How to Get to the Net: Servers

This is the second part of the "How to Get to the Net" series. For the first instalment, which focuses on the receiving team, click here.

Once again, getting your partner and yourself established at the net is foundational part of the of pickleball strategy. For more information about why it is in your strategic interest to get to the kitchen line, check out this article. There is no pro level team that does not work to get themselves to the NVZ in every point. Unless you only want to play against beginners, you will need to learn how to get to the NVZ consistently.

As we discussed in the previous article, it is easier for the receiving team to get to the net. One player on the receiving team is already at the net before the serve is even hit, and as long as the receiver can hit the ball deep with a little loft, it is relatively simple to establish both players at the NVZ. But how does the serving team get themselves to the net?

Serving team

The situation for the serving team is very different. If both players on the receiving team have successfully established themselves at the net, any ball that is hit high will likely come back fast, hard, and on a downward angle. We will talk about other scenarios too, but first we will talk about the standard situation (both receivers at the net, serving team is back near the baseline) because this is what you can expect from opponents who understand the game and execute the fundamental strategies consistently.

Both players on the serving team typically stay back before the return is hit because they don't know which side the return will go to or which player will need to hit the third. When it is clear which player is going to hit the third, should the partner run to the net or stay back and move through the transition zone together as a team?

 There are different schools of thought.

Move together as a team

Some instructors advise not to separate. They will tell you to advance through the transition zone as a team. The advantage of this strategy is you don't open up a gap between you and your partner and you will be less vulnerable to high balls if you approach the kitchen with caution. You can form a defensive wall this way which makes it harder for opponents to hit through gaps. The downsides are that you may miss some opportunities to attack balls, and this strategy can make you more vulnerable to touch shots that are hit by your opponents into the kitchen and/or angled toward the outside lines.

Rush the net when your partner is hitting the third

Some coaches teach that the player who is not hitting the third shot should rush the net. The theory here is that the player who rushes the net will be well positioned to attack high balls, might be able to poach a ball, and if your opponents drop a short ball into the kitchen, the player at the net will be close and may be able to get to it. Charging the net can also put pressure on the receiving team because your opponents know they cannot give that player a high ball. It narrows their options and limits the kind of ball they can hit back.

Here is the downside with this strategy. If the third shot is attackable, your opponents will crush it into the near player's feet. The closer player will have less time to react. If you play with a partner(s) whose third shots are inconsistent and/or often attackable, this strategy can get you in trouble. Third shot drives can also spell trouble for the teams that employ this strategy if the opponents aren't phased by hard drives. The player that goes to the net will need to have very fast reflexes to react in time. Any mistake made in this scenario can spell trouble for the serving team because they are only half established at the net.

Evaluate the quality of the third shot: go when it's good, stay when it's not

This method helps to avoid the pitfalls of the first two strategies, but it requires quick assessment of the quality of the third shot and then a quick decision and reaction based on that assessment. Learning to evaluate the quality of the third shot requires certain understanding and skills. These take some time to develop, but they are (in my opinion) worth the time and effort to develop.

Foundational concept

You need to know that an unattackable ball is one that forces your opponents to hit the ball from below the top of the net. The higher the ball is when it gets to your opponents at the net, the more likely it will be to come fast and furious, possibly at a difficult angle. Unattackable shots offer you safe passage through the transition zone. When balls are high, you have to prepare for the attack and be ready to try to slow things down and feed the next ball into their kitchen.

Now you know.

So how do you employ that knowledge in a game?

Beginning skill: Reading Opponents' Body

Figuring out whether a third shot is attackable or not begins by reading the body mechanics of your opponent.

Here are some general heuristics to help you make your assessment.

• Opponent setting up for overhead smash
• Stay back. If you have time, taking a step back might be helpful to give you more time to react.
• Opponent setting up for volley that is higher than the net
• Split step and be ready to take the next ball. It might come fast. It might not.
• Opponent setting up to take a ball below the net
• This is an unattackable ball. Move in, but be ready in case they put pace on the ball. If it comes fast, it will be high because it has to clear the net.
• Opponent reaching or stressed and taking the ball below the net (e.g. reaching for an awkward low backhand or they are off balance).
• Hit the gas! That is a money shot. Their best option in this scenario is to hit a dink. You want to make sure to be at the kitchen if they dink it. But these balls often end up as high floating balls that you can attack if you can get there quick enough to capitalize on the opportunity.

