Successful Speedups Using a Target
Tip 1: Speeding Up to the Wide Backhand
If you want to have as much success as possible with your speedups, it’s imperative to have a good underlying strategy. That means that you should be selecting spots on your opponent’s body to speed up to in order to give yourself the highest chance of winning the exchange.
One of the universally best spots to speed up to is your opponent's wide backhand. Hitting to your opponent’s wide backhand is when you hit the ball to their backhand side, away from their body so that they have to reach for it. It is incredibly hard to generate power from this position, so your opponent will be unlikely to counter hard. That means that you’ll have an easier chance to finish the rally on the next ball. The higher the level you play at, the more likely it is that your opponents will get your speedups back, so at least do your best to get a weak counter!
Tip 2: Where to NOT Speedup To
If you want to have the most success with your speedups, it’s super important to understand where your opponents like to counter from so that you can avoid those spots. There are two spots that most players have an easier time hitting counters from: The extended forehand, and the body backhand. It is easy to generate power from both of these spots, so you are less likely to win the rally by speeding up there.
- The extended forehand - This is when you speedup to your opponent’s forehand away from their body. This is the favorite spot for most players. Most people prefer their forehand over their backhand, and have an easy time generating power from there.
- The body backhand - This is when you speed up right at your opponent’s chest. For most players, that is an easy backhand counter. The backhand punch volley is one of the first shots that you learn in pickleball, and a relatively easy shot to execute. It is also easy to get power here, so speeding up right at the body backhand is likely to get you into trouble.
Those spots are generally poor choices against most opponents, however, the one thing to keep in mind is that everyone is different. Some people hate their forehands, and others don’t feel confident in their backhand punch volleys, so it’s always good to test all your spots and make note of how your opponents respond.
