The speed-up is one of the most misunderstood tactics in Pickleball. Players love the feeling of catching their opponent off guard, blasting a forehand at the chest, and watching the point end in a blink. But for every clean winner, there are a dozen failed attempts—balls hit too early, too late, too high, or directly into a ready paddle. Most of these failures come down to one simple concept: timing.

When to Hit a Speedup

There is a specific window when a speed-up has the highest likelihood of succeeding. It's not just about the height of the ball, but about your opponent’s position, paddle angle, balance, and expectations. Understanding this window—and resisting the urge to rush it—is the difference between playing smart offense and giving away free points.

To identify this timing window, you need to observe three elements in the rally:

1. Ball Characteristics: Is the ball high enough to strike above the net? Is it bouncing in front of you or floating toward your chest? Ideally, the ball should be at or just above net height, within your strike zone, and traveling slowly enough to give you control.
2. Opponent's Posture: Are they leaning forward into a dink? Is their paddle low and to one side? Are they resetting or recovering from movement? The best time to speed up is when your opponent is slightly off balance, with their paddle below the chest or pointed in a non-neutral position.
3. Rhythm Disruption: Has the rally fallen into a predictable dink exchange? Has your opponent seen the same shot multiple times? Speed-ups work best when they break a pattern, not when they follow one.

Common Mistakes

Too many players attempt speed-ups just because a ball is high. But attacking a high ball when your opponent is already expecting it is an invitation to a firefight—and not one you’re guaranteed to win. The right ball at the wrong time is still the wrong ball.

The best players don’t just have fast hands; they have patient hands. They wait for the right moment, not just the right shot. Often that means continuing a dink exchange longer than you'd like, drawing your opponent out wide, or forcing a shoulder dip before pulling the trigger.

Another common mistake is attacking too directly. A speed-up down the line or straight at the body may be satisfying, but experienced players will anticipate these angles. Instead, aim for the right shoulder (of a right-handed player), or snap crosscourt into the outer edge of the kitchen. These angles are harder to defend and less predictable.

How to Train Your Speedups

Training for better speed-up timing involves more than just reaction drills. One of the most effective methods is the “freeze flick” drill. In this, you and a partner dink crosscourt, and at a random moment, one of you initiates a speed-up. The other player must react and counter. Then, the rally resets. This not only trains your execution, but your perception—when is the opponent most likely to attack?

Another great exercise is the “mirror cue drill”: one player maintains neutral paddle position while the other player reads their posture and initiates a speed-up only when the opponent’s paddle drops below the waist. This reinforces the importance of visual cues and helps eliminate premature attacks.

If you’re not sure whether your speed-ups are helping or hurting you, start with this rule: don’t speed up for five points in a row. During those points, work only on neutral play, resets, and dinks. After that, reintroduce the speed-up, but only if three things are true: the ball is in your strike zone, your opponent is off-balance or mispositioned, and the rally has entered a predictable pattern. This constraint-based practice helps rewire your decision-making around patience and opportunity.

It’s tempting to use speed as a weapon, but control and timing are what make that speed effective. When you strike at the right moment—when your opponent is off-balance, out of rhythm, and unaware—you don’t need to hit hard. You just need to hit smart.