One of the most common questions asked in the pickleball community is how to get from that 3.5 to 4.0 level. I’ve compiled tips I have been working on to get my game from the 3.5 to 4.0 level and I will be writing a few of these articles because there are many things you can work on to move to the next level.
Some of the tips are from specific pros and some are repeated several times by multiple pros. I’ve linked videos that are attributed to specific pros for your learning convenience! All these things can be practiced in your games, but if you want the fastest results you have to drill these tips. You just don’t get enough repetitions playing games to advance as fast as drilling.
1. Stop Trying to Hit Perfect 3rd Shot Drops.
How many games have you played where you see a side out after two quick 3rd shot drops into the net? Yeah, I’ve seen this happen very often and of course, I have been a part of this problem as well. I think a lot of 3.5 players are striving for the perfect drop because their partner is rushing to the net no matter what. Watch the pros play for a bit and see the patience they have. Sometimes they are not getting to the net until their 5th, 7th, or 9th shot. They work their way in slowly when they know their return isn’t perfect. How many points are you winning when you hit it into the net? Get those third shots higher and talk with your partner about not rushing in after every 3rd shot drop.
I know this tip sounds too simple and we still want to hit that beautiful 3rd shot drop. Pro Player Tyson McGuffin does a good job breaking down the mistakes many people make when hitting their 3rd shot drops.
2. You’re Moving Too Much Because You’re Out of Position
I first hear this tip is from Sarah Ansboury. I think we have all seen the person moving back and forth at the NVZ and you are just waiting for them to fall over with how off balance they are from their crazy footwork. Every time you are out of position the problem compounds with every shot because you keep moving more until you are too far out of position to get the next ball. We can help fix this problem by taking more dinks out of the air, when possible, to avoid unnecessary movement. Taking dinks out of the air solves the problem of getting out of position and reduces the time your opponent has before they must return the ball.
You need to drill this concept to get the feel for dinking out of the air because it feels a lot different than taking the ball off the bounce.
3. Reset the Ball
Resetting the ball more often has been the skill that has helped me improve my game the most. Being able to take a face-paced ball and return it over the net at a slower speed will boost your game fast. Whether you are resetting the ball from the transition zone or resetting it from the NVZ you need to have soft hands. You need to loosen your grip pressure and take the pace off those fast-paced shots. You won’t get good at this overnight but trust me you want to get good at resetting. The other aspect of resetting that comes with time is when you should do it. This will be different for every person. My general rule is if I feel like I am losing a firefight because the ball is too far below the net I go for a reset.
Pro Pickleball Coach Mark Renneson does a great job explaining resets in this video.
4. Use the Right Grip.
How do you hold your paddle? This is something that many don’t even think about, but it is so important. I won’t explain how to hold the grip because getting video instruction from pro pickleball instructor Mark Renneson will make your life easier. You can use other grips later for different shots, but I suggest using this grip for now because it makes your job easier at the NVZ not having to switch grips. Using the wrong grip can make your paddle face open or closed too much which will contribute to you popping balls up or hitting more into the net.
5. Focus on the Depth of Your Serve and Return.
How does each point start? Each point starts with a serve and then the return of the serve, but how much emphasis are you putting on each of those shots? These two shots are key to setting up the point and can lead to putting you in amazing positions or can lead to the point being over quickly. The depth of the serve and the depth of the return are the key factors to each shot. You want a deep serve and a deep return.
Your return of serve you want to keep deep but not too fast because you want to give yourself enough time to get to the net. Do you find yourself receiving a 3rd shot drive low at your knees or feet because you didn’t make it up to the NVZ in time? You might be hitting your returns deep but with too much pace. I also try to keep my returns more toward the middle to give myself a bigger margin of error.
If you do want to target a certain player there are two different thoughts on whom you should target. One mindset is targeting whom you think the weaker player is because their 3rd shots won’t be as good. The other mindset is you want to hit it to the stronger player because it keeps them back longer and prevents them from poaching or shake and baking. Do you have a backhand slice return? This is a key return shot you should learn to make your returns better and easier. Sometimes that low serve to your backhand is hard to return, but if you can slice it back and deep you will find yourself making it to the NVZ with ease. The good news is both shots are easy to drill with a partner and you can get a lot of practice in a short amount of time.
Tyson McGuffin gives three great tips to help you improve your serve.
6. Using the Lob as a Weapon
How many 3rd shot lobs have you seen? How often are you lobbing? When I started, I was lobbing way too much and then I stopped lobbing altogether for a period. Some people don’t use lobs at all and not many people practice returning offensive lobs. It can be a great shot to add to your game that can make your game a little different.
Pro Coach Mark Renneson gives a good overview of the art of the offensive lob.
7. Aggressive 4th Shots
How are you returning your 4th shots? Are you aggressive with your block volleys, swinging volleys and forehand/backhand rolls? Are you keeping your opponents deep or are you just getting it back? The higher level you play the more you will see the quality and aggressiveness of the players 4th shots because keeping your opponents from getting to the NVZ is essential to winning more points. You don’t have to be completely focused on pace for this shot you can focus on hitting spots. You want to be aiming at your opponent’s feet and away from them if possible. Make them move and keep it low.
Pro Pickleball Coach Mark Renneson does a great job explaining 4th shot strategy in this video.
8. Think Before You Dink
A key difference as you try to move up in skill level is the level of dinking. Are you thinking about where you place your dinks, how you vary the speed, how you vary the location, and why you hit certain dinks? Being confident in your dinks and dinking strategy will help set you up for more attackable balls and stop you from speeding up a ball too early. I suggest working on one aspect of dinking at a time. I would pick targeting specific locations first, then start adding more pace and spin, and then start thinking about variation of power, spin, and location. The most important thing is you don’t become predictable in what you do because that makes it easy for your opponent to stand in one spot. You want to move them around and make them work to return your dinks. Keeping them off balance keeps them from having good speedups.
Check out this great drill from Tyson McGuffin to improve your dinking.
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