When playing pickleball, one way to gain the advantage when serving to a right-handed person when you are serving from the left service court is to hit the ball to their backhand. Most beginning and average players have a weaker backhand and will return a backhand shot that is easier to handle if they are forced to use their backhand. This is easier said than done in some cases, but you can try to stack the odds in your favor by standing in a better location before serving.

Look at diagram 1 below:

If the serve hits anywhere near the red dot; even a foot or two farther back, the person returning serve (green square) will have great difficulty running around it to hit a forehand. They will most likely have to hit a backhand resulting in a weaker return.

Notice where the server is standing in this drawing. They are aligned fairly close to the center line and the angle to hit that spot is very narrow and unlikely to achieve the goal as the line of trajectory shows.

Look at diagram 2:

In this scenario, the server has moved far to their left and has increased the angle and margin of error so they have a much better chance of serving the ball near the target area. This would make it very difficult for the receiving player to hit a forehand shot.

The video below from Third Shot Sports, demonstrates this in real time. Watch the demonstration and see if this is something you would like to try.

“Quick improvement of service by standing all the way to the side when serving from the “odd” court.”

 

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