Have you ever been at the baseline ready to hit a return of serve, and then your opponent hits a serve that you can barely react to? Serves in pickleball are becoming bigger and more aggressive (with both more spin and more power). As a result, it is important to give yourself as much time to react to the serve as possible. ⏱
To do this, consider starting in your ready position about 2 to 3 feet behind the baseline when your opponent is serving to you. In other words, back up to give yourself more room and more time to react. Back up as much as you need to (even consider touching the fence behind you if you are playing on an enclosed pickleball court), but make sure that you can still react to a short serve or a wide serve if your opponent has the ability to mix up speed and location of his or her serve.
