5 Pickleball Videos Worth Your Time | Pickleball Breakdowns

These are five videos I've come across that I would love to watch if I was just starting out in pickleball, like I was four years ago. These are tips I learned along the way, but if you learn them now, you'll be ahead of the game. Here's what each one covers, and where I've already broken down the same ground myself.

tanner.pickleball · 630K views · DUPR 6.0, competes on the pro tour · 12 minutes, 10 tips.

Ten tips, rapid-fire. No filler between them.

No takeback on hard drives. Block, don't swing.
Let the ball drop before you make contact on a third-shot drop.
Active footwork at the kitchen line. Get your body behind the ball instead of reaching.
Get your paddle out front before your partner speeds it up, not after.
Only hit overheads with a fully extended elbow.
Step back the instant you hit a dead dink, so you have time to read the counter.
Cover the middle by stepping parallel to the kitchen line.
On lobs, the diagonal player retrieves. Always drop on the recovery, never drive.
Track the paddle tip toward the ball so you don't get chicken-winged.
Attack with the paddle tip down. It can only miss long, never wide.

Where I've covered this: my reel captioned "Fundamentals alone can get you to 5.0+" covers close to the same ground. Three elite fundamentals: generate offense at the right moment, pressure dinks, finish correctly, no hesitation.

Fundamentals Alone Can Get You to 5.0+ →

Mari Humberg Pickleball and Fortify Pickleball Club · 10K views · ~6 minutes.

Mari breaks down the three dink spin types, topspin, slice, and dead or flat, and explains when to use each one and why that shot-selection decision matters. Less about technique mechanics, more about reading the situation and picking the right dink on purpose instead of hitting the same one every time.

Where I've covered this: I've broken down Mari's slice before. She hits it on about 90 percent of her forehand and backhand dinks, and the underspin makes it skip forward instead of sitting up, which is exactly the kind of problem it creates for opponents who don't have a two-handed backhand of their own.

Is the One-Hander Actually Better? →

Briones Pickleball Academy · 131K views · ~12 minutes.

Consistency mechanics rather than shot-specific tips: stabilizing the wrist, active footwork, stopping and setting your base early, staying anchored, and prioritizing balance on every single contact.

Where I've covered this: I don't have a video that lists these same five fundamentals, but the closest thing in my own feed is the breakdown on why players lose hands battles. A wide, stable base gives you balance and reaction time, and once you're still moving through contact, your control and pace both go with it. Set your base before contact. Fast hands need planted feet.

This Is Why You Lose Hands Battles →

Richard Pickleball · 110K views · ~14 minutes.

Technical mechanics of the push drop: neutral grip, flat paddle angle for consistency, moving laterally through the ball to keep shots low, and using it to cut out the transition zone entirely on the way to the kitchen line. Built for players who struggle to get to net consistently or keep popping the ball up under pressure.

Where I've covered this: I broke this exact shot down on Gabe Tardio. With his weight moving forward, a miss is far more likely to go high and long than into the net, and it lets both him and his partner reach the net at an elite rate. When opponents drop their heads to reset, that's the window he attacks.

Why Tardio Hits These Drops →

Shea Underwood · 1M views · 21 minutes.

Not instructional, this one's a highlight compilation: diving saves, defensive resets, hand battles, and ATP shots from pro tournaments. The fun closer for the set rather than another teaching moment.