One of the best parts of watching pro pickleball is the hands battles.

It's a skill I genuinely admire... and, unfortunately, probably couldn't replicate on the rec court because I'd need a little guidance.

Enter a high-level player like Tanner Tomassi to save the day.

He recently shared tips and tricks for amateurs to get faster hands on the 20x44.

“Having fast hands is not about hitting the ball 100 miles an hour,” said Tomassi. “It’s actually about hitting the ball down towards our opponent’s feet. If we can get the ball down in the hand exchange, it’s going to force our opponent to hit up on the next ball and give us an easy put-away. Think of it like a one-two punch. You’re setting up the next shot with the first.” 

A tip Tomassi provided was to pretend you’re playing with a pickleball resting under your armpit. This makes your swings shorter and more compact. 

Also pay attention to your footwork and don’t move around too much. When you watch the pros play, their feet are completely still and they’re just using their arm to react when they get into hands battles.

Next, Tomassi shared a few drills to work on developing faster hands. 

For the first drill, feed your partner a dead dink and your partner has to speed it up, and then you play out the hands battle. 

“This really helps with anticipation and court awareness in general when it comes to speedups,” said Tomassi.  

The next drill helps you crash to the net. 

“As a high-level player, you have to be able to generate offense from all areas of the court, including the back and the middle of the court,” explained Tomassi. “I’m going to stand at the net. And your partner is going to be standing one or two feet inside of the baseline. When I drop the ball, that’s my partner’s cue to start running forward. I’m going to feed a lofty ball that he is going to attack and we’re going to play out a hands battle at full speed.” 

Tomassi alternates between hitting to his partner’s backhand and forehand. 

Tomassi outlined a few more tips to enhance your performance in hands battles: 

1.     Having fast hands comes down to having good anticipation. 

Tomassi demonstrated that when you hit a dead dink to your opponent, move your body directly across from where the ball landed so that your opponent has to hit through you and not give them an opening down the sideline. 

2.     Paddle tracking helps build your anticipation 

How do you paddle track? Tomassi demonstrated this too. 

“Wherever the ball is, you want to have your paddle pointed at the opponent. So, if your opponent decides to speed up the ball, all I have to do is react and it won’t be as slow or delayed,” he said. 

Try out these tips and get faster hands!

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