Pickleball singles strategies - tips to dominate the game

Singles pickleball is fast-paced, challenging, and a ton of fun once you get the hang of it. With no partner to rely on, playing pickleball singles really tests your own pickleball skills, gives you an excellent workout, and is a great opportunity to work on the weaknesses in your game.

Read on for my best strategies for singles pickleball, as well as a ton of tips to help players of every skill level dominate the game.

Hit your serves as deep as you can with plenty of power to keep your opponent back toward their baseline. This stops them from hitting a dangerous return.

It's worth the risk of hitting a few balls out to keep the pressure on. This is because a short, easy serve gives your opponent a great opportunity to dominate the point.

Serving from the center "T" of the court means that you're in the best position to reach a full range of returns. It also gives your opponent less opportunity to hit their return at a tricky angle.

When receiving a serve, try to return as deep as you can. Aim for the opponent's baseline (and their weaker side if possible). Again, of course, the trick is to keep the ball from landing out.

As in any sport, it's crucial to keep your opponents guessing. Try to vary the direction of your shots to test their skills and keep them on their feet.

Lobs in pickleball should be used sparingly in the singles game, and only when your opponent is right up at the kitchen line. As you progress to a more advanced level, you can start to bring in more lobs.

They're a tricky shot for beginners, though, so I wouldn't recommend them just yet if you're new to the game. Once you're comfortable with the basics of playing pickleball, you can move on to more complicated shots like lobs.

Once you hit a shot, aim to return to the "ready" position in the middle of the court. This gives you the best chance of hitting an effective return and stops your opponent from catching you off guard.

Passing shots are a deadly weapon to have in your shot arsenal in singles pickleball.

When your opponent moves forward towards the kitchen line, a passing shot aimed deep down the line is perfect to make them really stretch and force errors. Make sure to practice your passing shots and you'll soon see the results.

To control the singles game and win more points, you should try to get up to the kitchen line as quickly as possible while pinning your opponent to the baseline with deep returns.

By getting up to the line, you give your opponent less chance to hit a ball past you. You also give yourself a better position to attack.

There's generally no need for big backswings and long follow-throughs in pickleball. This is especially true of the singles game. An efficient, compact stroke saves your energy and makes for much quicker reaction times.

Good footwork is a crucial part of your performance on the court. Mastering this and correctly bending your knees are two things that many players often neglect in their practice routines.

Being quick and light on your feet is an essential part of progressing your game and scoring points. Keeping your knees bent gives you a low center of gravity. This in turn improves your stability and makes you faster to react while generating more power on your shots.

Aggressive dinking in pickleball (or "aggro-dinking") is a way to apply maximum pressure on your opponent—something that good players should be doing all the time.

The idea is simple. Rather than allowing your dink exchanges to become easy back-and-forth ball passes, always keep an eye out for an opportunity to force an error from your opponent.

Why not hit the ball at their feet, send it wide, or attack their backhand? Anything you can do to keep the pressure on will help you to score more points.

I covered this in the beginner tips above. However, any intermediates should follow up a deep, powerful serve with regular hard, long return shots. Even if you miss a few and send them long, you'll win more points overall if you can serve and return deep most of the time.

Singles pickleball involves a lot of fast, powerful shots. However, as you progress to an advanced level in pickleball, you'll notice soft, control skills coming into play more and more.

A well-placed, controlled shot can catch your opponent totally off-guard and win you the point. Even if it doesn't, it'll give them a shock and leave them guessing at your next shot. That unpredictability in your strategy is always a plus.

On your return of serve or third shot, chase the ball up the court as you hit it. This puts you between your opponent and the rest of the court, giving them less space to aim for since you're covering all angles.

Consistently aiming behind your opponent during a rally puts constant pressure on their returns as they are being pushed backward. This puts them off balance and gives them less time to recover between returns.

Use your opponent's speed against them. This is an awesome skill to master. It involves being able to monitor your opponent's movements while also hitting an effective return shot.

If you see that they're committed to heading in one direction, slam the ball to the opposite side of the court. If they're static, aim for the largest open space on the court. This will make them really work to reach the return.

A common mistake that many beginner-intermediate players make is to always go for a killer third-shot drop. Too often, this can end in them hitting the ball into the net.

In advanced singles pickleball, you need to be patient. Let some third shots go high. Over time, this patience will pay off.

For advanced players, getting to the kitchen line quickly is crucial, and picking your moment becomes an art form. The first player to get established at the kitchen line will have better control over the play and is more likely to win the point. It's as simple as that.

The skinny singles variation of pickleball (or "mini-singles" as it's now officially called) has just been officially written into the USA Pickleball rulebook in 2024. It's played the same as normal singles, but using only half the court. This way, it's less demanding on the players' fitness.

In skinny singles, you can play in two different ways. Whichever version you choose, both are great fun and they make excellent pickleball drills for practice sessions.

"Down the line": the court is divided lengthways down the middle, with you and your opponent playing directly across the net from each other.

"Cross court": the court is divided diagonally. This is the official mini-singles format.

Drilling and practicing to improve your skills and consistency are the best ways to win more games. However, if you have any hopes of going pro in pickleball, you need to learn how to read your opponents effectively.

In singles pickleball, you only have one opponent to study, which makes it all the easier. Here are my tips for doing just that:

Closely watch your opponent's body language as they move around the court and hit shots. You'll often be able to tell if they're winding up for a big drive, or planning a sneaky short dink.

You can also observe their form. For example, do they look like they're getting tired? If so, try upping the pace. Get them moving around with shots to the corners and deep drives to the baseline.

As you play through a few points with your opponent, analyze their patterns of play.

Do they always go for a soft dink in certain situations? Do they regularly hit drives high and out of bounds? The more information you have on their playing patterns, the more advantage you'll have over them.

It's always better to anticipate rather than react. As you play with your opponent, observe their body and paddle position to preempt their next move. If you see them go for a backhand, shift to that side to cut off their angle.

When you predict an opponent's shots, it flusters them. This helps to push them out of their comfort zone and force errors.

Singles pickleball is known for being more energetic than doubles pickleball. It demands a higher level of fitness and endurance since you have to cover the court on your own. The best way to boost your performance in singles pickleball is to train your body harder.

Playing pickleball is great exercise in itself and a great way to burn calories. However, in between pickleball sessions, there are plenty of exercises you can do to improve your on-court performance.

Running and jogging are both accessible, free cardio workouts. Anything that gets the blood flowing and the lungs pumping is beneficial.

Pickleball is all about "stop and start" fitness. Unlike soccer where you have 45 minutes of running, pickleball often involves a couple of minutes of dashing about followed by a break.

That's why High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is ideal for singles training. It mimics the demands that pickleball puts on your body. HIIT has also been proven to boost cardio-respiratory fitness.

Sometimes, the difference between the loser and winner of a point in pickleball is purely down to stamina—especially at higher levels. Any drills or exercises that increase your stamina will help your chances of staying the course and dominating your opponent.

That wraps up my pickleball singles strategy guide. I hope these tips help you to improve your game and make your court time more enjoyable.

If you have any other tips and suggestions for the singles game, message us on our socials. We always love to hear from you.

In the meantime, check out the sessions on your local courts and find a singles game near you to try out some of these strategies. See you on the courts!