The Problem With "Always" in Pickleball
Despite how desperately some people want it to be, pickleball is not a solved game. It's not black and white. It's gray. Sorry. A lot of people want a simple answer for everything. They want a rulebook that tells them exactly what to do in every situation. Unfortunately, that's not how high-level pickleball works. If you ever run into a coach who says you should always do "X" when "Y" happens, be careful. There are good rules of thumb, but every situation depends on who is standing on the other side of the net. For example: "Never speed up cross-court." What if the player across from you has slow hands? What if your partner has elite hands and you want to create a firefight they can win? "Always dink cross-court." What if the player in front of you is known for popping dinks up or dumping them into the net? "Always serve to the backhand." What if you're serving to someone with a Connor Garnett-level two-handed backhand?...