Essential Pickleball Doubles Strategy: How to Win More Games

It's Not Tennis With a Smaller Court

One of the biggest mistakes I see new players make is treating doubles pickleball like doubles tennis. In tennis, you often have one player back and one player up. In pickleball, that's a recipe for disaster.

Doubles pickleball is a game of territory. The team that controls the Kitchen line (the Non-Volley Zone line) controls the game. It's that simple.

The Golden Rule: Move as a Unit

Imagine there's a 6-foot rope tying your waist to your partner's waist. If they move left, you move left. If they move up, you move up.

1. Get to the Kitchen Line ASAP

Your #1 goal after the return of serve is to join your partner at the Kitchen line.

• Serving Team: Hit a deep serve, stay back. Wait for the return to bounce. Then, hit a third shot drop (or drive) and advance.
• Returning Team: Return deep and run immediately to the line. Do not watch your shot. Hit and sprint.

Communication is Key (And I Don't Mean "Yours!")

By the time you yell "Yours!", it's usually too late. Good communication happens before the point and during the setup.

Who Takes the Middle?

The middle is where marriages go to die on the pickleball court. To save your relationship (and the point), agree on this rule:

If you're both right-handed:

• The player on the left (odd side) takes the middle shots with their forehand.
• The player on the right (even side) respects that boundary.

3 High-Percentage Shots You Need

1. 1Down the Middle: It causes confusion. Do they take it? Do I take it? While they're deciding, the ball is whizzing past them.
2. 2Deep Returns: Keep the serving team pinned at the baseline. A deep return gives you more time to get to the kitchen.
3. 3The Reset: If you get overwhelmed by a hard shot, don't swing back harder. Soften your grip, block the ball gently into the kitchen. Reset the point.

Coach Mike's Drill: The "Sumbilical Cord"

Tie a literal rope (or just imagine one) about 8 feet long between you and your partner. Play a practice game. If the rope goes taut, you've failed the positioning test. You'll quickly learn to slide and move together.

Stop playing "hero ball" and start playing "we ball". That's how you dominate doubles.