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Hey Everyone!

I've been getting some pretty amazing reps here in Florida for my next tournament. I got the chance to practice against Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright!

Their level of play is unbelievable. I'm learning so much every time I step on the court. 

Here is a point from our practice session, sadly, it is the only one that got filmed by a spectator:

Now, let’s get to this week's video:

Paddle Tracking & Shadowing in Pickleball

Most players hit the ball and then get back to neutral position with their paddle. That’s a mistake 👎.

Instead, you should practice paddle tracking and shadowing. Here’s why. . . in Under 60 Seconds.

What I am learning from playing against ALW & AB: There was so much to take away from playing against ALW & AB!

Here are the key things that I learned from being exposed to the HIGHEST level pickleball has to offer:

1. Dead dinks get you punished - At any point, if I or my partner hit a dead dink, the girls would capitalize and immediately take control of the rally with aggressive dinks putting us on the defensive.

2. Their speedups are DECEPTIVE - Maybe on TV it is hard to notice, but I will tell you firsthand that: When they both dink, they loop their backhands before they make contact with the ball. This makes it very hard to tell when a speedup is coming, the location, and what speed it’s being hit.

3. The intensity doesn’t stop - most players will slack off when the session starts ‘feeling long.’ Meaning, after an hour, people will lose focus, and the quality of points will go down. With them, it was the complete opposite. The entire time, they treat it like a tournament and are game planning on how they can improve as a team.

It was a delight to play against them. I’m excited to use what I learned in the next tournament!!

-Tanner

PS. The new CRBN paddle just came out TODAY! If you plan on buying it, be sure to use code TANNERWAVES to save 10%!