A misdirection shot is a shot hit in the opposite direction of what is natural or what the setup of the shot looks like. In other words, imagine a right-handed player on the even/right-hand side of the pickleball court. The player lifts up the paddle, looking like he or she is about to hit the pickleball down the middle of the court. Then, all of a sudden and at the last second, the player manipulates his or her wrist and paddle to the inside of the pickleball, and sends the pickleball down the line. The player misdirects the pickleball from the natural shot or what the setup of the shot looked like.

Think of misdirection shots like dessert. If your meat and vegetables are your main entrée, or majority of your game, then your dessert or misdirection shots should only consist of a few shots. Use your misdirection shots every once in a while, to keep your opponent honest and guessing, but not too much that increase your unforced errors. If your misdirection shots are working with a high rate of success, then you can consider using them more often.

As alluded to above, the key to hitting an effective misdirection shot is the ability to manipulate your wrist to the opposite of the natural angle of your swing to strike the opposite side of the pickleball with your paddle. It is important to disguise your shot as long as possible to maximize the element of surprise against your opponents.

Get out on the pickleball court and work on some misdirection shots. Mix in one or two, but do not overuse the misdirection shot and increase your unforced errors.

Key Takeaways:

1. A misdirection shot is a shot in the opposite direction of the natural angle of your swing.

2. To hit a misdirection shot, manipulate your wrist to the opposite of the natural angle of your swing to strike the opposite side of the pickleball with your paddle.

3. Try some misdirection shots, but be sure to disguise your shot as long as possible and not to overuse this shot—it is your dessert shot!