Play to the Stronger Opponent

I’m going to suggest that in doubles pickleball, you place many of your shots to the stronger opponent, not the weaker one. Now, if you’re competing in a tournament, giving most of the shots to the weaker player insures that you’ll win. But when it doesn’t matter who wins, you’re far better off giving much of the play to the strong player. Why? Because then you’ll learn how to play a better game. The stronger player will drop things into the kitchen. The stronger player knows where to be to respond to your every tactic, and worse, knows how to flummox you. So, by focusing on this player, you’ll learn what doesn’t work with good players, and what does.

Another benefit may come of this. Many beginning and intermediate players don’t pay much attention to who they are playing with, and will randomly place their shots to either opponent. By focusing on the stronger opponent, you will learn to single one person out, and place the shots to that person, which you can then use in competition to focus on the weaker player.