@1HBHfanatic @TripleB @jonestim @gold325
1) How much more spin … 2) how and where does it help?
I’m not playing higher level rec doubles (yet
) … but I have watched enough to believe the most important game improvement would come from ability to hit speedups from lower. Seems hard to quantify … for example how much doubling baseline drive rpm migrates to kitchen topspin speedup? Perhaps some paddles would produce best kitchen rpm, but test lower in the pack at the baseline.
Who knows … so let’s discuss the fun rpm for a tennis player … baseline. And for this tennis singles player at heart … the really fun spin … singles baseline drives.
I played a total of 5 singles games last week with new carbon paddle, but had played enough with fiberglass paddle to immediately see/experience the difference. Also hours of singles tennis competition … fwiw in similar singles needs/skills in pball singles.
First … hands down for me most important gain from carbon was control. Not talking about control from topspin … but control from “enough” paddle grab on ball that I no longer felt the ball sliding on face at contact like I did with fiberglass topspin strokes.
So did I also get pball singles improvement from topspin like I did with tennis topspin?
Yes and no.
I can’t quantify how much more topspin I was getting (but obvious and significant), but one area it is very different than tennis is there is no equivalent of the heavy topspin tennis forehand. If you have ever played a 2+ hour singles match against a heavy forehand, it’s a major offensive weapon. When I’m standing there on baseline in Pickleball with this low bouncing wiffle … oh please hit some topspin that bounces up closer to the strike zone. I will believe heavy wiffle game when I see it.
So where was increased spin game improvement (where did it help). Actually … my tennis habits migrated nicely to singles. I hit flattish dtl … just enough topspin to bring it down inside baseline, and new paddle much more precise hitting my target line. Sharp cross court (passing shot or just drive with opponent on baseline) was when I hit my most topspin. Also … swinging topspin volley surprisingly easy to control and gives added margin on bigger swings, particularly wide). Opponent at kitchen … tennis version opponent stuck his nose to close to net …dipping forehand topspin lob he has no chance to run down (this was a test
and a lie … if you play pickleball singles after years of tennis singles … you already know how anemic topspin lobs are
). Watch out singles pballers if they give us tennis players our topspin lobs back with future equipment changes.
So what was my point? Did I have a point? Oh yeah … added topspin only means something in context of game improvement. In singles, and lower level open doubles … baseline topspin strokes is a target rich environment. Upper level rec doubles … baseline not so much … kitchen topspin speedups definitely (I need to work on that probably more than anything else right now).
What say you peeps with “actual”
experience. btw … most happy I have been so far on pball court is the few games of singles. All of a sudden tennis skills actually matter.
btw … the trade off in topspin vs pace is even more pronounced in pball then tennis. Fast guys can run down the wiffle … flatter is a good thing very often.
