How to Ace Opponents in Pickleball
The serve is becoming a weapon in pickleball. Pickleball Pro Morgan Evans had 26 aces in pro mixed doubles, Zane Navratil consistently puts people on their heels with his patented ‘Chainsaw Serve’ and even Ben Johns has been showcasing different serving styles in his recent singles appearances.
After witnessing Morgan Evans display his unique yet incredibly successful serve at the Los Angeles Open, I went to the courts and spent 2 weeks working on my own version of that serve. Integrating this new serve into my game has been netting me around 3 points on my serve every single game!
If you want to learn how to do that serve AND how to defend it, watch this video.
These new serves have been nothing short of polarizing among the pickleball community. Here are some quotes that I have heard and read over the past couple of days:
“It takes away from how pickleball is supposed to be played, in the kitchen and making strategic shots.”
“Those who are elderly or not so athletic can have great trouble with a crazy spin serve.”
“I may have to develop it in order to compete, but I’m not in favor of it.”
“People who say the serve shouldn't be an offensive weapon are woefully out of touch. Are you going to put in silly rules to stop people from hitting the ball too hard on the serve? Ridiculous…”
“Players who get mad about that serve are usually the ones who don't want to improve, don't read the rules and don't like losing.”
“I feel that a serve that produces too many aces is relative. If people start seeing these serves used more effectively, then people will start to learn how to defend or play against it.”
It is evident that pickleball is at a pivotal point in its life. Should there be rules put in place to disallow these kinds of serves? Should we accept these serves as part of an evolving game? Either way, they are here for at least the next few months and only becoming more common across all levels of play, so it is crucial to learn how to defend them.
