The EXACT Skills Needed To Go From a 4.0 to a 5.0. (I WISH someone taught me these earlier)

[@aaronsegal1682]

I need to watch this 500 times! You are easily one of the best teachers out there. Succinct, salient and cogent tips. Please be my coach!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks for that Aaron!! If you want more, make sure you join the free newsletter I just came out with for MORE! :)have you? (Tannerpickleball.com)

[@JPaul-vu4lp]

Yea, only 490 more to go.

[@aaronsegal1682]

@@tanner.pickleball I signed up…but haven’t seen the newsletter yet. Did it come out already?

[@aaronsegal1682]

@@JPaul-vu4lp hey…up to 15 times so far. Getting there.

[@tanner.pickleball]

@@aaronsegal1682 The first edition is coming out this week!

[@wulymammoth]

Finally, someone talks about short-hopping or half-volley to neutralize aggressive dinks. I see all the higher level players do this, but your demo made it click!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks Wuly!!

[@arcahchong4017]

A senior here, been playing for a year, love your tips, short, precise & straight to the point!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thank you Arca!

[@derekm5935]

Red / green light and middle coverage tips = GOLD!! Your simple to follow tips are relevant and immediately usable. Keep going Tanner!!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thank you so much!!

[@Intensifed]

As a fellow lefty, there's no one else I follow that gives better tips that I can plug & play to immediately improve my game!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks brother!!

[@Spaceman_Spiffo]

Likewise! I always feel like the odd one out when playing social. The rightys don't like playing with us leftys! Most common thing I hear on the court after a miscommunication "Oh I forgot you were a lefty".

[@BenjaminAndersonPickleball]

Tracking the ball with my paddle was something I'd never considered but it makes perfect sense. The half volley tip was good for me too. I need to work on that one. Thanks for sharing, Tanner.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Sweet! Thanks Ben!!

[@Thejoeb]

red light green light is a great teaching tool for that shot- good stuff!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks!

[@WayneSun-y3b]

Your pickleball videos are amazing! You make learning the game fun and easy to understand. Your tips and strategies have taken my game to the next level. Keep up the great work-you're the best coach out there! 🏓👏❤🎉🎉

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad you like them! So happy you watch them all!!

[@michaelfeher8602]

The editing and video production leveled up for sure. Good stuff. Quality video.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks! More of this coming!!

[@amazed4999]

You are a great teacher, and you give great tips. Thanks.

[@tanner.pickleball]

You're very welcome!

[@alphug67]

Just the best advice on YT on how to improve your pickleball game. Thank you Tanner!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Absolutley!

[@MaliaSato]

Best informational pickleball video I’ve seen!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks Malia!

[@bufenuf642]

Can I make a confession? My personal philosophy is to model the behaviours and advice of people who are where I want to be. I play at the 3.0 level and basically wanted to jump higher and faster so I said let me at least watch this video. As usual Coach Tanner gets you to understand quickly, what you should do. This video and the tips are super clear and will be my focus at my very next game. Thank you, Coach and know that you are helping people play and live better. You are so talented as a player and as a coach.🎉😊

[@tanner.pickleball]

So nice of you!!

[@DannyBPlays]

Vid production was stepped up majorly here. These tips are really awesome, but the split step timing seems to differ across other YT channels. Many others say stop when the opponent hits the ball I'm always happy to see a skilled player say that it's ok to be in the transition zone. Often my random partners tell me I need to be up more even when the ball has been hit too high up and theyre a sitting duck for a hard speedup The analogy of red light green light is soooo perfect

[@tanner.pickleball]

You should always split step when the ball crosses the net when approaching on a drop!

[@afterthesmash]

KZbin lied to me. I told me I had already watched this, but I hadn't. This really sucks, because I _needed_ to watch this video. I'm glad I finally did, for real this time.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Love this! Sorry that happened with KZbin. Glad it got solved.

[@HeavyAndLow]

This info is gold ✨️

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thank you!!!

[@collinsphilips]

THanks for the great tips.... Very good teacher

[@tanner.pickleball]

Appreciate the love!

[@robertharrison7832]

I like this video. The pacing. And clarity of explanation made it easy to understand.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad it was helpful!

[@robertcunningham9626]

Thank you, Tanner!

[@tanner.pickleball]

You’re welcome, Robert! :)

[@Everheartt]

honestly the best! really covers all the intermediate skills im working on! Thank you!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks!!

