Left Side Secrets to Beat a Better Pickleball Team

Summary

Selkirk TV’s left-side plan against a higher-DUPR team is to force a firefight. From the left you get several off-the-bounce backhand speed-up windows plus forehand options, and you should also reach in and take balls out of the air.

Key looks: hold a backhand dink a split second so you can read their sit, then flick line, middle, or into the body; when a ball sits up, a short punch at the near shoulder often pops the next one up; and the signature left-side weapon is a tiny motion with the paddle tip ahead of the hand, pushing cross-court where they expect middle or body. Unexpected cross-court body bags off the bounce also create chaos.

Key takeaways

• Against better teams, create chaos instead of trading clean balls
• Hold the backhand dink a beat, then flick line / middle / body
• Punch slightly high balls at the near shoulder
• Develop a short paddle-tip-out backhand push cross-court

Action items

• In kitchen drills from the left, practice hold-then-flick to three targets
• Feed slightly high balls and only punch to the near shoulder