Coaching Breakdown of the Most Exciting Pickleball Rally of All Time - 5 Lessons You Can Use

Was this the greatest rally of all time? I'll let you decide. It's 10-10 in mixed doubles at the Major League Pickleball regular season finale in Orlando. Anna Leigh Waters and Noe Khlif for the New Jersey 5s against Jade Kawamoto and Ben Johns for the LA Mad Drops. Rallies like this one are fun to watch. They're more useful to study. So we run the rally in full first, then we go to the lessons. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Lesson 1: The staggered formation. Both players at the NVZ line is generally better, but it isn't a rule. Watch how one player up and one player back lets a team defend and apply pressure at the same time. Lesson 2: Defensive mechanics. Watch how calm the players' bodies stay when under duress. Paddle out in front, face open, moving only as much as necessary. Good defense isn't about doing more with your paddle. It's about doing less. Lesson 3: Backing off the NVZ line. Anna Leigh ends up almost in the bleachers, and it's the right call. When you're under attack, the question is simple: where is the best place for me to be right now? Lesson 4: How the attack gets built. The rally didn't end on one big shot. It ended on a sequence. Attack to the forehand side, a reaction, a ball that floats, then a ball at the feet. Nothing to defend at that point. Lesson 5: This rally ended. Four of the best players in the world played about as well as it can be played, and the rally still came to an end. Yours will too. Sometimes you'll be on the winning side of it, sometimes you won't. The better you are at expecting the end before the rally starts, the less that end carries into the next one. Check out the entire match pitting the New Jersey Fives and Los Angeles Mad Drops on the MLP YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqif5SdIIaU —————————————————————— Tony Roig Pickleball helps players understand the game instead of just collecting tips: strategy, the mental game, and the decisions that decide pickleball rallies. 🌐 Website: tonyroigpickleball.com Gear we use and recommend: tonyroigpickleball.com/gear Your discount applies automatically at checkout. These are affiliate links, so we earn a commission on purchases. We recommend Pickleball Central for your pickleball needs. Using our affiliate link at https://pickleballcentral.com/tonyroig helps fund content like this. Customers will get up to a 10% discount. Discounts may vary by product, and some exclusions apply. We earn a commission on purchases. 🎙 Pickleball Therapy Podcast — dedicated to your pickleball mindset and improvement: https://link.chtbl.com/pickleballtherapy Contact: hello@tonyroigpickleball.com Connect Instagram: @bestpickleballcoach Facebook: @tonyroigpickleball TikTok: bestpickleballcoach