Dealing with pickleballs that are flying at you at 50 miles per hour can be tough and frustrating. So, how do you stop bangers in pickleball?

In pickleball, a banger is a player that enjoys driving the ball consistently. A banger prefers to play with speed and strength and avoids the soft game as much as possible. In other words, a banger is unlikely to attempt drop shots.

Fortunately, there are many ways to stop bangers in pickleball. Some of the techniques include letting the balls go out, being prepared at all times, staying away from the Banger, making a deep serve return, watching out for out bounds, being a wall, and maintaining the banger.

Pickleball is undergoing a transformation; the pickleball court is increasing faster, and there is more drive than ever. This is especially true when more and more players with backgrounds in tennis or other racquet sports switch to pickleball. These players, known as "bangers," have a distinct advantage when it comes to swiftly adapting to drives and other fast-paced shots on the pickleball court.

Due to the emergence of the banger on the pickleball court, it's critical to know how to disperse and destroy them, particularly if you like the soft game. After speaking with various experts, we have put together this guide to help you learn more about stopping bangers in pickleball.

How Do you Stop Bangers in Pickleball?

Let the balls go out

This is the one you should focus on first when it comes to "fast solutions." When someone comes to you with a banger problem, you should always ask them where the ball is hit with respect to their body.

The majority of them would say at or around shoulder height. We promise that 95% of those balls will be thrown away. Stop hitting those high balls if you know you're up against a banger! They're probably leaving, and you're putting yourself in their trap by attempting to hit them. Simply let some balls fly past you as an experiment to see what happens. There are, however, exceptions to this rule.

If you're like most people, the value of playing the "soft" game or dinking has been instilled in you since the beginning of your pickleball career. Perhaps it's become so ingrained in you that you consider the "soft" game to be the "correct" way to play pickleball - as if there were such a thing.

Then, when you play a game against someone who almost exclusively bangs the ball, you don't know how to counter their strategies or tactics. You become irritated and upset. You then go on to say that individuals who bang the ball aren't truly playing "pickleball" and don't know how to play it "properly." As a result, you swear you'll never play with these jerks again.

Perhaps you can relate – or, more likely, you know someone who has this short-sighted mentality. Now hold on tight! Let's start by dispelling the misconception that there is a single, "correct" method to play. In truth, there is no such thing as a "proper" pickleball game. And, to be honest, it's the various types of play that make pickleball so enjoyable and demanding. So, rather than criticizing their style of play, learn how to counter it.

Be prepared at all times

Bangers enjoy hitting the pickleball and driving it. As a result, always expect the banger to drive. You'll have plenty of time to respond if the banger chooses to change it up and drop or dink the pickleball. So prepare yourself for a fast-paced journey. It is particularly true for the fifth and third parts of each rally when the person is on the serving team that is normally the most difficult shots to play against on the pickleball court.

At the Kitchen Line, in other words also known as the Non-Volley Zone Line, being ready means having your paddle up and out in front of your body in an athletic stance. Keep your eyes on the pickleball and prepare for a fastball by bending your knees.

Stay away from the banger

Not every player has the ability to create havoc. On the pickleball court, a banger may have a "dinker" as a partner—a player who does not frequently drive the pickleball but likes the soft game.

In this situation, hit the pickleball to the dinker to disperse the banger. This will assist you and your partner to remove the difficult drives by encouraging the dinker to hit a drop shot on the third and fifth shots.

A banger may, on occasion, be partnered with another banger. In that case, consider hitting the banger with the drive that is less harmful, as well as mastering a few other tactics.

Make a deep serve return

With bangers, a deep return of serve is especially vital to keep them back near the baseline. This will need a better, stronger drive from the banger, giving you more time to respond to the pickleball.

Also, strike your return of serve low to the ground to keep the pickleball low. This is usually accomplished by returning the serve with slice or backspin. By hitting a low-to-the-ground response, the banger will have to strike up on the pickleball, potentially sending his drive over of bounds.

Finally, consider returning the serve to the banger's weaker side. Backhands and forehands are frequently not made evenly, and backhand shots are typically weaker than forehand shots. Determine if the banger's forehand drive is more powerful than his backhand drive.

