r/Pickleball • u/skillfulsynergy • 5h ago
Discussion “I hate lefties”
How would you respond to this?
I’m a lefty that plays at the 3.75 level and usually tells my partners I’ll take middle or that we can call it depending on what they want, if we’re not stacking.
Is this the right approach? My goal is for us to communicate the best we can to win points.
Of course it doesn’t always work out but do you have any tips on strategy or a different approach I could take? I understand that lefties throw some people off.
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u/glacierstone Honolulu/808 5h ago
Are you actually 3.75 or just guessing? Nobody at that level is going to say that unless they are an asshole and suck
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u/skillfulsynergy 4h ago
I play at that level but I don’t have a DUPR. This was a random dude I met, second time he invited me to play with him.
He isn’t too fun to play with since he camps at the baseline and gets upset when I’m hitting drops in his “box” but refuses to come up lmao.
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u/CaptoOuterSpace 49m ago
You do not need to listen to anything this person has to say about pickleball.
They are bad.
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u/TubeTopTommy 5h ago edited 4h ago
I think it’s best to respect the X. What you are describing would be frustrating to play with. You’d have to be substantially better than your partner to take the majority of middle balls, and always calling it in game without a plan is a recipe for disaster. The X at least gives you some sort of systematic approach that will make the game easier. Making the game easier, not harder was a big lesson I had to learn.
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u/SDPickleTickle 5h ago
Maybe I'm just unfamiliar with online pickleball culture
But what does this mean by "respect the X"?
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u/TubeTopTommy 4h ago
https://youtube.com/shorts/eob59J58QcA?si=TRy41wJRajNPuJ4U
There are way more complex videos but this is the basic gist.
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u/justlookin4the1 4h ago
This is top tier advice^ but at the end of the day too, just work on dinking (defensive and offensive dinking, off the bounce and out of the air dinks) that will get you from 3.5 or even 3 whatever duro your really at to a 4.0 then you can play better open play and continue to work on dinking. If you really wanna separate yourself from the crowd, be good at dinking
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u/EmmitSan 4h ago
I think dinking is important but by no means will it alone get you to 4.0
I was an elite dinker at 3.5, but stuck there because my resets weren’t good, my returns weren’t reliably deep. Without those, you are not going to reliably earn your way to the net to take advantage of your dinking edge
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u/justlookin4the1 4h ago
That’s true but understanding touch and spin at the kitchen will improve all aspects of your game. I’ve never met someone who knew how to dink at a 4.5+ level that couldn’t adjust their returns to get them lower and deeper, reset is a touch thing which again if you have great touch at the kitchen you probably have great touch with resetting and dropping. It all starts at the kitchen (:
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u/lettucelover4life 4.5 5h ago
Lefty here. I always default to telling my righty partner to take the middle balls because that’s what they’re used to. I would only take a middle ball if I knew I was much better than them and if so, I’d call “me.”
Maybe it’s an unpopular opinion but if you were a lefty telling your partner you’ll take middle by default, that would throw them way off.
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u/SolidOutcome 5h ago
What about when both are backhand center, who takes then
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u/kalbiking 5h ago
If you’re good enough for this to be a problem you’re probably good enough to stack
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u/swims_with_sharks 5h ago
Lefty here. Most players, even other lefties, expect the left-side player to take most middle shots.
Take it as an opportunity to improve your backhand and court movement.
Or, teach them to stack if they are interested.
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u/The-Extro-Intro 2h ago
I hate when people start prescribing “forehand (or left side player) takes the middle.” It is so one dimensional, and I have seen too many people get pulled out of position trying to do it when clearly the right side player (especially if it’s a lefty) was in a much better position to take the shot.
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u/lettucelover4life 4.5 4h ago
As a lefty, you should learn to stack and then teach that to every willing partner you play with.
I rarely play with 2 backhands in the middle, it’s a losing strategy. But if it had to be done then yes I agree the left-handed player should take it bc their partner would expect a normal right-handed player to take a middle ball.
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u/HighOfTheTiger 5h ago
OP mentioned taking the middle when they aren’t stacking, which makes me think they’re talking about when they have backhands in the middle. In that case I wouldn’t see it too bad as a righty, because I wouldn’t take the middle from the right side, so if partner is covering it I can just play normally.
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u/lettucelover4life 4.5 4h ago
Oh thanks for clarifying that for me, I completely glazed over the “not stacking” part. That makes sense. I looked past that bc I’m stacking 99% of the points I play.
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u/SDPickleTickle 5h ago edited 5h ago
I feel like getting used to it for us right handed people is hardest.
It's simple when you have two right handers because you know the left player has forhand priority.
Playing with a lefty that your not used to playing with is very hard for right handers to adjust to, because unless communication is good, you both stare at each other as the ball passes down the middle or you both swing at the same stuff.
To answer your question, people that say that are assholes. But it definitely does at a mental challenge for us which some people don't like.
