Why You Need to Earn the Right to Hit the Ball Hard in Pickleball

On a recent episode of the Jill Braverman podcast "This Pickleball Life," they interviewed Scott Crandall, a pickleball pro and instructor. It was a great episode with plenty of wisdom to be gleaned.

If you haven't watched or listened to it yet you should, because one of the nuggets of wisdom Scott shares is that "You must earn the right to hit the ball hard."

Without getting too in the weeds (you can watch it to get more insight into the meaning), let's discuss three ways you can earn the right to hit the ball hard in pickleball.

No. 1 - Force your opponent into a weak return

When your opponent returns the serve to the midcourt (instead of close to the baseline), and it bounces high, that's a green light to drive the ball (aka hit the ball hard).

You can get them to return serves like that by targeting their weaker side and moving them around the baseline.

For instance, let's say they position themselves to where their forehand side has the most room. You should aim your serve toward their backhand side and force them to either use their backhand or run around to hit it with their forehand.

If they position themselves in the corner of the baseline – preventing you from hitting a serve toward their backhand, then your focus should be on serving the ball as far away from their forehand as possible.

This forces them to sprint on their return – which can easily lead to a mishit, resulting in a weak return or sailing the ball out of bounds.

The worst spot to aim your serve is directly to where their forehand is sitting, because they don't have to move, and you hit the ball to their strongest side.

By aiming your serve instead of just focusing on "keeping it in," you can earn the right to hit the ball hard.

No. 2 - Add spin to your dinks

Another way to earn the right to hit the ball hard is to add spin to your shots, especially dinks. Adding either topspin or backspin to your dinks adds an extra layer of complexity they'll need to adjust for if they want to return the dink over the net.

Sometimes, they'll hit the ball back into the net (automatically winning you the rally), but you can also elicit a pop-up to put away.

Of course, you want to avoid popping the ball up yourself, so be sure to practice adding spin regularly to help you control the ball and use it to your advantage when you need it the most.

No. 3 - Delay your attack

It can be tempting to speed up every attackable or semi-attackable ball that comes your way. However, if you truly want to get better at earning the right to hit the ball hard, then you may want to consider practicing patience by delaying your attacks.

Balls above the net are considered attackable, while balls just below the top of the net would be considered semi-attackable.

While some are great at attacking balls just below the net, everyone is better at attacking balls above the net.

By delaying your attack and not taking a chance at the semi-attackable balls, you could use that spot to generate an attackable ball instead. An aggressive dink toward their backhand is a fantastic way to do this.

The next time you get a ball that your brain says you should attack, try putting it on the ground (toward their feet) instead. See how your opponent reacts. There's a great chance the ball they send back over is something you can crush.

Also, the next time you play open play or with your pickleball friends, count how many times you (or they) force an attack versus earning the right to hit the ball hard.

If you can get better at doing the latter, you'll become a much better player for it.