If that's the case, return the serve to the banger's backhand side to make the banger's drive more difficult.

Watch out for out bounds

When playing bangers, it's crucial to keep an eye out for shots that go out of bounds. Any out-of-bounds shot by the banger results in a victorious rally for you and your teammate. So, don't allow the banger any free opportunities, and keep him in the rally by hitting his out balls.

One of the most challenging talents on the pickleball court is detecting out balls. It takes a split second to decide whether or not to let a pickleball go. With that being stated, it is a skill that can be improved with practice and will help you improve your win % on the pickleball court with improvement.

Use the following criteria in your split-second decision making to assist you in detecting out balls:

The third shot will be driven by a standard banger, followed by the fifth, and so on. The banger will usually force the pickleball out of bounds after a few drives since the banger is gradually advancing up near the pickleball net, giving the banger less space to work with while driving the pickleball. As a result, the closer the banger gets to the pickleball net, the more likely his or her shot will go beyond the baseline and out of bounds.

How big is the backswing of the banger?

Large backswings usually indicate increased speed or power. Be prepared for greater speed if a banger takes a big backswing. The pickleball may be heading out of bounds if a banger is trying a make a huge backswing and is very close to the pickleball netting.

If the pickleball is below the net and close to the court, the banger must hit up on the pickleball to get their shot back over the ball netting. The pickleball is more likely to fly high out of boundaries when a banger strikes up on it. Keep close eye on where the batter hits the pickleball, as this could indicate an out ball.

Is the pickleball hit with top spin by the banger?

If the banger can hit the pickleball with a top spin, the pickleball will be more likely to stay on the court. The top spin is known as the advanced spin that travels from 6 o’clock position to the 12 o'clock position.

The banger will also have the advantage of keeping the pickleball in play by taking a shot that is underneath the pickleball net and low on the court. Therefore, a banger with top spin is riskier, and their strokes have a higher chance of staying in. A banger's strokes are more likely to sail out of bounds if he or she lacks top spin.

Is the banger hitting with the wind or against it?

On the pickleball court, the wind can be a crucial factor. When a banger hits with the wind behind him, the pickleball is more likely to go out of bounds because the wind will force the pickleball further.

The pickleball is more likely to remain in if the banger is hitting into the wind, as the wind acts as a resistive force to the banger's shots. Keep an eye on the wind and how it can alter a banger's shots.

What is the height of the pickleball in relation to your body?

Look for a pickleball that reaches about chest/shoulder height or higher, as this is when it will most likely go out of bounds. However, the actual height will be determined by your height and how low you are (i.e., how much you bend your knees) as the pickleball approaches you.

Be a wall

Block the drive by acting as a wall. Good blocks necessitate little to no backswing, a movable paddle hold (a tight grasp causes your paddle to act as a firmer backboard for the pickleball to rebound). This will help you steer clear of hitting the banger's drives further than the baseline and over of bounds by deadening the pickleball.

Once you've mastered general pickleball blocking, the idea is to block the banger's drives down to the feet of your opponent (and possibly the backhand-side foot if the banger's weaker side is the backhand). Be aware of your paddle angle when blocking down, as you'll want to slant your pickleball paddle in the course you want the pickleball to travel. This can help you avoid unintended high blocks or pop-ups, which will give your opponents an easy "Bake and Shake," a banger's favorite pickleball set move.

Maintain the banger

In general, try to keep the banger as close to the baseline as feasible. Do not call the banger anywhere near the Kitchen Line, Non-Volley Zone, or Transition Area. If you invite the banger in the direction of the pickleball net, you're providing them the chance to move their feet in an offensive manner toward the pickleball and maybe hit a more intense shot than if they were back on the baseline.

However, there may be occasions when you can drop or block the pickleball into the Kitchen or the Non-Volley Zone. This is when the banger isn't particularly mobile, making it tough for him to get to a quick shot. If the banger is not able to dink, a short block or drop into the Kitchen or the Non-Volley Zone could be helpful.

Participate in the soft game

Many pickleball players are strong in one of two areas: hard or soft. They are unlikely to be strong in both. As a result, if you're good at dinking, try to make the banger uneasy by dinking with them.