Speedup Trap

Use your opponent’s bad calls against them...

Author

Shea Underwood
November 22, 2025

Week 63

Welcome back to the Road to Pro Newsletter! Just by opening this issue, you are now automatically eligible for this week’s paddle giveaway. Last week’s winner was Hayden from California!

Here’s what I’ve got for you this week:

  • Two tricks for exploiting your opponents’ weaknesses

  • A fun and simple way to master lobs

If you’re reading this, you now have a chance to win this week’s paddle giveaway!

Now, let's get to it!

Estimated read time: 2 minutes and 25 seconds

Big shoutout to Selkirk for sponsoring this newsletter and making all the paddle giveaways I do possible!

I personally have been using a Selkirk paddle for over five years now, and they just released an incredible new paddle called the Boomstick. Trust me…it lives up to its name. It’s the most powerful paddle I’ve ever played with, and it comes out of the case perfect and ready to play, which means there’s no break-in period. The core is built to last an incredibly long time, there are weights on the sides that keep it perfectly balanced, AND it comes with the new InfiniGrit surface, which gives you longer-lasting spin.

You can get it on Selkirk’s website here and use my code INF-SHEA for a gift card toward a future purchase.

Shoot the Gap

I’m sure you’ve played with plenty of opponents who hit every single ball, even the ones that are obviously going out. If you do, I’ve got good news for you: your opponent’s inability to let out-balls go makes it a lot easier to hit speedups.

Since they struggle to see when a ball is going out, it takes some pressure off you to hit a perfect, low speedup that lands in every time. In this case, your speedups don’t always have to be perfect since your opponent will save your bad ones. Now, I’m not saying that means you can just stop trying to hit good speedups. You should still work on mastering this shot because it is a necessary skill in pickleball. However, knowing that your opponent might bail you out gives you more freedom to go for speedups much more often without stressing about making them perfect.

Another trick I’ve got for you is for when you’re playing on the right side. Most opponents don’t expect the right-side player to be aggressive because that’s usually the “weaker” player. It’s a great opportunity to use that to your advantage. When the opponent in front of you slides over to take more shots from the middle (which is very common in doubles), they leave their sideline open. The second you see that happening, hit a speedup down the line into the gap they left behind. They usually won’t expect that kind of attack from the weaker player, which means they won’t be very prepared, and will often just miss that shot. As the weaker player, your secret weapon could simply be that your opponents think you’re too weak. Prove them wrong.

If you end up playing some doubles this week, keep your eye out for these two things and see if they can earn you some points.

The Underestimated Shot

In my opinion, lobs are undervalued but highly useful in pickleball. However, I know many people struggle to hit them or even know how to respond properly when they get lobbed on, since it’s not as common of a shot. That’s why I’m giving you a fun drill this week to practice both hitting and receiving lobs.

First, position yourself crosscourt from another player at the kitchen line. One of you will be hitting lobs, the other will be retrieving them. Once you figure out who’s doing what, start a rally by hitting a couple dinks. After hitting 1-2 dinks to get the rally going, the designated lobber will lob down the line.

The retriever will run back, hit a good drop into the kitchen to reset, then get back to the kitchen, ending up directly in front of the lobber. The lobber should play cooperatively to let their partner get back to the kitchen, since the goal of this drill is lobbing and responding.

Once the retriever gets back to the kitchen, hit 1-2 dinks, then lob crosscourt. The retriever will run back, drop it in the kitchen, then end up at the kitchen crosscourt again from the lobber where they originally started the drill.

Make sure you switch positions so both players get practice in both scenarios, and the retriever can catch their breath.

Have fun!

Discounts for You