PICKLEBALL ADJUSTMENTS IN THE COVID-19 AGE
Before I get into this topic let me say this virus is horrible! It is taking many lives, making others very sick and it is crushing the economy worldwide. There are so many more important things that we as humans are dealing with currently and will need to navigate going forward. Doing our best to stop or at least slow the spread of Covid-19 should be all of our top priorities. Please don’t take this as advocating putting yourself or others at risk by disregarding any local or country mandates. Pickleball as well as other sports and entertainment can wait if need be. Having said that at some point sooner or later we will want to get out and enjoy some recreation again, doing so as safely as possible is the goal here.
Covid-19 is here now and probably for the foreseeable future. At least until something drastically changes like a vaccine discovery or some other mitigation is invented. The Pickleball world (and just about every other sports, gathering and entertainment activity) has changed and it will be quite some time until something resembling “normal” returns.
The question is what to do now? Do we stop playing altogether? In some areas there is no choice as all of the Pickleball facilities are closed. Other areas still allow it although often in some modified version (no indoor and fewer outdoor venues). Even if you are in an area that has not closed or has not restricted play should we continue to play as we used to? What do you do if you set up a game with some people you know to be (or at least believe to be) virus free and someone else shows up and wants to play? So many questions! I will attempt to offer some opinions and direct you to a health expert and see if we can come up with something that makes sense in these troubled times.
Under normal circumstances Pickleball is usually played as a “drop in” game. People just show up at a given time and place and play with whoever is there that day. Socially that method is nice because you get to meet some interesting people and make some new friends with a shared interest. Most areas aren’t allowing that type of play currently and until there is a handle on the virus probably won’t for a while. In my area the outdoor courts (4 of them on 2 Tennis courts) remain open. Anyone can show up with a net and some balls and play. While it’s been quite some time since I’ve seen any actual “drop in” games going on. I have seen many times people playing together with little regard to physical distancing. They are continuing to play doubles with no gloves or masks and all using the same ball. This type of play would be acceptable if all the players lived together, but I know most of them and they don’t. Most of these players are relatively young and are very healthy so they don’t seem to be very concerned. These types of games defy many of the regulations set up in many areas and can really look bad for Pickleball in general. People seeing them out there back slapping, paddle tapping and hanging out too close together can give them a bad taste in their mouth about Pickleball. There are some alternatives that maybe we should consider during this unprecedented time.
Playing singles takes care of the physical distancing issues. In theory the closest you could get to your opponent is 14 feet (the 7 foot no volley zone line on both sides of the net). Even if one of the players went into the kitchen to hit a ball that bounces, their opponent would most likely be behind the line on their side of the net so at least 7 feet would be separating them. There is still the issue of using one ball. This can be rectified by each player using their own ball when they serve. When the rally is over if the server won the rally they serve again using the same ball and continue that way until they lose a rally. Then they put the ball in their pocket and the opponent serves using their ball. You need to get good at scooping up the ball and hitting it back to your opponent without touching it but with a little practice it’s pretty easy. The hard part is remembering not to touch your opponents ball. If you can’t master the scoop or you can’t seem to remember which ball not to touch you can always use a disposable glove on your non paddle hand, but keep your hands away from your face.
Now that you have mastered the art of physical distancing and having no points of contact while playing it is time to think about what kind of singles you want to play? In a perfect world we would just play on the full court. We would all have the stamina and mobility to play many games in a row on the entire court. That may be a little unrealistic for many of the players that frequent the majority of the Pickleball courts in the world. Looking at a Pickleball court and the fact that you can put 4 of them in the space of one Tennis court a person would think that there wouldn’t be that much area to cover and thus it wouldn’t be that taxing. They would be wrong, very wrong! Play full court if you can but if not don’t feel the least bit uneasy about playing 1/2 of the court often called skinny singles. It is a great game for several reasons. Skinny singles it is much more doable for most people. There is less area to cover and while it is more of a workout than doubles because of the style of play it is less than full court singles. Skinny singles is a GREAT way to practice your third shot drop and your dink game. Skinny singles can be played either straight on or diagonally. The types of shots you will typically play if you choose diagonal or straight will vary slightly but the overall premise is the same. The reason it is such good practice is because unless you have a smoking great serve the receiver not the server has the advantage. On a typical point the server serves (deep hopefully) then has to stay back to wait for the return to bounce (also hopefully deep) before they can hit it thus giving the returner the opportunity to run up to the no volley zone line and potentially control the point. The server can attempt to bang it hard and sometimes that works but a better strategy is to employ the third shot drop into the kitchen and move forward to the no volley zone line and start the dink game. Much of this strategy is the same as doubles play but players are forced to get proficient in both the third shot drop and the dink game in order to compete in skinny singles more than they would in doubles. You may personally enjoy banging it and when you go back to doubles you may not want to play either of these shots very often but having those shots in your arsenal will be helpful for your game when you need them.
My wife and I both play Pickleball although I play considerably more often than she does. Because I play so much more often my skill level is a little higher than hers. Attempting to play full court singles or skinny singles wouldn’t be a whole lot of fun for either of us. We came up with a solution that works very well for us. She is able to hit to my full court but I am only able to hit to the 1/2 of the court she served from. The game starts just like any full court singles game would. She serves from her even (right) side of the court to my even side, I return it to only the even half of the court. We play the point out and say she wins the rally, we each move to the odd (left) side of the our court and start again with me only able to hit to the odd side this time. We have a great time playing that way, it evens things out quite a bit and it’s a pretty good workout too!
There is however a way to play doubles relatively safely during the physical distancing directives. A household of people sheltering in place together could play Pickleball together using the same ball with little exposure to the virus. As long as they didn’t contact other people or their equipment during or after play it should be pretty safe. Two people that are sheltering in place together like spouses or children could in my opinion play doubles with some other sheltering in place couple with each couple using their own ball and no contact (like paddle tapping) during or after the games. A great youtube video on the on the subject is “pickleball in the time of covid-19”.
Anything resembling a tournament is probably off the table for a while as is typical “drop in” play but if we get a little creative, pay attention to good hygiene and be responsible there is probably some great and memorable Pickleball to be played once the sanctions are lifted. Hope to see you on a court somewhere in the world. Play well and play safe!
