What Pickleball Commentators Should Be Tracking

While pickleball is a growing sport, it really is still in its infancy. In 2020, the sport saw the launch of two professional tours including the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) and Professional Pickleball Association (PPA). If you watch those matches on Youtube, ESPN, or any other network like Selkirk TV, you'll see the score and hear the announcers like Scott Golden and Lauren McLaughlin. However, one thing you'll be missing, which is commonplace in other sports, are the statistics like winners and errors. 

So, in this article let's take a look at some of the most important things to track in the game of pickleball.

Number of Shots in a Rally

The number of shots in each rally can show us which players are more effective in long rallies versus short rallies. While the number of shots in a rally typically increases along with your skill level, the game of pickleball at the professional level is becoming more aggressive so this may change in the future.

Third Shot Effectiveness

Pickleball players typically hit a third shot drive or third shot drop as you would rarely see a lob on the third shot especially at higher levels. So, whether the third shot is a drive or drop it should be tracked for its effectiveness. 

An effective drop is one where your opponent cannot be offensive with the shot. 
An effective drive is one which is low over the net and aimed toward the body of your opponent or one which goes down the line so your opponent has to reach to get it. 

In other words, an effective third shot is one where your opponent does not have an opportunity to be offensive.

Winners to Unforced Errors

These statistics are commonly tracked in a sport like tennis and they are key for pickleball also. Limiting your mistakes is critical if you want to improve your game. Professionals at the top of their game will never miss a dink or third shot and if they have a chance to hit a winner to end a point, they won't miss that either. 

Serving and Return Percentage

The goal, of course, is to hit every serve and return on the court. However, even professionals will have a few misses here as players become more offensive with their serve.  As Shea Underwood pointed out in a recent article for Pickleball University, Morgan Evans had over 20 aces in a recent tournament in mixed doubles play so this will also be a statistic to monitor going forward.