​This afternoon, I received an email from an 82-year-old gentleman who said he'd read and enjoyed The Art of Pickleball. He said he hoped I had some tips regarding playing singles—his game of choice—as he'll be playing in a tournament soon. After applauding him for playing singles at his age, I scoured my notes, watched some videos by YouTube pros, and collected these tips. I hope they're useful to you when you are 82!

Tips for Better Singles Play

• Stay close to the center line when you serve, so you can reach the returned shot with fewer steps. Face your opponent and watch his paddle angle and the ball, so you'll know where it's headed.
• Singles pickleball is a lot like singles tennis, in that you should keep your feet moving. Don't get caught flat-footed, and you'll be able to get to the shots more easily.
• I watched a Kyle Yates video where he said his technique in singles was to hit mostly forehands (that's always good advice) and long drives as hard as he could. I don't think that will work for everyone, but it won him the gold. Deep, hard serves are more difficult to return and may help you on your way to the non-volley zone, if your opponent's return is weak. Same for the return of service—send it deep and hard, and hopefully you can gain the net or at least try for a good passing shot. 
• Regarding hitting forehand: many singles players seem to win by having that good footwork and the agility to "run around" their backhand, allowing them to hit forehand instead. Yet I heard one retired tennis coach take umbrage with that, insisting players should work on their backhands, as that was ultimately a lot easier. It's true that you usually hit harder with a forehand stroke, so when power is called for, stick to forehand when possible.
• When you're in the back court, hit deep to the corners, not down the middle—just opposite of typical doubles strategy. Keep your opponent running side to side, which he should find the most difficult. 
• Try not to get stuck in mid court, where your opponent can send shots to your feet. If you can't get to the net, stay in the back third of the court until you can, or hit a split step if you get caught, grounding yourself for a good return, and then hustle toward the net again. 
• Get to the non-volley zone, just as in doubles. That's where your power is. From there, volley your opponent's returns and, again, hit toward the corners to keep him moving and ultimately to put away the shot. You can use a hard drive, if he's in the back court, or a drop volley to get to the net (add underspin/backspin to the ball to make it tougher for him to return it). Don't use a drop shot if your opponent is deep—you want to keep him away from the net. Keep pounding him with long drives to the back court.
• If your opponent does get to the net, you can force him back with a lob (not commonly done anymore, because many players often smash it back for a put-away) or hit a passing shot. Which you use depends on your skill and your opponent's skill. 
• Stay on the attack. Send shots to your opponent's backhand, as it's typically weaker.

Drills for Singles Play
This man also asked if I could suggest drills for singles. Here they are:

• Hit serves and returns so they land within two to three feet of the baseline. If practicing with a partner, send shots to your partner's backhand. Have your partner do the same for you.
• Practice drop volleys from the baseline, sending them to the sides rather than the center of the non-volley zone. 
• Have a partner send shots to you at the baseline, aiming for the corners. Concentrate on your footwork and staying mobile between the shots.
• All target practice drills are good. 

Most pickleball players are impatient when it comes to results. But like most sports worth playing, pickleball takes practice and patience to learn to play well.

Patience and forgiveness are often synonymous. Whether you're practicing or competing, you'll have good and bad days. No one's perfect, not even the pros. We all have moments where we don't make our usual shots. 
 
When that happens, our "fight or flight" instinct kicks in. We get angry with ourselves and fight to recapture our strokes. Sometimes, we give up hope. Referred to as "tanking," this is the flight response. We want to flee the discomfort of losing and give up trying to win. 
 
True competitors have a particular kind of patience that is born from forgiveness. When we forgive ourselves for being less than perfect, a relaxation sets in. We become more patient and have a greater likelihood of resurrecting our game. When things go horribly wrong, forgive yourself as soon as possible. 

When playing competitive pickleball, you want to make things hard for your opponents. Too often, though, we play into their hands, giving them advantages without meaning to.

Advantage #1: Allowing your oppo-nents to take position at the net.
When you're serving, your opponents already have the advantage since one of them starts at the non-volley zone line. Then a few years ago, the "third shot drop shot rule" came into favor. The thought was that using the softer, slower drop shot would allow you and your partner to move up from the baseline (where you were stuck as servers because of the double bounce rule) and get to the net. 

