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Tip of the day
The short hop at the net is your last line of defense. You hit it when you reach for a dink and get wrongfooted, or when you brace for a speed up that never comes and have to go down late.
Nobody plans to short hop. You use it because you are already in the wrong spot.
The mistake that makes it dangerous is opening the paddle face and lifting under the ball. Any mishit off an open face pops up.
Get your paddle around the ball instead. Stay in an open stance and work around the outside of it, which keeps the ball short in the kitchen.
Aim at the middle of your opponent's kitchen box. If you catch it a little firm, the ball drifts toward the sideline rather than sailing deep, and a short hop almost never gives up an around the post.
The wrist is the other half of it. Set your wrist angle early, as you take the paddle back, then swing with your arm and shoulder.
Doing both at once is where the errors come from. Preset, then get low and push through with your shoulder.
From the left side, keep it wide almost every time, because an opponent is usually reaching in the middle.
From the right you can mix in a middle short hop, but hit that one softer, since a deep ball there gets attacked.
The payoff is pressure. Reach for everything, short hop what you cannot reach, and your opponents are left lobbing or attacking off the bounce instead of out of the air.
It works best against players who roll their dinks. Against a slicer you usually have time to back up and roll the ball instead.
Key points
Use the short hop only when you get caught reaching or wrongfooted, never as a planned shot.
Get your paddle around the outside of the ball instead of opening the face and lifting under it.
Aim at the middle of your opponent's kitchen so a firm mishit drifts wide rather than deep.
Set your wrist angle first and move your arm and shoulder as a separate motion.
Keep it wide from the left side and hit softer if you mix in a middle short hop from the right.
Deal of the day
Meme of the day
Pickleball jargon at work 🤣
That’s it for today! As always, thank you for reading. 🙏
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Happy pickling,
Paul
