What Pro Pickleball Can Teach You
Summary
Coach Jordan Briones walks Asian pro footage for patterns amateurs can steal. High-level teams stay patient: when pulled wide they shuffle and dink middle to take away angles, and they attack only on high-percentage looks. Third-shot drives are controlled and low so they set up the fifth — a chest-high drive into the body is an easy counter winner, especially if the partner is already crashing without watching.
Against righty-lefty teams with forehands in the middle, a high middle attack often gets shut down; aiming tighter toward the rib cage jams the swing. Pros also repeat what works instead of inventing new looks — consistent low drives, disciplined middle dinks, and split-stepping before the next ball when they can’t fully close.
Key takeaways
- When pulled wide, shuffle and dink middle to kill angles
- Drive thirds low as a setup, not chest-high at the body
- Vs righty-lefty, attack toward the rib cage more than open middle
- Don’t crash on a partner drive that isn’t dipping at the feet
- Pros repeat high-percentage patterns instead of inventing new ones
Action items
- In the next match, track how often your third-shot drives land at feet vs chest
- When pulled wide in a dink rally, make middle the only allowed target for five points