That made sense—but returning a drop shot also allows your opponent in the back court to run up to the non-volley zone. That's not what you want. 

The net position affords many advantages. At the net:

• you can reach a greater number of shots without moving very far;
• you can return balls faster and with more momentum;
• you can target positions on the court with better accuracy;
• your opponents can't target your feet;
  and the greatest reason is . . .
• you can hit DOWN.​

[For in-depth information, read my post, "Get Thee to the Non-Volley Zone Line!]
​
​Advantage #2: ​Hitting the ball in an upward arc within the opponent's reach.
The farther you are from the non-volley zone line, the more you must angle the ball up to get it over the net. Any ball traveling in an upward arc is ripe for a put-away smash that may be hard or impossible for you to return. One of the hardest things for me as a new player was to keep the ball low over the net. 

If you have to bend to retrieve a shot or otherwise return an upward-moving ball, return a soft shot: drop shot, dink, or lob. Which you chose depends on where you are on the court and other conditions. From the back or mid court, choose the drop shot. When at the net, dink. A lob over your opponents' heads can sometimes be beneficial as it sends at least one opponent back and may give you time to move up to the NVZ.

Advantage #3: Playing offense more than defense.
More points are won in pickleball by playing a good defense than a good offense.

• Keeping the ball in play is foremost. If you can do only that, you will win every point, because eventually your opponent will fault. You don't need to make fancy corner shots or hard line drives. Just keep the ball in the court and don't fault.
• Think ahead. Consider what your opponents will do next and prepare for it. Watch their eyes and body angles, as those will help you know where they're aiming their shot.
• Study strategies so you'll know automatically which shot to make in each situation and how to counter your opponents' tactics. 

It's up to you to make your opponents' game difficult. Be tough!

One of the hardest things for new players to do is get to the non-volley zone (NVZ) line safely when they are serving. When playing doubles, both serving players begin in the backcourt. This gives the opponents an immediate advantage since one of them starts at the NVZ and the other can run up, while you must wait due to the second-bounce rule. Then they usually hit balls long and hard, forcing you remain back.
 
Being as close to the net as possible provides a huge advantage. You don’t have to move as far to hit a ball, as shown in the diagram above: the woman at the net has much less distance to traverse to return the man's shot when she's at the NVZ. You’re also able to hit balls to the back court more easily and safely because you need less power and the angles are better. Finally, from the NVZ you can dink.

But how do you get there safely?

Current wisdom says your third shot should be a drop shot into the NVZ just over the net. Some players ask why, since you'd be inviting the opponent who's in the back court to run up to the NVZ. As I said earlier, chances are she's already done that, and the drop shot allows you time to move up, too. It also softens the game, making it nearly impossible for your opponents to hit a hard drive your way. When executed well, the ball lands low and soft, and your opponents must return the ball softly to make it over the net.

Executing drop shots and dinks well and consistently requires practice. Lots of it. But that practice pays off when you can remove the opponents' advantage and level the play. 

The other thing new players find difficult is to stand right behind the NVZ line with toes almost touching it. They lag back in midcourt or a few feet from the line because they're afraid they might step into the NVZ and volley. With practice, that doesn't happen often, and knowing where the NVZ is becomes a sixth sense. The main reason to stand close to the line is that your opponents can't target your feet. The height of the net makes that impossible when you're close to the line. Stand farther back and your shoes are perfect targets.

​When you are forced into the back court (by a lob, for example) during a rally and your opponents are at the net, you can turn to the drop shot again. Your hit has to be soft enough to bounce low, giving you time to run up again, and to prevent them from slamming the ball back. If you don't feel competent with the drop shot, a lob will also work.

I wager most pickleball players made New Year’s resolutions regarding their pickleball practice. I know I did.

Curious about this, I canvassed a few of my pickleball friends shortly after the New Year. Sure enough, many participated in this annual tradition that dates back to the Babylonians. Each player faced January with a deep commitment and heartfelt enthusiasm for their resolutions.

