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5 lessons to get to 5.0
Paul from Pickleball Daily
November 21, 2025
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This video shares five key lessons learned during the journey to achieve a 5.0 DUPR rating, focusing on strategy, mindset, and partnership rather than pure mechanics.
The first lesson emphasizes the importance of a bigger serve and return, as the average rally length is surprisingly short, making the first three shots 50% of the game.
Drilling deep serves and returns forces opponents to return from a defensive position, making your third shot much easier to execute.
Secondly, the host realized that mechanics are less important than he initially thought, with most coaching revolving around positioning, footwork, and shot intent.
Lesson three is learning to play looser in tournaments, focusing on staying mentally resilient and letting go of mistakes rather than spiraling after a missed shot.
Finding great, consistent partners that you genuinely enjoy being around is the fourth lesson, as partnership allows for honest debriefs and shared strategic improvement.
Finally, the fifth lesson is the importance of strategy and analyzing opponents by assessing their comfort level and consistently picking on their weaknesses within the first five points of a match.
This approach requires constantly adjusting your game based on the opponent's tendencies, which can often lead to greater success than focusing solely on personal mechanics.
Key Points:
Focus on drilling deep serves and returns, as the first three shots account for half of an average rally.
Mechanics are often overemphasized; prioritize strategy, footwork, and positioning for the biggest gains in tournament play.
Find ways to stay loose and avoid getting upset over missed shots in tournaments, as mental resilience is crucial.
Having consistent partners allows you to openly discuss strategy and get unbiased feedback on your game.
Immediately analyze opponents to identify their weaknesses and target those areas strategically, even if their mechanics appear unorthodox.
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Happy pickling,
Paul