Pickleball Habits That Sabotage Wins: Pickleball coach Troy Aken is helping players overcome common mistakes that could be holding them back. Aken, who holds a Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating above 5.0, shared three key habits that players at the 3.0 to 4.0 level must change to improve their consistency and win more matches.
Fixing the Third Shot Drop
Troy Aken’s first tip focuses on the third shot drop. Many players make the mistake of turning their body like a tennis player and hitting the ball from behind or the side. This results in poor control.
“Too many times I see us turn like a tennis player and we try and hit that third shot drop from behind us and now we’re taking a big old swing trying to hit it nice soft and easy,” Troy Aken explained.
He suggests keeping the paddle in front of the body and thinking like a shortstop in baseball. Players should keep the ball between their legs and use a soft, controlled swing with a compact motion.
Smarter Dinking at the Net
The second tip focuses on net play, specifically the dink shot. Aken says players often try to hit the ball too early, which leads to errors like pop-ups or shots into the net.
“I want you to stop short hopping balls and I want you to start prioritizing letting that ball get to its peak,” Troy Aken said.
He teaches players to use a drop step to create space and wait for the ball to rise to its highest point. Then, they can dink with more control and accuracy. This applies to both forehand and backhand shots.
“Take that step and get back up to the kitchen. Same thing goes on the backhand side,” Troy Aken added.
Paddle Angle and Contact
The third tip deals with paddle position and swing motion. Many players swing with an open paddle face, which causes the ball to float too high or go out of bounds.
“You see how my paddle face is open? If I hit this ball, it’s going to go up,” Troy Aken said.
To fix this, he suggests lowering the paddle tip and closing the paddle face. This change adds topspin and keeps the ball low and controlled.
“I want us to drop the paddle tip and close the face,” he explained. “So I can swing through that. I’ve got a little bit of top spin to bring it down.”
The same principle applies to the backhand shot. “We’re not going to punch through with that open face. I want us to close that face, break that wrist, and give it that little bit of roll,” he said.
Small Changes, Big Results
Troy Aken summarized the key fixes:
-
“We’re going to stop taking balls behind us and to the side.”
-
“We are going to stop quick hopping dinks.”
-
“We’re going to stop swinging through with an open paddle face.”
Instead, he advises:
-
“We are going to start doing is hitting third shot drops in front of us.”
-
“We’re going to start waiting for the peak of our dink before we hit it.”
-
“We’re going to start swinging with a closed paddle face to add that little bit of roll to it.”
These tips, according to Aken, can improve consistency, placement, and even power in pickleball games.
“If you do these three simple tips, I’m telling you, you’ll see more consistency. You’ll see better placement. You’ll even see increased power, especially with that rolling volley,” he concluded.
News in Brief: Pickleball Habits That Sabotage Wins
Pickleball expert Troy Aken reveals three key habits holding players back. He explains how to improve the third shot drop, dink timing, and paddle control. By keeping the paddle in front, waiting for the ball’s peak, and closing the paddle face, players can boost accuracy, power, and overall match success.