them to hit a backhand return. Place a cone in the backhand corner of the forehand / deuce court. Placement is key to setting up the point.
Day 25: Getting Your Money’ s Worth Out of Cones
Keep the cones in your trunk. This time you are going to work on returning serve from the right court down the middle just to the left side of center, i. e., to the nonserving player. Let’ s say, in mixed doubles, the woman is serving from the right court. If you return to the man, it will keep him back for that first shot. Otherwise, he is on top of the net. You need to be able to place the serve and the return for your tactics.
Day 26: Warm-Ups
Build a warm-up routine. Today, you need to block 5 minutes for a warm-up that helps you get ready to play. Most people dink uselessly, and then are not ready to return serve. What do you need to complete your warm-up so that you are ready for the first point? Establish a routine. On this day, do blocks of 5-minute warm-up routines. Include a lob and an overhead.
Day 27: Five Alive
Today is Five Alive, to work on that transition shot. You play a dink game, and you count. After the fifth dink, the ball is live. This is a good time to practice lobbing off the short shot. Or, depending on what the opponent hits, you can practice volleying. It puts pressure on the guy who hits the fifth shot. You must think ahead. What you do on a dink controls your opponent.
Day 28: Repetition
Today is rhythm and repetition. Table tennis players do it. Tennis players do it. And good pickleball players do it. Hit crosscourts and down-the-lines. Back and forth. Work on timing, depth, consistency, smoothness, exaggerated follow-through, and your comfort zone. It is mesmerizing. Just establish your rhythm and pick up the pace.
Day 29: Breathing Correctly
Today is breathing right day. Exhale on the followthrough. No need to scare the players on the next court with loud grunts, but exhale in rhythm. Exhale on your volleys. Exhale on your overheads. Consciously exhale. Move forward into the ball.
Day 30: Playing in the Wind
Today turned out to be windy, so it is a perfect time to work on playing in the wind. That means pulling together some of the things you practiced, such as watching the ball closely, preparing early in case the ball deviates, getting down in the event the ball dies, going down the middle for safety, and keeping the ball on your paddle longer with an exaggerated follow-through. Practice into the wind, against the wind, and through crosswinds. View the wind as a challenge to make you a better player. •
Alice Tym was ranked 13th in the world for tennis in the‘ 60s. She’ s been named USPTA Coach of the Year and is a USPTA Master Professional. As a 4.5 pickleball player, she has won gold in Huntsman, NSGA Nationals, US Open, and USA Pickleball events around the country. Alice is an IPTPA member, SSIPA founding board member, Bainbridge Cup Originator and gold medalist in Spain, Italy, and Germany.
MARCH / APRIL 2026 | MAGAZINE 59