Distance and Time

There is a direct relationship between the physical distance between you and your opponent and the amount of time the person receiving the ball has to react. If the ball travels a greater distance, the player receiving that ball will have more time to set up for it, adjust, and send it back that a ball hit with the same speed at a closer distance.

This is a simple fact, and it may seem obvious, but the implications in the game of pickleball are quite profound.

Return of the serve

Players who have had any pickleball instruction or who have looked into fundamental strategy know that sending the return deep into your opponent's court is the recommended strategy. Something that many (perhaps most) players do not understand the reasons to send the ball deep.

If you send a slow ball with loft deep to your opponents' court, you will have more time to get to the kitchen so you are ready to receive the ball they hit. Sending the ball deep forces your opponents to take the ball near the baseline. Because of the two-bounce rule (the serving team cannot hit the return as a volley), you give yourself time to get to the net. 

• Hitting a deep return gives you more time to get to the net than a shallow return

While it is true that you have less time to react at the kitchen line than you would at the baseline, those other factors (license to hit volleys, to hit down, hit with power, hit angles, and having greater margins for error) outweigh the advantage of reaction time you would gain by staying back at the baseline.

The other reason to hit a deep return is Your opponents can send a drive (which takes time away because it is a fast shot). Forcing them to hit a drive from at or near the baseline is far less of a threat than if they send a drive from mid court or near the kitchen. Sending a deep return keeps your opponents at a greater distance so that when you are at the kitchen, you can execute the best shots to give your opponents trouble.

• Hitting a deep return keeps your opponents at a greater distance when they hit the third shot which gives you more time to move and react to receive their shot

Opponent at the net versus opponent in the back court

In the article Triangle of Death, I discussed situations where one opponent is at the kitchen line and one opponents is back. In that article, I suggested that if you get a ball that allows you to shoot through the gap between the two players, that is a good option because it can pull the players out of position. But what should you do if the player near the baseline sends a ball that completely takes that gap angle away like this?

The answer to that question depends entirely on the quality of their shot. Can you hit the ball as a volley and attack it, or is it an unattackable ball that forces you to hit below the net? If you can attack the ball and hit down, hit down at the person near the kitchen. They are closer to you and they will have less time to react and put a good paddle behind the ball.

However, if the player near the baseline sends a quality drop shot, that completely changes things. Their partner at the net is in a great position to attack any ball that you or your partner hit high. If you are forced to hit up from below the net, you need to send an unattackable low ball back to your opponents. Your best bet is to hit to the player at the back if you are able. If you are hitting a very low ball, you may just need to respond with a cross court dink to keep the ball away from that player at the net. That player wants to take time away from you by hitting down with power. Don't give them the chance!

While it is true the cross court dink will likely bring that back player up to the net, the unattackable ball they sent to you forces your hand. They have neutralized your advantage and earned the kitchen. Good players will seize on that opportunity and move quickly through the transition zone to meet you at the net. They will be ready and waiting for their opportunity to hit down. The team that is able to not hit an unforced error and, if you get a ball in the that you can hit a little over the height of the net, but you cannot hit down, hitting it in the gap or back to the player who is deep if the gap angle isn't there is still a good choice. 

In summary, keeping your opponents back off the kitchen line for as long as you can gives you time to react to their balls. Hitting attackable balls to a near player will take time away from them to react. Use court distances to your advantage!

I hope this is helpful. Leave a comment below if you have questions or thoughts.

Thanks for stopping by the No Fun Zone.

David