[@Spaceman_Spiffo]

Brilliant content and advice as usual. Love the tip about following the ball with your paddle!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@ronniepotts9889]

Thank you Tanner for all your videos. I appreciate all your insight. You seem like such a down to earth person too. Excellent job! I just subscribed and I look forward to more of your content in the future.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thank you so much for that!

[@scottwaldon7420]

Very good points especially about the topspin and the paddle being right next to your leg so paddle is at right angle and also pointing your paddle at direction of where the ball is.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Appreciate it Scott!

[@CONSTITUTIONALGUARD-zc9nv]

This is all excellent advice and I forget 90% of it the minute I walk on the court. Dang!!!!!. I think I need to watch this between every game.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Love that!!

[@takeonlife-sfs]

Your video's keep getting better with the details and explanations. Well done

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks man!

[@mitchsledge9295]

So much information I really liked this video.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks Mitch!

[@thephotoguy439]

Fantastic I teach all of these tips. I use this like my 3x5 note card. Thanks California Bill

[@tanner.pickleball]

Right on!

[@steven469]

The short hop is interesting, need to get my body lower to the ground! Also I like the info about shading, the common thing is the left side player gets the middle but if the left side player is getting pulled out from dunks we can’t always expect them to get the middle by opening up.. so the right side player has to be ready!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Yes exactly and love to hear that!

[@malimcivor4836]

Great tips. I am new to pickleball but played tennis long time ago. I have been watching your channel and my play has improved tremendously. Thank you. 👍👍

[@tanner.pickleball]

Great to hear!

[@klatch29]

Good video. I appreciate content like this and will look to implement these in to my game, focusing on one or two at a time, of course.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad it was helpful!

[@DallasPowers-zt7oy]

Great vid! Loved the tips that were straight to the point and the nice editing

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks!

[@MichaelKada]

Just great content- practical and specific 🎉

[@tanner.pickleball]

I appreciate that!

[@jisforjoy3314]

Hi Tanner, great pointers and format of teaching! Jin

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@zzw26n]

This Video is SAVED to Training List!! Share this one everybody!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Love it!!

[@SamsonThorne-ku8er]

Man your tips are pure gold. I hope to see you playing on tour soon

[@tanner.pickleball]

I hope so too!

[@jakewoodisgood1]

great stuff. I struggle with creating top spin or doing those roll volleys. those short hops though are pretty dangerous and will be hard to be consistent at 4.0 and below. I try to explain the who covers middle rule just as you have said, but people get caught in the old rule of forehand covers middle. I also like the paddle position tip where the further back you are the lower the paddle needs to be, would be super helpful with identifying out balls as well as a good position to defend your feet.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks so much for sharing this Jake!!

[@robrodgersse]

This is a great video. Thanks. One quibble: you give too high of a paddle ready position at the kitchen. You showed it as slightly above the sternum, when current thinking is for the paddle to be slightly above the belly button. The thinking is if a speed up is shoulder high or higher, it's probably going out. See the lesson John Cincola's gave to Zane Navratil.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks Ill check this!

[@SnapShot83]

Nice video Tanner, great info - can't wait to apply this!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad it was helpful!

[@elukea]

Great info. So glad you are putting this out there.

[@tanner.pickleball]

My pleasure!

[@brianmarcus8816]

Fantastic job!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thank you very much!

[@brianmarcus8816]

If you are ever in MN come and beat up on us. We are a bunch of 4.25 to 5.0 players that a bit to cocky! lol

[@711colonel]

Great tips!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad it was helpful!

[@BobbyHTTC]

Great nuggets! Thanks. 👏🏼

[@tanner.pickleball]

You bet!

[@millisock]

Excellent, once again! Thank you Tanner!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Yep, thanks for watching!

[@KarenTerry-t5q]

Awesome video Tanner. Thank you!

[@tanner.pickleball]

My pleasure!

[@JohnRoberts-i7g]

Tanner, great tips…..keep them coming…

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks! Will do!

[@cluelessinky]

This was very helpful. I often find myself out of position and vulnerable. Your suggestions give me some examples to follow to correct my deficiencies. Thank tou

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rayweng2425]

awesome tips tanner!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad you like them!

[@AyooSteezyMike]

Super informative, thank you for these tips.

[@tanner.pickleball]

You are so welcome!

[@jesadadong6320]

I glad to found you . Make it easy for me to learn because I lefties like you are. Thank you ❤

[@tanner.pickleball]

You are so welcome!

[@donia.athletics]

great video!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Appreciate that!

