Pro Tips: 6 Ways to Be More Unpredictable in Pickleball

Being unpredictable is the fastest way to pull more pressure off your shots and create offense. Here is how to stop being an easy target and start keeping opponents guessing.

If opponents always know what you are going to do with the ball, you are giving away free points.

The fastest way to win more is to become unpredictable, so that nobody at the kitchen line feels safe attacking you or dumping the ball at your feet.

That is exactly the shift Kate Fahey has been making, and it is turning her into one of the most dangerous players to read on the women's side.

In a recent conversation on The Dink's PicklePod, she broke down how she went from being a reliable setup player to a genuine offensive threat.

Here is how to steal those same ideas and make your own game harder to solve.

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Why Does Being Unpredictable Win Points in Pickleball?

Being unpredictable in pickleball wins points because it forces opponents to respect every shot you have, which pulls them out of position before you even swing.

When they cannot guess your next move, they hesitate, and hesitation at the kitchen line loses points.

Fahey put it simply: she does not want to be a free target.

The moment you remove that safe option, opponents have to hit a better ball to you, and better balls are harder to make.

This is the hidden value of an unpredictable game.

The speedup or flick itself might not be a clean winner, but the fear it creates changes everything around it.

1. Find Your Own Offense Instead of Only Setting Up Your Partner

Fahey's first big change was deciding to look for her own offense rather than living as the setup player.

Playing alongside Anna Bright, it is easy to fall into a support role and let the superstar bring the firepower.

The lesson for you: stop waiting for your partner to end every point. Pick two or three balls a game where you commit to attacking first.

You will be amazed how much pressure that takes off your team.

Anna Leigh Waters has built an entire era of dominance on relentless offense, and her impact is only growing.

She was even part of Andre Agassi's professional pickleball debut, a sign of how much star power the women's game now carries.

2. Add Variety So Opponents Can't Predict Your Shot

You become unpredictable the moment you have more than one answer for the same ball. Fahey is deliberately adding shots so opponents cannot pattern her.

"I've just been working on adding more shots," she said. "I'm trying to add a flick out of the air."

Where she used to rely mostly on a forehand off the bounce, she is now building options: off the bounce, taking the ball out of the air, and flicking when the ball sits up.

Try building your own menu of three responses to a dink: a reset, a roll, and a flick.

When opponents cannot tell which is coming, you control the rally. Mastering these essential pickleball shots is how you go from one-dimensional to genuinely difficult to read.

3. Make Every Height a Potential Attack

What Is a Speedup in Pickleball?

Here is the definition worth knowing: a speedup is when you take a ball that opponents expect you to keep soft and instead accelerate it to catch them off guard.

The threat only works if you actually use it.

Fahey described how a ball that sits a little high to her backhand used to be a safe ball for opponents. Now she wants it to carry a little fear.

To pull this off, study the pickleball speedup and learn when to speed up so you pick the right moments instead of forcing every ball.

The backhand flick pickleball players fear most is the one they never see coming.

4. Commit to the Shot Even When You Are Not Sure

The Mental Side of Playing Unpredictable Pickleball

The biggest mental block to becoming unpredictable is waiting until you feel certain before you pull the trigger.

Fahey admitted this is her current battle.

If you only attack when you are one hundred percent sure, opponents read that certainty in your body language and react in time.

Better to commit to the shot, miss a few, and keep them honest.

Give yourself permission to miss. An aggressive miss early in a match buys you free points later because opponents have to respect the threat for the rest of the day.

5. Steal the Game Theory the Best Players Already Use

The players who exemplify unpredictable pickleball better than anyone are the ones who play a quiet game of game theory without overthinking it.

Gabe Tardio and Hayden Patriquin are the prime examples.

Tardio reaches in and takes balls out of the air that most players let bounce, which is why he is so hard to plan against.

You do not have to copy his exact game, but you can borrow the principle: keep opponents guessing and they will make worse decisions.

If you want to see this style in the next generation, watch how the sport's rising stars play, like the teenage prodigies now dominating tour events.

Variety and disguise show up early in every great player.

6. Understand the Ripple Effect of Being a Threat

How Unpredictable Pickleball Changes the Whole Point

The real payoff of an unpredictable pickleball game is not the winners you hit. It is the way opponents change around you.

When opponents respect your speed, they stay a half foot closer to their own line, they tense up, and they have to hit a better shot just to keep you neutral.

Suddenly the whole court tilts in your favor.

That is the difference between being a passive wall and being a problem.

Learn these offensive patterns so the pressure you create has somewhere to go, and use these drills to make the habits automatic under pressure.

What if I Miss Too Many of My New Attacks?

Misses are part of the cost of becoming unpredictable, and they pay for themselves over a full match.

A few early errors are cheap compared to a whole game of opponents playing scared.

The fix is shot selection, not retreat.

Pair your new aggression with solid fundamentals: when the ball is genuinely low, take the reset instead of forcing offense, and win the hands battles when the speed war starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Become More Unpredictable in Pickleball?

Build at least two or three responses to the same ball, such as a reset, a roll, and a flick, then mix them so opponents cannot pattern you. The goal is to make every ball you receive feel like a potential attack.

What Is a Speedup in Pickleball?

A speedup is when you accelerate a ball that opponents expect you to keep soft, usually from a dinking exchange, to catch them off guard. It works best when opponents are flat-footed or slightly out of position.

Should I Attack Even When I Am Not Sure I Will Make It?

Yes, within reason. Waiting until you are fully certain telegraphs your intentions and gives opponents time to react, so committing to good looks, even with some misses, keeps them honest and pulls pressure off your partner.

Why Is the Right Side So Hard to Play Offense From?

The right side often requires reaching across the middle and handling more balls, which is why it is considered harder than the left. Adding out-of-the-air shots and flicks, the way Gabe Tardio does, is how right-side players create offense and become genuinely unpredictable in pickleball.

Does Being Unpredictable Actually Change How Opponents Play Me?

Yes. When opponents respect your offense, they stay closer to their own line, hesitate, and have to hit better shots to keep you neutral, which tilts the entire point in your favor before you even swing.