The             Tipbit #16

 

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If you’ve watched any pro pickleball this year then you’ve probably heard the commenter’s use the term “Scorpion”. You might have scratched your head, thinking, ‘I’ve heard of the Erne, a Bert, an ATP, a Speed-up, Rainbow serve, etc., but never the Scorpion’. Ben Johns, arguably the world’s #1 pro pickleball player, says that pickleball is an unsolved sport, meaning that new shots are being developed as the game evolves and one of these relatively new shots is the Scorpion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basically the shot is used to defend against an attack from your opponent. Most good players tend to speed up an attack to a right-hander’s right shoulder, right hip or right chest, as it’s the most vulnerable location. Instead of getting caught in a “Chicken Wing”, you drop low by using significant bend of your knees, raise your paddle above your head and use a forehand to counterattack an attack from your opponents.  If you don’t get low, then the Scorpion will not be an option for you, as you will not have any room to attack and extend your pickleball paddle. To execute this shot, you must get low! 

 

Raising the paddle into this position resembles a scorpion ready to strike. It turns a defensive backhand or forehand shot into an offensive forehand shot that catches your opponent out of position. You will be able to hit an offensive overhead-like shot that allows you to hit the pickleball down at your opponents; which is one of the best and most offensive positions to hit the pickleball—down at your opponents’ feet.

 

After you finish your Scorpion shot, be sure to revert back to your ready position in case your opponents get the pickleball back to your side of the net.

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                                    C' ya on the Greenwood courts. President Lueck