Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of other popular sports, like tennis, badminton, and ping pong. Every Pickleball match starts with one team serving the ball to the other team.
There are various serving techniques used by players, some more advanced than others. A good serve can create opportunities for the serving team by gaining an advantage over your opponent. If you can perfect your serve, you can easily reach the non-volley zone ahead of your opponents and have a better chance of winning the game.
In this article, we will talk about serves and some tips for delivering killer serves that can put your team in a better position.
Basic Serving:
The purpose of the service is to start the game without giving either side an advantage, as it is a non-offensive shot. This ensures that whether you start the match serving or receiving, both sides are essentially on equal grounds. Below are some important rules for serving. If you don’t follow them, it will count as a fault.
- Using an underhand stroke, make sure that contact is always from below the waist and the highest point of the paddle should be below the waist while serving.
- Serves are always made diagonally while standing behind the baseline. If any of your feet are touching the baseline or in the baseline, it is considered a fault.
- Before the return shot is hit, you can’t enter the court you must remain behind the baseline. You Can Also check the Best Pickleball Paddles for Spin.
Tips To Deliver Killer Serves:
Here are some tips and training routines that can help you make a good pickleball player when it comes to serving.
Pre-Serve Routine:
A pre-serve routine can be anything that you are comfortable with and you should stick to the one you like the most before serving in-game. This helps you get the general idea of how to serve but also relaxes your muscle to put just enough strength that you need. Sometimes, players have it figured out in their head but can’t play like that and your pre-serving routine can help you match the outcome you have in your brain. You Can also check the Best Pickleball Gloves.
Perfecting Your Technique:
As mentioned earlier, there are many techniques that players use to serve and it depends upon you and your choice. You need to deliver and practice your technique so that every time you serve you remain consistent. Fluid loose motions are required while serving instead of stiff motions as they can help you serve perfectly throughout the whole game. Practicing your technique till you have full control over it is the best way to deliver killer serves. You Can also check the Best Pickleball Sets.
Semi-Closed Stance with No Over-Rotating:
This technique may be hard to learn and most beginners should start from this technique. While serving, you must be in a semi-closed stance as they help deter backswings and keep your opponents from reach the non-volley line. Over-rotating can prove to be a really bad thing in games cause after serve, your opponents will try to keep you on the backside as much as possible and if you over-rotate, it gives them a chance to hit your blind spots. You Can also check the Pickleball Myths.
Drop Shots:
You must learn drop shots cause after serving, your opponent will keep you at the backside and you will need to be there to play the shot and the only way you can keep them from reaching the non-volley zone is to play drop shots. The consistency of your shots will help you play drop shots more easily and close the gap between you and your opponents.
Serve Deep To Backhands:
The most common serving strategy is to hit backhands as they push your opponents to the backside making returning the serve more difficult. Be sure to not overplay and change the patterns of your serve as the same pattern can make your opponents counter it. Wind can surely move your shots and result in a shot that you didn’t want to play so be sure to keep the wind deflection in your mind while serving. You Can also check the Best Pickleball Paddles for Beginners.
Conclusion:
In the end, you can easily learn to serve in pickleball if you practice enough and once you perfect your serve, you can practice techniques that make your serves deadly. It may be hard at first but once you get a hang of it, you can serve with ease and be sure to not be stiff while serving as loose and calm motions are the key to serving perfectly. Please check the Best Graphite Pickleball Paddles.
