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How to Break Out of 4.0 Jail

Most players stuck at 4.0 try to escape by hitting a highlight reel winner, and it is exactly what keeps them there.

Tanner's read on this level is that nobody is a superstar and almost everyone is shaky in the soft game. So your job is to prolong points and let your opponents beat themselves.

That starts with getting to the kitchen line as often as you can, because that is where you have the most opportunity to score.

The mistake is firing a thousand balls in a row from the baseline, trying to drive through your opponent, and getting put in the washing machine. Drive your third shot and then drop your fifth, so the drive becomes a way forward rather than the whole plan.

Once you are at the line, track the ball with your paddle while it is on their side of the net. Most players stand there with their feet in cement and their paddle down, which means they are reacting to every speed up instead of stepping into it.

Then there is the scale you need in your head. You cannot jump from losing a rally straight to winning it, you have to get back to neutral first.

So when your opponent hits a sharp aggressive dink, do not chase it down and try to rip a crosscourt winner. Step in, cut the ball off, and reset it to the middle of the court, then look to strike on the next one.

Your dinking footwork is the other thing hardly anyone does properly. Aim to get your hips behind the ball wherever it lands, because missed dinks come from lazy feet and standing on your heels.

In a hands battle, stop trading balls into your opponent's chest. You are both strong on the backhand there, so get on top of the ball and hit it down toward their feet, which forces them to hit up on the next one.

Finally, make your opponents earn the kitchen instead of handing them a free ride.

Run the checklist on every drop: can I take this out of the air? If not, step back, create space, and rip it rather than scooping it from a standstill.

Key points

Watch Tanner run the drive and drop combo and the paddle track at the kitchen line.

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That’s it for today! As always, thank you for reading. 🙏

What did you think of today’s newsletter? Please reply with how you think I can improve. I read your feedback and appreciate all of it (for real)! 😄

Happy pickling,

Paul

P.S. Get $10 off the paddle I play with (discount code applies automatically).