If you have two different paddles with the exact same weight one paddle may feel heavier in your hand than the other. Why? The answer is that there is a difference between a paddle’s static-weight (often called just the “weight”) and its swing-weight. Although the static-weights of the paddles are identical, the swing-weight of one […]
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The topic of pickleball topspin seems to be a little contentious. On one hand, there are bloggers and players who claim that putting topspin on the ball has little effect on speed or direction. On the other hand, there are several videos, blogs, and professionals teaching topspin, and numerous racquet companies touting the spin capabilities
Can Topspin Enable a Faster Serve? Read More »
Aerodynamic drag is always present in pickleball, and is dependent on numerous variables, including the speed, mass and surface condition of the ball. In this article, we develop a mathematical model of aerodynamic drag and use it to predict the maximum speed of a pickleball serve. In our article, “Pickleball Equations of Motion“, we introduced
How Does Aerodynamic Drag Affect a Pickleball? Read More »
It is important to know the location of the sweet spot on your pickleball paddle so that you can learn to consistently hit the ball at this location to obtain the highest degree of accuracy, velocity, and power. However, locating the sweet spot is not easy. It is complicated by several different factors, including the
Where is the Sweet Spot? Read More »
One of the keys to hitting an accurate shot as explained in our article, How to Avoid Pickleball Mis-Hits, is to strike the ball on the paddle face at a location that does not induce misorientation of the paddle. This location is known as the Sweet Spot on the paddle. In this article, we delve further
Why is the Sweet Spot Important? Read More »
The idea of a “sweet spot” on a pickleball paddle is a bit like the idea of love. We all know what it is when we experience it, but no one quite knows how to explain it. In this article we discuss commonly held misconceptions about the sweet spot and identify what it is. In
What is the Sweet Spot? Read More »
A well-hit pickleball will contact the paddle at its “sweet spot” and the paddle face will be properly positioned so that it is perpendicular to the intended direction of travel of the ball. This is especially true for volleys at the net, and is applicable to ground strokes, dinks, overheads, and serves. Throughout the course
Avoid Pickleball Mis-Hits Read More »
The serve and return are perhaps the two most important shots in a game of pickleball. On the serving side, a fast and well-placed serve can be played for an outright winner, or it can put the receiving team at a significant disadvantage by forcing them deeper behind the baseline or by making them hit
How Fast is a Pickleball Serve? Read More »
Although there are several forces acting on a pickleball while it is flight, gravity is prevalent. It is considered to be the great equalizer because it acts on everything equally, and there is no way to avoid it – gravity always wins in the end. This is the second article in a series describing Pickleball
Pickleball Equations of Motion Read More »
It is important for you to be able to predict the path or the trajectory of the pickleball so that you can better orient your racquet or position yourself on the court to return the ball in the direction you intend. The field of Kinematics addresses various aspects of pickleball motion such as velocity,
Pickleball Kinematics Read More »