I am a competitive/recreational player who plays in a rec league with other similar players. No one is turning pro and we don’t have facilities for full time Pickleball (we set up nets in school gymnasium several times a week). Limitations being stated, we are still competitive and I try to improve my game. I have run the gamut of serving philosophies and have come full circle to making sure to get the serve in. Probably the player in our group that has the best serve is much like Babe Ruth. He scores off the serve once in a while, but also faults a lot. I tried to improve my speed and top spin, only to fault many times during last night’s games. Finally, I gave up and went back to getting it in and giving my team a chance to win the point. By getting it in, sometimes we went on a 3, 4 or 5 point rally that wouldn’t have happened if faulting. I really don’t see an advantage to pushing it and faulting 2-3 times a game at this level. Am I missing something.
You’re not missing anything—just getting your serve in is usually the smartest move in rec play. Longer rallies beat risky serves that often fault. by strokess
My buddies and I are probably a level above you. (I built my own court on my property 3 years ago. I took lessons from the best player in the state for two years. So take this for what it’s worth.)
I stand about 4 feet back from the baseline to serve and hit with hard heavy topspin. I try to clear the net by about 3 feet to give the topspin “room to work.” My serves tend to land within 3 feet of the opponents’ baseline … almost every time. My strong serve results in around 4 “free points” a game … and 2-3 weak and short returns which give my partner and me an advantage right away.
I am perfectly comfortable missing 2-3 times a game. I get annoyed with myself if I fault 4+ times a game. YMMV