David Zapatka
Summer is coming and the sun is out. The sun is beautiful, but it’s also a genuine challenge on the pickleball court. We love playing in it and we occasionally curse it while squinting into a lob we’ve completely lost.
Playing pickleball in the sun is a complicated relationship. You need a strategy. There’s the dreaded lob that is perfectly placed over your head by your opponent hitting directly into the sun, turning a routine shot into a small crisis. You’re up there shading your eyes, paddle raised, and completely losing sight of the ball. We’ve all been there.
The best move when a ball disappears into the sun is to keep your feet moving. Don’t freeze up and stare into the glare, hoping the ball will reappear. It won’t and now you’re flat-footed. Instead, track the ball as long as you can using your opponent’s position and swing to predict where it’s headed. Stay light on your feet, take a few quick adjustment steps to get behind the ball, and keep your paddle up. Let the ball bounce so it drops back below the glare and gives you a clean look before you swing.
Practice tracking high balls during warm-ups with your partner so your eyes adjust before the real pressure kicks in. When you can’t avoid looking into the sun, use your free hand to shield your eyes, get your paddle up early, and communicate a quick “Sun!” to your partner. This is fair warning and good partnership communication.
Pay attention to where the sun sits throughout your match and adjust your positioning. In the early morning and late afternoon, the sun hangs low, making certain court positions brutal. Shift your stance and tilt your hat or visor to keep the glare to your side rather than straight ahead. Smart footwork isn’t just about reaching the ball. It’s about finding the angle where the sun stops working against you.
When the sun is behind you, use it. A well-timed lob into your opponent’s sun-blinded eyes isn’t cruel, it’s tactical. Mix in high, arcing shots that force them to look up into the sun and watch their overhead game struggle. Vary your lob placement so they can never settle into a comfortable defensive position. An opponent squinting and guessing works to your advantage.
Think about serve positioning too. When you have a choice of sides, choose to play into the sun first, so you have the sun advantage at the end of the game, which is during the most critical points of the game. It’s a small edge, but small edges add up.
The sun is part of what makes outdoor pickleball great. Just make sure you’re the one using it, not the one being used by it.
Have a question about pickleball? Want to know more about the sport, the rules, equipment or have some pickilicious news you would like to share with our pickleball community? Email David Zapatka at dzapatka@wbhsi.net.