[@andyapsay8220]

Thank you!!!!!

[@tanner.pickleball]

:)

[@brucehawkinson8901]

I don’t follow the keep the paddle down at the 3:38 mark, you do have the paddle down in both situations in relation to where the leg is. I’d down you mean paddle below the hand/wrist

[@tanner.pickleball]

Paddle tip down. When my LEG is behind the ball it allows my paddle to be completely pointed down. When my leg is not behind the ball, my paddle is diagonal, not sideways. Not giving me enough top spin!

[@lucydoyle9010]

Love ur videos. Thank u

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad you like them!

[@bethechange4726]

Bro thanks Awesome Vid!!!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad you liked it!

[@leslieledford5950]

Such great content! Thanks!

[@tanner.pickleball]

:)

[@wpo1956]

Great video and all your tips work

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad you like them!

[@Amordil]

Wow awesome information thank you!!!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad it was helpful!

[@SEANRMZ]

thanks Tanner, love your vids

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks!

[@alashhar]

You are awesome!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks so much!!

[@lymedog3176]

Tanner, is that ocean city nj your playing in?…great video…you and Matt from Montclair are putting out some awesome local videos!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Sure is! Thank you :)

[@wishurdead444]

Relatable content, will try the red light green light method with the resets..

[@tanner.pickleball]

Love that!

[@johnzhang9669]

Great video

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad you liked it!

[@lamarque1]

What a great video!! Thank you!

[@tanner.pickleball]

:)

[@mattwyro7339]

I have to start tracking that's a great idea

[@tanner.pickleball]

Love it!

[@ebutuoycc]

Thanks love your video and tips

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thank you!

[@louparker5276]

Nicely done. Now for some practice!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Yep!

[@louparker5276]

It works! Can't wait to try again.

[@JohnRoberts-i7g]

Excellent all areas.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks!

[@eduardochavezmorin9952]

Salute from Guadalajara Mexico.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks man!

[@t81629]

Thank you for such good info here. Love the red light green light analogy. Covering the middle has always been my question finally answered. What's a good solution to not wanting to tell my partner (in open play) what to do. Just gently suggest at the beginning of a game that whoever is the cross court recipient takes the middle?

[@tanner.pickleball]

Yes I would recommend at the beginning of each game tell your partner "lets respect the x!"

[@fiorenzafalcioni6798]

Highly instructive and essential video. Thank you Tanner. The split step when the ball crosses the net is new to me, no instructor ever mentioned it, but I think it makes sense and I will try it. In your opinion, waiting to split step when the opponent hits the ball is always too late or are there situations in which it is ok? Thank you again for these pleasant and instructive videos. I have applied to get your newsletter.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks! Of course their are exceptions on when to go. Like if you hit an aggressive drop, you can crash on it!

[@AnhHuynh-qv9te]

Great video but I have a question about the last tip. If I hit down the middle and the opponent runs into the middle to drive it back at our middle, who should cover it?

[@tanner.pickleball]

Whoever started it!

[@greatzto]

nice tips

[@tanner.pickleball]

Glad you liked it

[@taekim7002]

I prefer the one hand backhand over the two hand in pickleball. I feel like my reach is limited with the two hand. I have a two hand backhand when I play tennis though. I think the older the player gets the one hand backhand is easier. 😊

[@tanner.pickleball]

There is times to use both for sure!

[@JasonParasOfficial]

Hey Tanner! Great video! Are the short hop principles you mentioned the same for forehand dinking? Forehand dinking seems like the key for me to move from 4.5-5.0. Thanks!

[@tanner.pickleball]

Hey!! Exact same with the forehand!

[@nategaluza6700]

Fave pb yt instructor

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks!!!

[@bart1476]

And yes, short hop with topspin on the dink is a weapon

[@tanner.pickleball]

yes!

[@BadCoversHQ]

I always split step when opponent makes contact with the ball when they serve and in transition Zone. U said that it’s not the right move. When should you split step? Is it different in each case?

[@bart1476]

Agree, I am a 6.0 pro 50+ pro player and I mix dinks up all over the place. When I play players that are always trying to Ernie, i go crosscourt and shallow with the dink and when they try to get aggressive they usually hit it in the net or long.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Sweet good call!

[@JakeSimmons-r2u]

Stop lying. You’re not a 6.0 pro. Why would you watch a “how to go from 4.0 to 5.0” video! Tanner is just being the nice guy he is and not calling you out.