Advanced: Reading the arc of the ball

The next skill you can develop is learning to read the trajectory and arc of the ball you or your partner sends while it is in the air before it gets to your opponent. The earlier you are able to read these balls, the quicker you can close in and get to the net, the better your odds of winning points as the serving team. This is a skill I am working to develop. It amazes me how much faster I can get to the net and cause my opponents trouble when I can start moving as the ball comes off my partner's paddle. If my partner's ball is going to be attackable, as an advanced player, I can still move forward. I just know that I will need to split step before our opponents hit the fourth ball.

Experiment and learn as you go. If you ran up on a ball and you have to pick the ball fragments out of your shoe laces because you got blasted, you misread it. As I indicated above, there are many variables that come into play. You can improve on your ability to quickly evaluate the situation and snag the opportunities that present themselves.

All levels

Finally, you will need to develop the ability to feed drop shots and resets from the transition zone into your opponents' kitchen. I frequently see people warming up before they play hitting dinks at the net and then practicing drop shots from the baseline. That is fine, but you also need to practice the transition from the baseline to the kitchen. If you can't get to the kitchen line, there is no reason to practice dinking. It is fine to start hitting a couple of drop shots from the baseline, but follow the balls you send to the net. How far can you get before you have to hit the next one? Can you get half way to the net? How much easier is it to hit a drop from the middle of the transition zone than it is from the baseline?

You won't always be able to make it all the way to the NVZ. In fact, most drop shots aren't perfect. Getting a quarter of the way to the kitchen is better than making no progress. Getting half way there is better still. The closer you can get, the easier your next shot will be.

You can find a lot of great drills specifically for these skills on YouTube. You can also take a lesson with an instructor. I know a guy. The benefit of a lesson is that an instructor can help you with mechanics and footwork issues. If you are having trouble executing the shots you are trying to hit, taking a lesson might help.

When you are hitting the third shot

If the return comes to you instead of your partner, you may not be able to advance as quickly as your partner. It is also important to pay attention to your partner's movement. If your partner ran to the net as soon as s/he saw it was coming to you, that limits your options. Hitting a drive to the opponent at the net directly in front of you is a great way to have a fast ball hit back into the gap in the middle of the court (see Triangle of Death). Your best option is to hit a quality drop to the middle of their kitchen (which reduces that angle between you and your partner) or to the far corner of the kitchen. For the sake of your partner, make it unattackable, or hope your partner has quick hands.

Having said that, better too high than too low. Even with a high ball, there is a chance your opponents will hit it out or into the net. If you hit your ball into the net, you have done their work for them.

Work out your strategy

In rec games, you might not be on the same page with regard to the way to get to the net as the serving team. I wouldn't worry about it too much for rec play. However, if you are practicing with a player you are going to compete with in tournament play, you need to be on the same page. The move-together strategy is a safe and simple strategy. The other two strategies are more advanced. Feel things out and learn what you are comfortable with by practicing and playing together.

Also, if your plan is not working out at any point, reevaluate your plan. Don't stick with strategies that aren't working. If your drop shots are off, but your opponents are also causing problems with your drives, you may need to take a more conservative approach. Your partner may not be able to chase your drop, but if you can move together and reset, you might be able to stay in the point, get yourselves to the net, and beat your opponents at the slow game.

ABC

Always Be Closing. Until you get to the net, if you are receiving balls that force you to hit below the net and your opponents are at the net, you should generally be feeding slow, arching, unattackable balls into your opponents' kitchen, and pressing forward toward the NVZ as they sail through the air. You will need to split step as they make contact, so you can adjust and move to receive the ball, make your next drop shot, and move forward again. Between every stroke, you should be moving forward (closing) toward the non-volley zone. That is the way you can safely transition from the baseline to the kitchen line. Engaging in a battle of fast balls when you are not at the line and your opponents are set at the kitchen line is a recipe for failure.

But what if your opponents are not on the line?

When your opponents are not at the kitchen line

This scenario is when you are not at the NVZ, one of your opponents is at their NVZ and one is not. This changes things. Hit low balls to the person who is not at the line. Hitting to the opponent who is in the transition zone will give you more time to get to the kitchen line and you can hit it to their feet. Both of these outcomes are good for the serving team. Make sure that you do not give the partner at the line balls they can poach. If you hit high floating slow balls, odds are that player at the line will not let balls like that get past them.

Be watchful for the partner at the line to poach in this scenario. If the partner overcommits to the center or beyond to guard their partner's side, you can try to hit the ball behind them. This is particularly effective if you can catch them while they are moving away from their side. If you can slip the ball past them, you won the point. If they get a paddle on it, and pop it up, hopefully you are close enough to attack if and when that happens.

Opponents who are employing a stacking strategy can also get caught in this predicament. Hey! Maybe some articles about stacking would be good content... 

As always, thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for Stacking Strategy parts 1 & 2! Coming soon!

David