How to Send Your Opponents to Pickleball Couples Therapy

We often offer advice on finding your opponent's individual weaknesses. For example, if someone has a poor backhand or if it's more advantageous to return to one person over another, then it makes sense to aim for those areas.

However, another element rarely discussed is finding a weakness in a team.

Common team weaknesses

Any time you find a weakness in a person, you can exploit it for points. Any time you find weaknesses in a team, you can exploit them for wins.

Here are some common weaknesses to find in your opponents.

No. 1 - They don't communicate

Communication is one of the easiest ways to improve your playing with your teammates, yet so many people don't bother to even try — especially in rec/open play.

If you notice that the two people you're playing against aren't talking, your path to victory is through the middle of the court.

You should hit every return, dink, and drive to the middle of the court – aim for the center line – and let them fight over it. You'll guarantee yourself some free points and likely the match.

No. 2 - They don't move together

Another common mistake teammates make, especially those who don't play together regularly, is not moving together. This applies vertically — where one player moves toward the NVZ line while the other stays back — and horizontally — leaving the middle or side wide open when one player is pulled out wide.

If you notice that your opponents aren't in sync, you should have plenty of open holes to hit winners.

To do this, focus on moving one opponent around (the better player of the two) to make the hole left by their teammate even larger.

No. 3 - One teammate takes every ball

If one player on the court has decided that it's their job to take every ball, then you should definitely take advantage of it.

Aim your drops, dinks, and even your drives at the other player – but just slightly. You want their teammate to jump in front of them and poach it.

1. They're likely to overextend themselves and make mistakes
2. They'll also upset their partner, which could lead to even more points

Of course, occasionally, you'll want to aim a shot behind that aggressive player – just to keep them honest and force them into even more mistakes.

How to prevent weakness in your team

You must do your part to ensure that your team doesn't fall into these traps. Here are some ways to never be THAT team.

No. 1 - Be a constant over-communicator

Saying simple things like "Mine," "Yours," "Go," or "Watch" can keep your team from fighting over middle balls and giving away free points.

No. 2 - Pretend you're tied to your partner

To help you and your partner move better, pretend you're tied together by a rubber band. Don't let it get too taut or too loose.

No. 3 - Be mindful of your poaching ability

Poaching can absolutely be a solid strategy worth deploying on particular shots. Poaching every ball and making your partner feel like they would've gotten a better workout at home on the couch is not such a great strategy.

Always be mindful of the amount of poaching you're doing; if you find yourself doing too much, stop. Even if you're the best player on the court, your aggressiveness will make your partner angry, and your opponents will easily take advantage of it.

Especially after they've read this little piece of advice.