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20 essential pickleball tips
Paul from Pickleball Daily
December 19, 2025
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Tip of the day
This video shares 20 key lessons from six years of playing pickleball, ranging from technique to on-court strategy.
Focusing on active footwork between every shot is crucial, as this prevents you from being flat-footed and improves your readiness for the next ball.
For softer finesse shots like dinks and drops, deliberately use a loose grip (a 3 or 4 on a scale of 10) to prevent popping the ball up.
When returning serve, use forward momentum from your legs as you hit the ball to generate effortless power and advance more quickly to the kitchen line.
The closer you get to the kitchen, the shorter your backswing should be to avoid hitting the ball long.
Use the "teeter-totter" concept to anticipate: if your opponent's paddle is up, prepare with your paddle down; if their paddle is down, prepare with your paddle up.
To master topspin, wait until the ball reaches its apex after the bounce before applying a high-to-low brushing motion with wrist lag.
Respect the net by making sure every ball clears it, as the worst shot in the game is hitting into the net, even if the ball goes high.
Key Points:
Maintain active footwork between shots to stay ready and on balance.
Use a light grip (3-4/10) on finesse shots like dinks and drops.
When returning serve, use forward momentum to generate power and move toward the net.
Shorten your backswing as you move closer to the kitchen line.
Use the "teeter-totter" concept to anticipate if the opponent will hit a low-to-high or high-to-low shot.
To neutralize better players, consistently hit a deep, unattackable dink up the middle of the court.
For greater control on drops and dinks, try to feel like you are "holding" the ball on your paddle for a long time.
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Happy pickling,
Paul