The Slow Ball Penetrates the Shield

From the 1984 film Dune.

The slow blade penetrates the shield

In the science fiction universe of Dune, when they fight, they use swords and knives in combination with special energy shields that deflect and repel fast strikes, but admit slow moving objects. Thus, "the slow blade penetrates the shield." You don't need to know more about Dune than this for the rest of the article to make sense, but for inquiring minds, here is an article that explains the reason for that setup in the Dune universe.

In doubles pickleball, when both your opponents are at their kitchen line, the net is their shield. If you are near the baseline or in the transition zone, it can be tempting to try to hit fast drives at them, but opponents with good hands and footwork will be able to return fire right back at you. But your feet are exposed because you aren't close to the net. Your opponents at the kitchen line also have the advantage of better angle shots. I won't say hitting drives never works, but with more advanced players who are established at the net, you are more likely to cause problems for yourself by hitting hard and fast shots.

In tennis, it is possible to hit passing shots that your opponents can't reach. They have much more real estate to cover. Each player in doubles pickleball only needs to cover 10 feet of width. They can reach the boundaries of their "lane" with one step 

Consider the diagram below. The yellow circles are a rough approximation of the reach of each of the opponents at the net. But not all areas within those circles are equal.

Balls that your opponents receive below the height of the net are much more difficult for them to attack. If they try to hit low balls hard, they are more likely to either sail out of the court or go into the net.

The second diagram above has three colored clouds, green, orange, and red. These clouds represent the areas where your opponents will make contact with the ball you or your partner have hit to them.

The red cloud represents the zone where opponents can easily attack and hit down at your feet. The orange cloud represents the area where opponents might be able to hit harder, but they won't be able to hit down as easily. The green zone near their feet, represents the area where your opponents will be forced to either hit softly to avoid hitting.

So, how do you get a ball over the net, but descending toward your opponents' knees or below? You achieve that by hitting a slower ball with an arc.

Slower balls give you more time to reset when you are pulled out of position. Slower balls also give you time to move through the transition zone so you can neutralize your opponents' advantage of being at the net. When your opponents force you to hit up from below the net, if you respond with balls that force them to also hit up from below the net, you have taken away their ability to attack balls.

Once you and your partner get established at the net, you can begin to work the point by strategically dinking until your opponents make an error, you create a gap between your opponents (allowing you to hit a ball they can't reach), or you get an attackable ball that you can hit down on.

It's been a little while, and I won't be returning to a regular schedule, but I was discussing this topic with a player and decided to make a post out of it. Also, I like Dune.

Hope you found something here you can use.

Cheers,

No Fun David