Oh, the Horror! Playing with a Pickleball Partner who won’t Move Up

We here at Murmurs from the Losers’ Bracket often find ourselves in an “open play” situation with strangers.

Unlike playing in the same foursome day in and day out, these rec play encounters with unfamiliar players provide a grab bag of experiences that run the gamut from fun to frustration. 

Who wins and who loses in these low-stakes games is often besides the point. What’s more important is that you have a good game, a game that is marked by long rallies and well-matched abilities.

We’re all looking for that epic, see-sawing 11-9 game, whether you and your partner are the ones with the 11 or not. 

There’s one sure way to kill that dream game – having a partner who won’t play up. 

Oh, no. If you find yourself with a partner who won’t move up, you’re doomed. There’s just no way to fix that. 

If the game gets rolling and during the first few rallies you are standing by the no-volley-zone line with a big empty spot across the court from you, you’re about to have one of those short-rally, lopsided open-play games.

The problem is that some inexperienced players who have avoided clinics, video tutorials or good advice from more experienced players, imagine that it’s best that they hang out at the baseline or on the back half of no-man’s land.

They don’t feel comfortable standing closer to the players on the other side of the net.

“I play here,” they’ll say, as if laying down the law. 

Asking them to move up would be like asking a vegan to try the brisket.

The reluctance to play up is often based on fear, but not always. It could just be a lack of appreciation for what they are giving up when they hang back. Either way, it’s bad news for you. 

“Come up, come up!” I’ll say to no avail in early-going of the game.

Or sometimes when I’m the player receiving the serve from the other team, I’ll announce to my partner, “Now, I’m going to return the serve and move up to the line with you.”

And then as I am returning the serve, I’ll call out, “I’m coming up to join you. Stay there.” 

But more often than not, the player will already be backpedaling from the starting position at the NVZ line by that time.

The other players across the net will quickly discover their advantage of having an opponent who won’t play up. It just makes it easier for them to move up, as they hit balls to the back player. 

And then it will be simple to exploit that big gap that exists between you and your partner for some easy winners.

You’ll become a spectator in your game, watching time and again every ball heading for your partner camped out on the baseline, or at his or her feet in the middle of the service area.

This can lead to a “coaching” situation on the court, and that’s never fun. Some people don’t like being coached on the court, and doing it during a game usually fosters resentment instead of understanding.

Yes, they’re violating a key tactical imperative of the game by failing to play up by the net. But they’ve got their reasons.

Maybe some banger traumatized them during a previous game, or they long for friendlier games where everybody just stands back and pops the ball up across the net.

In other words, maybe they’re playing at a lower level than the other players on the court, and have no desire to play differently.

So, after I make one or two gentle suggestions for this reluctant partner to move up, I give up.

I’ve tried to compensate with some wild poaching at the net, but that only ends up with your distant back-court partner telling you, “I could have had that” as your poached shot is returned to the hole you left on your side of the court.

Better to just accept your fate. There’s no sense in trying to teach someone who has no interest in being taught. Let it go. It’s just rec play.

Accept your fate. It’s time to lose 11-2, force a smile and participate in a fraudulent “good game” paddle tap. 

Then move on to another game with another partner, ever hopeful that it will be a partner, who like you, is always trying to play at the net.

MURMURS FROM THE LOSERS’ BRACKET

Read past editions of Murmurs from the Losers’ Bracket, including:

• Not a Softie When it Comes to Pickleball with a Foam Ball
• Do Pickleball Prayers Get Answered?
• Ten Tips for Being “Nice” at Pickleball
• Surviving Outdoor Summer Pickleball: Five Tips and One Solution
• Stuck in the OH, FUDGE Zone: Learning to Shake Off Pickleball Dysfunction
• Presidential Politics on the Pickleball Court a Foot-in-Mouth Fault
• Attention Pickleballers: Be On The Lookout For “Ball Blowers”
• Pre-school Pickleball? Finding a Place for Grandkids on the Court
• A Disgrunted Response to the Latest Pickleball Noise Complaint
• Pickleball Mania Hits Target Stores. What’s Next?
• Getting to the Bottom of the Pickleball Metamucil Ad
• The Etiquette Crisis with “Open Play”
• Pickleball Dreams: The Final Frontier of Pickleball Addiction
• Lob into the Sun? Maybe, Maybe Not
• Gathering Intel on your Pickleball Opponents
• Injured? No, I’m Not Injured
• Mastering the Diplomacy of Round-Robin Scheduling 
• Confessions of a Paddle Addict
• The Pilgrims and Pickleball – The Untold Story
• A Baby Boomer Lament
• The Golden Bachelor Courts Pickleball
• Is a Pickleball Escort a thing?!
• Losing with Style
• We Beat Go Fish!
• Taking the First Serve… or Not
• “Sorry” Seems to be the Easiest Word
• Top 10 Signs it’s too Hot to Play Pickleball Outside
• Coming In from the Heat
• The Ozempic Ad
• Ball On Court? Maybe Not
• The PPA, the APP and Monty Python
• Time to Get Help at Bangers Anonymous
• “It’s an Injury Sport”
• A Pickleball Translation Guide
• What’s Your Pickleball Nickname?
• Tennis the Menace
• Is There Such a Thing as “Pickleball Torture”?
• How to Be an Effective Pickleball Snob
• All You Need Is Glove
• The Lesson McDonald’s French Fries Have for Pickleball
• Tunes on the Court
• The Poetry of Empty Courts
• “Head Targeting” Rule Change Not a Brainy Idea
• Getting Beyond “Good Game”
• Why Are Pickleball Trophies Such a Big Deal?
• Stop Messing with the ATP
• When Discussions of Rules Turn Unruly
• A Former Pickleball Addict Speaks Out
• Separating the Drinkers from the Dinkers
• Turning Every Magazine into a Pickleball Magazine
• Zen and the Art of Pickleball Maintenance
• Spirited Pickleball Poetry
• Making Pickleball Less “Devastating” to Amateurs
• Finding Romance on the Pickleball Court: Top 10 Pickup Lines
• Sign of the Times: Pickleball License Plates
• Red Light, Green Light: Playing Traffic Cop on the Court
• The Pickler Limerick Challenge
• The Pickler Limerick Challenge Heats Up
• The Pickler Limerick Challenge Wraps Up
• Pickleball & the $100 Hamburger
• Before We Play, Partner, Please Sign This…
• Pickleball’s Most Powerful Spoken Word
• It’s Been a Hard Day’s Night for Pickleball Skeptics
• Be Kind to Your Local “Paddle Sheriff”
• Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Paddles?
• Silence Is… Not My Style
• “Going Ham” Over Pickleball’s Generational Divide
  

Frank Cerabino is a long-time columnist for the Palm Beach Post in Florida, a pickleball addict like the rest of us, and a newly published author. Check out Frank’s newly released book, I Dink, Therefore I Am: Coming to Grips with My Pickleball Addiction (available on Amazon and a great read (or gift!) for any pickleball player), for pickleball tips and laughs!