[@dericksnowww]

im a simple man. i see puppy, i upvote kk time to watch the video now

[@tanner.pickleball]

Hahahah!

[@jerrickgold1186]

Are these courts in New Jersey?

[@tanner.pickleball]

Yes south jersey!

[@462rob]

Great lesson. If you can master 1 per week, you'll be on your way...

[@tanner.pickleball]

Yeppp!

[@Riddlemethiss84]

Is this in margate NJ?

[@tanner.pickleball]

Longport!

[@jamesmusial9865]

When I try to topspin dink I mostly get side spin. What's up? Thanks

[@tanner.pickleball]

Try starting from below the ball, you're not under it enough!

[@JakeSimmons-r2u]

I like doing side spin dinks tight cross court. They curve in towards the net on their side.

[@KxrtOn360FPS]

I’m struggling with Topspin😖

[@tanner.pickleball]

With this explanation also?

[@NathanBrantley]

Hey bud, have the editor lower the transition music volume down about 5db. Your voice is soft and music loud so viewer has to keep adjusting. Otherwise another fantastic video of content.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Got it thanks!

[@sharkboy3561]

Lil puppy in the intro cooking up some mean

[@tanner.pickleball]

hahahah

[@karenk5472]

I cannot do topspin. I've tried many times, always end up flipping my wrist & forearm over. I get the "hello" technique, but aren't you also pudh8ng the paddle forward a bit? No one ever mentions this in topspin videos.

[@karenk5472]

*PUSHING

[@tanner.pickleball]

Nope, just up and down off the back. Think of trying to make the ball stay on the paddle as long as possible!

[@DannyBPlays]

I'd recommend just posting these rather than doing a premiere. Just because I'd rather watch it now than later(yeah I'm being selfish)

[@tanner.pickleball]

Hahahaha

[@XxCRUS4D3R504xX]

For the paddle tracking, you said to track the ball when it's on the other side of the net. Is there a preferred place to be pointing your paddle when the ball is on your side of the net (when it's coming to your partner)?

[@tanner.pickleball]

Yep, back to neutral (12:00)

[@collectionproperties]

You ever play pickleball with Lucy??

[@tanner.pickleball]

No?

[@collectionproperties]

@@tanner.pickleballLucy the Elephant...looks like she's close by you

[@yasim9435]

Great tips except two handed backhand. A. Waters or A. Lohany use one handed backhand and so it could be made powerful. So please confirm that even good tennis players using one handed backhand in tennis better switch to two handed backhand in pickleball

[@tanner.pickleball]

Great! This is my recommendation, everyone has their own style!

[@mfournier12]

There really is no hard and fast rule you MUST use a two handed backhand!!! It is fine to say IF you have trouble with your single handed backhand you should TRY to take advantage of a two handed backhand. BUT don’t ignore the drawbacks of both options. Everything has trade offs IF you are strong and practice single handed backhands and have no problem using just one hand on backhands there is NO advantage of a two handed backhand and it even comes with the weakness of slower reactions if you rely on only two hand backhands. There is a reason two handed tennis backhands are NOT as popular with male tennis players as female tennis players. And that reason is strength men can have very strong backhands without the need of the second hand on the racket, some never use it some use it situationally others always use two hands. BUT the point is there is no ONE way to accomplish the same results. To say you have to use a two handed back and to be a 5.0 is false.

[@tanner.pickleball]

I completely understand I’ll update this on the next one!

[@wadethomas3908]

Tanner don't give Francesca too much air time it'll go straight to her head.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Hahaha

[@francescadicolandrea7228]

HAHAHA

[@casheena710]

Thank you for this video😊

[@blackbeardgoatjr2434]

What about stepping back to give your self space vs an aggressive dink at the kitchen? I thought you did a video about that.

[@Better_Call_Raul]

I am tennis player with a one-handed backhand. Have never used a two-hander in tennis. Therefore it is disappointing to hear you say a two-handed backhand is the only way to return a serve. 😥

[@tanner.pickleball]

Ahh some are exceptions!

[@sLasHeRxXx07]

Its not. One handed is viable

[@francescadicolandrea7228]

wow that girl is cool

[@tanner.pickleball]

Lol

[@osint6372]

You exaggerate the amateur way a bit....Good work.

[@tanner.pickleball]

:)

[@charlespierpont]

100

[@tanner.pickleball]

:)

[@Jimalf-y9e]

C, nuycn.

[@tanner.pickleball]

Thanks!

[@tjenissa]

Hahaha weak

[@tanner.pickleball]

hahah