Hitting More Winners is not the Best Path to Win More Pickleball Games!

The biggest difference between the 3.5/4.0 players and those at the 4.5/5.0 level is winners and unforced errors.

And I don’t necessarily mean that the top players hit more winners! What I am saying is that there are two natural skill jumps in pickleball. The first is moving from “see ball, hit ball” to attempting to hit winning shots.   The second jump is from attempting to hit winners to reducing unforced errors. Let’s break these down.

See Ball, Hit Ball

Unless you came out of the womb with a racquet in your hand at some point you found yourself at this level. Your only goal was to make contact with the ball and send it flying back over the net or against the wall (for you racquetball players J). You either didn’t have the knowledge to know what shot to execute or you didn’t have the physical skill to execute it. However, I am sure most if not all of you have moved past this level.

Hitting Winners

Am I really saying don’t hit winners?

Of course not! If someone hangs one up in the air or you find your opponent’s court is wide open hit your shot and take the point. What I am saying is this level is full of people trying to manufacture winners. In other words, there isn’t a clear winner present but you are still trying to hit that extra spin, place a shot down that already covered line or hit that near impossible hard angle. Unfortunately, most people at this level believe they are advanced players! In reality, they need to strive for the next level to become advanced players.

Reducing Unforced Errors

Welcome to the first step in becoming an advanced player…admitting you have a problem!

Your problem, our problem is the same problem all pickleball players have regardless if they are beginners or top-level pros. We make unforced errors. The pros make fewer unforced errors than a 2.5 player does but they still make them. The difference is they work to reduce these at all costs. They may take some pace of the ball, try for 18 inches inside the line instead of at the line and reset the point into a dink rather than blast a low ball that will likely go long out of bounds.

Do you do this?

Don’t Take My Word for it – Review the Numbers!

If you came from tennis you probably heard someone say they wanted their Winner to Unforced Error (W/UFE) ratio to be 1.0 or better. This means they want at least the same number of winners as unforced errors. During the 127 matches played in the 2017 Wimbledon, there were 9471 winners hit to 6442 unforced errors for a ratio of 1.47. And during the seven rounds of play, the ratio increased in each round except one! Your top-level pros work hard to increase the winners.

Now, look at the stats to the left. These are the statistics from the 2017 US Pickleball Open Gold Medal Pro finals where Kyle Yates and Dave Weinbach defeated Rafael Siebenchein and Matt Wright 11-5, 11-9. More importantly look at the unforced errors and winners! Both teams are right around .25 for a W/UFE ratio. Also, notice the winning team had fewer winners but had dramatically less unforced errors!

So if you want your game to improve and strive to play at the next level … stop trying for winners and start reducing your unforced errors by playing higher percentage pickleball!

See you on the court,