It’s the middle of summer. We’re sure you’re squeezing in as much pickleball as you possibly can while the weather’s still good. Maybe some of you are playing in tournaments.

So, we figured we’d make this issue (mostly) about pickleball tips you can take with you to your next game. We’ve tried to keep our tips relevant for those of all skill levels.

If you like this special edition of The Kitchen Newsletter, let us know in the issue rating option at the bottom of the email.

In this issue:

• Copy this pattern

• Find your best serve

• 3D printed quieter pickleballs

• When to drive instead of drop

• Rapid-fire tips that will up your game immediately

Let’s roll. 🧑‍🍳

GIVEAWAY

Win a Collector’s Edition “Liberty” DBD Paddle from Six Zero!

We’re excited to partner with Six Zero to give away 5 of their collector’s edition Liberty Double Black Diamond paddles!

Enter HERE and boost your chances of winning by completing the bonus steps!

We will choose 5 random winners on 7/21! 🗽

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

The Ben Johns Method

This may look like your average pickleball point, but it so much more. It is a masterclass in shot selection and court awareness.

• Ben uses the entire court to perfection when deciding where to hit the ball.

• He goes right, then middle, then left.

• He creates space and forces his opponent back.

• He’s constantly keeping his opponent off-balance, eventually creating a hole to attack.

This is why he’s the greatest men’s pickleball player on the planet. 🐐

POLL

Keep scrolling to see this issue’s final segment. It’ll dive in to some rapid-fire tips that you can easily memorize and bring with you to your next game.

But we’re curious: what tip has recently improved YOUR game? Submit your response here.

SERVICE

Find Your Optimal Serve

Don't let anyone tell you the serve isn't important. It's about much more than putting a ball into play, and you should spend some time optimizing it outside of rec or tournament play.

So whether you've got the yips or you're just trying to make an already-consistent serve even better, here are some ways you can optimize your serve, according to pro Jack Munro:

➝ Hitting a flat deep serve with no control is 10x better than a short slice serve. Don't get fancy, get consistent.

➝ Close your stance regardless of whether or not you "step through." It forces you to involve your legs in the swing.

➝ Focus on developing a heavy topspin serve before even thinking about slice. Topspin allows you to hit the ball harder while still landing it in.

➝ If your opponent is stacking, place the serve short with spin kicking wide to the sideline. Make unwinding the stack more difficult.

Jack has much more on serve strategy. Find it here.

WEEKEND WATCH

It’s NPL Weekend!

The first competitive league for players 50+ kicks off its third weekend tomorrow at The Pickle Lodge in Cincinnati, OH.

Each National Pickleball League event features three pods of the best players in this age group – Mens, Womens, & Mixed doubles, competing in a unique teams-based format.

Not in Ohio? Stream the action on NPL’s YouTube channel and enjoy some of the most high-level pickleball you’ve ever seen.

THIRD SHOT

DRIVE in These 3rd Shot Situations

We're sure most of you already know that if your opponents are both at the NVZ, it's safer to drop; conversely, you should drive it at their feet if your opponent is still in the transition zone.

Most mid-level players live in an echo chamber, one that repeats: "DROP, DON'T DRIVE (most of the time)."

But there's definitely more than that one situation above in which you should drive over drop:

• If your opponents are executing a stack, target the person who is transitioning.

• If the return is short/has a decent bounce, drive it, especially if you can move into the ball as you do.

• If you're playing early-round matches in a tournament, the drive is less risky as you're warming up.

Find pro Catherine Parenteau's full guide to the third shot here.

TRENDING

Are quiet pickleballs, not quiet paddles, the key to solving our sport’s noise problem?

—> A 3D printing company out of Michigan worked with a pickleball sound mitigation expert to develop a new ball design that’s 10 decibels quieter than standard pickleballs.

We’re not going to lie, it looks a little strange. But that’s the cost of innovation, right?

SHOES

Our Favorite Pickleball Shoes Just Dropped in New Designs

The most comfortable pickleball shoes we’ve tried got even cooler.

OluKai just dropped new ‘Anau Pickleball Shoes in limited edition designs for both men and women.

Inspired by their Hawaiian heritage, OluKai designed these specifically for pickleball.

They studied the game to determine what players truly need on their feet, blending supreme comfort with essential support and traction for every court surface, indoors or out.

Check ‘em out here.

FEATURED STORY

3 Rapid Fire Tips for Your Next Game

Hopefully, you're not burned out on tips just yet. We know it's difficult to read about certain scenarios and then act appropriately when you finally find yourselves in those scenarios on the court.

Who can remember everything? Not even the pros can. But just like the pros, you too can drill yourself into success.

So, here are some tips you can bring with you to your next game. They're not situational, they're general things you can do to improve right now:

1. Paddle Tracking

This is a remarkably powerful tool for increasing your reaction time and blocking speedups successfully, yet few 3.0-4.0 players use it.

Wherever you or a partner hit the ball, make sure the tip of your paddle faces that direction. The idea is to keep your paddle ready in the spot where the ball is most likely to go next.

In other words: ignore the stiff "ready position," paddle-in-front-of-you thing that we're always told is the "right" way to stand.

Simple, but once you implement it consistently, speedups will seem much easier to counter.

2. Paddles Up - Not Sideways - To Counter Drives

When you're at the kitchen line, you want to keep your paddle upright most of the time.

It's easier said than done, though, especially when facing off against hard drives from your opponent.

Pretend like there is (or literally train with) a ball held underneath your armpit:

• Keep your paddle face vertical

• Extend with your arm

• Snap the paddle face slightly downward right before contact

This will keep your counters down, with pace. If you hold the paddle horizontally, you're more likely to pop the ball up or send it into the net.

3. Drives Are NOT Kill Shots

Again, this may sound obvious to some of you, but it's easy to forget in-the-moment: a drive is not the same as a put away.

A member of our Facebook group described it perfectly:

"It’s far better to treat a drive like a jab in boxing. Its intention is to set up the next shot. Players should not attempt to hit a one shot winner. Against good players, you’ll get annihilated."

Even top pros agree. James Ignatowich explains his view of the drive here.

His best advice? Slow it down to 70% of your full power.

"Low-and-slow" drives - relatively slow, at least - also give your partner slightly more time to decide if the return will be poachable.

Got an even better tip? Share it via the poll above.

QUICK HITS

• More Tips: Can’t get enough of what you just read? Bookmark our tips page

• OUCH!: Jack Sock does the splits

• Shaking Hands: Bloomberg study shows pickle overtakes golf for business meetings

• Impressive: To be 17 again…

• Home Court: You won't miss your driveway

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