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When To Hit Hard vs. When To Hit Soft

Most players spend the whole rally wondering whether they should pull the trigger. That hesitation is the real problem, not the shot selection.

Here is the first rule, and it matters more than anything else in this article. Never second-guess yourself. In pickleball, time is currency. The moment you second-guess, you are late, and being late makes you wrong no matter which choice you were leaning toward. Even a bad decision executed on time beats a good decision executed half a second too slow. Always go with your first choice.

Now here is how to make that first choice the right one.

Space decides everything

The single biggest factor in whether you hit hard or hit soft is space. If you can make contact away from your body, you have room to swing and you can hit hard. If the ball is jammed in close to your body, you have no room, and that is when you reset or hit soft.

This works in reverse too. When you are attacking, it is better to go at your opponent than away from them. Take their space away and they cannot generate anything.

Height decides the rest

If the ball is high, you can hit down into the court. That is your green light to hit hard.

If the ball is low, you have to hit up over the net. That is your red light. Never hit hard when you are hitting up, because there is nowhere for the ball to land.

The rule is simple. Hit hard only when you are hitting down.

How to create space on a ball hit at you

Here is where good players separate themselves. When a ball is coming right at your body, you do not have to accept the reset. You can move.

Shift your body to the side and suddenly a ball that was jamming you is now away from you. That gives you space to speed it up or drive a volley.

But you can only do this in two situations. Either the ball is slow enough that you have time to move, or you read your opponent early enough to get there. If neither is true, take the reset and live to fight the next ball.

The quick version

Ball close to your body, hit soft. Ball away from your body, hit hard. Ball high, hit hard. Ball low, hit soft. If the ball is coming at you and you want to attack it, create your own space by moving early off a slow ball or off a read. And above all, go with your first choice EVERY time.

➡️ Click here to view a quick diagram on when to reset (hit soft) vs counter (hit hard) for volleys

Fall Programming Is Here (September & October Programs)

Fall registration is officially open across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and this is our biggest season yet.

Adult clinics, junior clinics, tennis, and pickleball are all running this fall, with programs in nearly 30 townships and communities across the region. Whether you are brand new to the sport, coming back after a summer off, or looking to finally break through to the next level, there is a program built for exactly where you are.

Where we are running this fall

Programs are up and running across Montgomery County, Chester County, Delaware County, Bucks County, Philadelphia, the Main Line, and the Jersey Shore. That includes locations in Limerick, Phoenixville, Conshohocken, Plymouth Meeting, Whitemarsh, Lower Gwynedd, Springfield, Radnor, West Chester, Doylestown, and more.

What we are offering

Adult pickleball clinics for every level, from first-timers to advanced players. Junior pickleball and junior tennis academies. Adult tennis clinics. Plus the mixers, round robins, and special events that make our programs more than just a lesson.

Every program is led by Universal Rackets certified coaches, trained to our own standard on top of their industry certifications.

Fall fills faster than summer

Fall is our most popular season. Once school starts and the weather turns, our programs fill quickly and levels close out. If you have been meaning to sign up, do it now rather than in three weeks.

Head to universalrackets.com to find your location and register.

Quick Tip Of The Week: When To Dink/Volley/Speedup

How To Block Hard Shots In Pickleball

Everyone talks about how to hit hard. Almost nobody talks about what to do when someone hits hard at you. That gap is where most points get lost.

The first thing to understand is that when you are under pressure, your goal is not to win the point. Your goal is to survive it. Prolong the rally, stay in the point, and let your opponent be the one who eventually makes the mistake. Once you accept that, blocking becomes much simpler.

Here is how to do it.

Recognize it early and back up

The moment you see your opponent making contact above the net, you know an attack is coming. That is your cue.

Most players stand their ground and get overwhelmed. Instead, move back and create space. Space equals time, and time is the only thing that lets you react to a fast ball. A step or two back can be the difference between a clean block and a ball that handcuffs you.

