Pro Connor Garnett Explains Three Keys To Winning Pickleball Singles
- Connor Garnett, a professional pickleball player, says singles success rests on three areas: controlling the net on the return, creating offense on serve, and covering the court.
- He describes the third shot as “the difference maker” and recommends hitting it at about 60 to 70 percent of full power.
- His advice closes with two drills: a passing shot and follow drill, and a shot building and selection drill built around three backhand targets.
A Three Part Plan For Winning More Singles Points
Connor Garnett, a professional pickleball player, laid out his approach to singles in The Pickleball Weekly. He says winning comes down to three areas: controlling the net on the return, creating offense on serve, and covering the court. His article walks through the technique behind each area and ends with two drills players can use to build the habits.
Garnett singles out one shot above the rest. He describes the third shot as “the difference maker.”
Control The Net On The Return
Garnett starts with the deep return. He says to turn the hips on the backswing, stay level through the ball, and let the arm follow through toward the target. On both forehand and backhand, he wants players to move their body forward into the court as they hit.
The first volley comes next. Keep it deep, step into it, and stay low. Garnett says to punch through the ball rather than lifting it.
He separates two kinds of volley. A swing volley fits when you have more time, and a compact punch fits when you have less. In both cases, keep the backswing short and make contact out front. Against fast balls, punch without a backswing. Against slow balls, use a small backswing with more follow-through.
Garnett tells players to avoid the middle. Deep volleys keep the opponent back, and shallow ones pull the opponent toward the kitchen. Balls that land in the middle zone let the opponent step in and hit a passing shot.
Create Offense With The Third Shot
Garnett says the serve counts for less than the third shot. A big serve can make the third shot easier, but he calls the third the most important shot in the sequence.
Power on that shot comes from trunk rotation, driven through the legs, hips, and core. Garnett wants lots of footwork and a low body position. He also wants players to let the ball drop onto the paddle before swinging through it to the target.
He does not recommend hitting the shot flat out. His target is about 60 to 70 percent of full power, which favors consistency. When you are out of position, he says to slow the shot down.
Cover The Court
Movement is the third area. Garnett says to face the hips in the direction of travel so you can take longer strides. Recover with long strides and finish with a small split step in the middle of the court.
He points to court size when he talks about footwork. The smaller pickleball court does not call for tennis-style shuffles, he says, so long strides and a small split step do the job.
Garnett also tells players to shrink the court and follow the shot. After a down-the-line shot, follow it in. After a crosscourt shot, move to the other side. He says the crosscourt shot is the toughest to handle when it lands on a good ball, and following the second crosscourt shot keeps pressure on the opponent.
Two Drills To Build The Habits
The first drill is a passing shot and follow drill. Start with feeds down the line and follow each shot in. Then mix in depth to get a live-ball feel, and add crosscourt passes after that. Garnett says to review every lost point.
The second drill covers shot building and selection. Garnett sets three backhand targets: deep down the line, deep crosscourt, and short-angle crosscourt. He leaves out a short down-the-line target and says he would not use that shot.
What To Take To The Court
Garnett’s plan is simple to state. Control the net on the return, create offense on serve, and cover the court. The drills and techniques in his article build the shots, movement, and decisions behind those three areas.