One promised she’d work on her drop shot. Another wrote on her dry-erase board, in big, bold letters, “I will master ball placement.” The least experienced man, who's been on the courts for only two months, swore he would “keep the ball low over the net or die trying.”

I followed up by asking how successful they'd been in keeping those resolutions. Unfortunately, all had experienced the same thing: disappointment. No matter how hard they tried, ultimately they hadn't made good on what they had resolved to do.

I knew exactly what they were talking about. I gave up creating New Year’s resolutions years ago, when I found myself at the end of yet another January with nothing to show for my efforts than an exercise in futility. I was left juggling a range of emotions, from guilty to downright silly.

However, I was in good (or not so good) company. Only about 45 percent of the population resolves to make changes in the new year. Of these, a mere 8 percent succeed.

How can you improve your odds of keeping those resolutions? First, it's helpful to see what can derail you from your course.

1. You try to do too much at once.
2. You don't notice immediate improvement.
3. You resolved to do something you don't really want to do.
4. Other things get in the way of whatever you resolved to do.
5. You may have chosen to do something you don't know how to accomplish.
6. You don't believe you'll succeed.

Once you are able to identify what is preventing you from pushing ahead, you’ll be able to construct goals that will yield productive results. For my friend trying to master ball placement, this meant correcting her self-defeating thoughts and removing the expectation that this would happen quickly. The woman working on the drop shot has managed to keep up with her expectations—in part because she set a realistic, smaller goal and is working with three other women who also want to practice together. The man trying to keep the ball low is frustrated by a lack of immediate improvement, but he's still on course so far.

Here are things you can do to help with whatever goals you've set:

1. Ditch the word resolution. It’s a setup—one that has ridden on the backs of people for thousands of years. Instead, set a goal, objective, or even intention. 
2. Understand what motivates you. For some players, identifying a positive outcome and working toward it is the most effective form of motivation. Think about what is motivating you to meet your playing or practicing goal. Is it a good fit? Does it ring true? If not, identify a more appropriate motivation. When finished, post it where you can see it every day.
3. Break it down. It can be quite worthwhile and exciting to set a large goal. “I will become a 4.0 player this year!” However, make sure your goal is specific—which usually means breaking it down into smaller goals you can cross off along the way. Remember my friend’s resolution to “keep the ball low over the net or die trying”? It would have been better to separate this goal into three separate ones: (1) I will watch my paddle face when returning the ball; (2) I'll work on keeping my shots softer so I have more control; (3) I'll concentrate on adding a bit of backspin to keep the shot lower. 
4. Be realistic. Changing behaviors, attitudes, and habits is a process. Rarely does change occur because of one event or a date on the calendar.
5. If you feel frustrated, pick a single task—the smaller the better. It should be so simple you can’t possibly fail. For example, if you're a 3.5 player, moving to 4.0 shouldn't be that hard to accomplish, but if you’re not succeeding, the task is too big. Instead, aim to work on one of the things that separates these levels. When you are finished, move onto the next one. This approach fights frustrations with success and builds forward progress into your practice.
6. Pair up. Ask another player to join you in working toward your goals. You’ll both benefit from being accountable to one another, and the mutual support will motivate you to follow through.
7. When all else fails, take a break. It can be as simple as deciding to stop working on your goal and just playing for fun for a day, or as significant as putting your goal on hold for a month. Stepping away from the source of frustration can give you a fresh perspective and renewed momentum. But be sure to designate an end point to this refueling period to ensure that it is in fact a break—and not an excuse to stop practicing and remain where you are.
8. Realize that setbacks are part of the process. Accept this inevitability, and you won’t be surprised when you slam into something that brings you to a screeching halt. By eliminating the element of surprise, you minimize disappointment, which will help you recover and get moving again.
9. Be patient! Meeting your playing goals takes time and effort. When you throw out that list of resolutions and focus your attention on one or two well-crafted goals, you’re a step ahead of where you were last year. Twelve months is plenty of time to accomplish your goals if you approach them with understanding, clarity, and objectivity.

Here’s wishing you every success in 2016!