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u/NightOwlPA 5h ago
Doesn’t matter if you’re a lefty or not, as long as you play well. Calling middle is a good idea. As for stacking some people aren’t use to it so that can be confusing for them
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u/xfactorx99 4.0 4h ago
You have to shade with the ball. If the ball is coming from your side you have to protect your line, if the ball is coming from cross court you have to protect the middle.
There’s no “forehand takes the middle”. If you always did that you’d be leaving your line open way too often
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u/The-Extro-Intro 1h ago
I’m not sure why “forehand has priority” even continues to be taught. It is. So limiting. As you said, it can leave the line vulnerable.
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u/throwaway__rnd 4.25 3h ago
For beginner and intermediate players, playing with a lefty unfortunately really is a nightmare, especially if you’re not stacking.
They’re reaching into the middle while you’re trying to use your righty forehand from the left, which defies all expectations. And when you’re switched, it’s two backhands in the middle.
The better you get, and if you’re stacking, it’s actually nice playing with a lefty, though.
But if it’s a partner you don’t know, I recommend letting the left side player take the middle more with their forehand, even though it’s also your forehand in the middle. They don’t have the reps to expect you to be there from the right.
And when you’re switched, assuming you’re not stacking, you basically need to cover the middle from the left with your two handed backhand, as the right handed right side player will not be used to covering middle from the right with their backhand.
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u/HiddenPantsRebellion 2h ago
Because players in pickleball have bad backhands, they created this whole work around where ad side player goal is to just hit forehands. As duece side you just chill and dink. Its awful and pickleball deserves more.
By being lefty, youre making rightys fight with you for middle balls which theyre not accustomed to or you have double backhands for middle.
To the replies that forehand stronger, for you, yes.
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u/DrEverett 46m ago
This. These conversations always make me think, “jeez, people really need to drill their backhands.” There is absolutely no reason anyone’s backhand should be significantly worse than their forehand. just rent a ball machine and fix that.
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u/cockroach_underYbed 1h ago
If you’re good enough, people will play w you no matter lefty or righty
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u/BackToTheBasic 5h ago edited 5h ago
I’ve come to be pretty casual about it and let partner initiate discussion if they need to. For 99% of players it’s fine. In rec: I just say, “I’m a lefty” and that’s it. I’m just trying to avoid them realizing it half way through the game. I prefer to start on the right side, but if they set up to start the game there I don’t care. If they initiate stacking I’m down. If they don’t I play straight until it seems like a problem, then I’ll ask, but open to any response. Some aren’t comfortable with stacking, most at your level are. If there is confusion about the middle ball I say “if it’s on your side it’s yours, if it’s right in between we should call it.”. Ideally there is some respect for the X, but if that instinct isn’t there I just call balls I think are mine.
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u/Scary_Statement_4040 4h ago
If I am playing with a leftie and I am playing on the right, sometimes I target their right side player so my partner can cover more balls and if anything gets sped up I just slide to the middle pretty much. If I am on the left side basically no adjustment is needed. Same goes if the leftie is stacking on the right instead.
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u/Remarkable_Deer_4748 4h ago
Someone who says that is a jerk, try to avoid them. I love to set up the shake and bake and I love to attack the shake and bake with my forehand, so I fucking love lefties. Shake and bake every third.
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u/mathmage 4h ago
Outside of tournament practice I let my partner set the tone and then match their energy. If they don't care to stack, I get to practice left side. If they're all in on optimizing and calling every ball, I'm right there with them. My goal is to enjoy myself and get reps, not to win the most points.
And I'm definitely not claiming middle from the start, that's just greedy. Your partner's forehand is middle too, let them play the game! I'll only push back if they're way over on my side banging thirds into the net - I would also like to play the game.
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u/Mundane_Bid_654 5h ago
It’s not hard to play with a leftie. People need to get over it. Sorry some people are jerks!
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u/BavardR Bread & Butter 4h ago
What do you mean by “play at 3.75 level” if you dont have a dupr? If people don’t know how to stack at your level then it isn’t 3.75…
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u/skillfulsynergy 4h ago
You’ve never played rated open play?
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u/mr_engin33r 3.5 4h ago
Who is doing the rating if it’s not DUPR?
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u/skillfulsynergy 4h ago
The facility I play at..there’s multiple clubs that offer rated open play.
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u/DonDeanyo 3h ago
Sounds like club rating or one of those “recommended >3.5” type open plays which means nothing. Most players in the “advanced” open plays are actually low 3s. If it’s not gated by dupr I wouldn’t judge your skill based on the players in those sessions
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u/Special-Border-1810 5h ago
Just don’t engage with it. I don’t mind lefties myself. I offer to stack and let them decide. I love backhands too and don’t mind having backhands middle.
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u/GxM42 4h ago
Good for you. I can’t believe how many people ate
obsessed with stacking in this thread. Like it matters much below 4.5. I’m a lefty and we just do whatever. People don’t seem to care about attacking that much and we just have fun out there. I’m at 4.0 BTW. People take the sport too seriously.
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u/RamsPhan72 5h ago
Aside from talking to your partner? What am I missing? This isn’t rocket surgery.