Get your positioning right

When you backpedal, do not turn your body sideways. Keep your hips and chest facing forward the entire time so you are always ready to take the ball in front of you.

Your paddle stays out in front and stays low. Most hard shots come in low, and a paddle held high is a paddle that has to travel to get there. You want to be in an athletic stance, knees bent, weight grounded, ready to absorb rather than swing.

Use two hands

If you are struggling against bangers, put your second hand on the paddle. Two hands give you dramatically more stability and control against pace. Think of it as training wheels for your block. Once your hands get quicker and your confidence builds, you can go back to one. But there is no shame in using two, and plenty of high level players do it on purpose.

Blocking a smash at the kitchen

Move back immediately. Keep the paddle low and in front. Then think about shining a laser straight out from the center of your paddle face. That mental image keeps your paddle face stable and pointed where you want the ball to go, instead of twisting on contact.

You are not trying to do anything with the ball. You are just trying to keep it in play.

Blocking a drive from the baseline

Stay balanced and keep everything compact. No big swings, no reaching.

The key here is letting the ball meet your paddle instead of chasing it. Get the paddle out early and let the ball come to it. When you wait and then reach, you are always late.

Returning a powerful serve or drive

Start a little further back than you normally would. That extra space buys you the time you need.

Use a short backswing, then redirect the ball using your forward body momentum instead of your arm. Your body moving through the shot does the work, not a big swing. And keep your head and body down all the way through contact. The moment you lift up early, the ball goes up with you.

The part nobody wants to hear

None of this becomes automatic from reading about it. The only way to get comfortable against pace is repetition.

Get on a court, have someone hit hard at you on purpose, and block until it stops feeling scary. That repetition is what builds the muscle memory and the calm you need when it happens in a real match.

Hard shots stop being a problem the moment you stop being surprised by them.

➡️ Click here to view a full online lesson on how to block hard shots

Our Website Just Got a Whole Lot Easier To Use

We rebuilt universalrackets.com with one goal in mind: make it simple to find a program and sign up in under a minute.

Here is what changed.

Everything is in one place now. Pickleball, tennis, junior programs, adult clinics, camps, and drop-ins all live under one roof. No more hunting through separate pages or wondering if a program is still open. If it is running, it is on the site.

Registration is fully online. Find your location, pick your program, and register right there. No phone calls, no back and forth emails, no waiting to hear back. Your spot is confirmed the moment you check out.

Online and offline coaching side by side. Whether you want to get on the court with one of our certified coaches or work on your game from home, both options are now easy to find and easy to book.

Built for your phone. Most of you are signing up from the sideline, the car, or the couch. The new site works the way it should on mobile, so you are never zooming and pinching your way through a registration form.

We built this because the number one thing we heard from players was that they wanted to sign up faster and with less friction. That feedback shaped every part of the update.

Go take a look and find your next program at universalrackets.com.

Program Spotlight: Summer Is Winding Down (Two Weeks Left!)

What a summer it has been.

Universal Rackets has been running full speed all season across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, and Texas, and we are not done yet. There are still two to three weeks of summer programming left, and our end of August camps and clinics are open for registration right now.

A few highlights from the season so far:

Our Lewisville Day Camp brought a great group of players out all summer long. Windsong Ranch Pickleball Camps sold out completely. Lower Merion Pickleball Camps, Limerick Tennis Camps, and Radnor Tennis Camps have all been running strong, along with dozens of other programs across our regions.

Thank you to every player, parent, and community that made this summer what it was. Watching brand new players pick up a paddle for the first time and watching returning players finally break through never gets old.

If you want to squeeze in a little more before the season closes out, head to universalrackets.com and grab a spot in one of our end of August camps or clinics.

It has been an amazing summer. We cannot wait to see you again this fall.

Lesson of the Week: How To Return Any Spin In PickleballWhen To Hit Hard vs. When To Hit Soft

Thank you for reading and we can’t wait to see you on court!

-Universal Rackets