Pickleball players often struggle to achieve the perfect drive spin, and it's usually due to a simple yet critical mistake: making contact with the ball too close to their body. By adjusting the contact point to be in front of the body, near the front leg, players can instantly improve their topspin and overall drive performance.
The issue arises when players make contact with the ball on a flat or slightly downward part of their swing path, resulting in too much of the ball being hit with the paddle face rather than brushing up and across it to generate topspin. To fix this, players need to focus on making contact at the right point in their swing arc, which is when the paddle is still on the upswing and brushing up the back of the ball.
Understanding the Contact Point
Making contact "out in front" means hitting the ball at or near the front leg, not at the hip or beside the torso. This can be achieved by using the front leg as a landmark and ensuring that the ball strikes the paddle around that point. The position of the contact point determines the spin, and making contact too close to the body results in a loss of topspin.
There are several reasons why players make contact late, including waiting on the ball instead of moving to it, practicing drives without proper feedback, and trying to hit the ball too hard. To overcome these habits, players need to focus on maintaining a stable face and letting the path of the paddle create the spin.
To train the right contact point, players can use the following drills:
- Front leg tap drill: Before swinging, physically touch the front leg with the non-paddle hand as a cue, then hit the drive with that tactile reminder fresh.
- Other drills (not specified in detail in the source article) to help build the habit of making contact at the right point.
- Practice with focus on contact point: Players should practice their drives with a focus on making contact at the right point, using their front leg as a landmark and ensuring that the ball strikes the paddle around that point.
By mastering the contact point and using the right drills to train their body, players can improve their topspin and overall drive performance, taking their pickleball game to the next level.
