How Pickleball Mini Singles Can Improve Your Game

Some refer to it as ghost doubles, skinny singles, half-court singles or as the USAP officially designates it, “mini-singles.” Anyway you slice it, playing half court pickleball is very fun. In addition, playing half court complements both doubles and singles strategies, and it is a path to improvement while placing far less stress on the body compared to playing full-court singles.

The traditional way is to play all of the points on the cross court. Here are the basic rules, etc.

• Using tape or rubber lines, extend the center court line up through the NVZ (kitchen) to the net on both sides of the court. This will be the sideline for the cross-court game.
• Points are played from left court to left court, and right court to the other right court.
• Scoring is side-out (same as usual). Players keep serving until they lose a point.
• Each service point begins from the same court position until a service point is scored. In other words, if you are serving at 0-0, you begin the point on the right service court. If the point is lost, the next and every service attempt occurs from the same right side of the court until a point is scored.
• Games to 11 or 15 are typical, but unless you are playing a USAP sanctioned event, there is no set limit.

Shot selection: By narrowing shot patterns to cross court, you realize your shot margins are pretty small. This encourages players to learn how to do more with less because hitting around, over or through the other player is tricky on a half court and demands both diligence and patience.

Consistency: Because the court is smaller and therefore easier to cover, you often have to hit every shot in the book, often more than once, just to win a single point. Combined with the fact that you get to hit every shot, this builds up your ability to stay in rallies longer.

Court strategy: If you imagine the game as “ghost doubles,” any shots that are not properly angled cross court, would be swatted away by the ghost net player. Whether you are playing singles or doubles, being proficient with cross-court point patterns will complement every aspect of your game. Keep in mind, when you hit cross court, the net is 2 inches lower at the center, and on the diagonal, the court is almost 5 feet longer, at 48 feet, 4 inches (versus the 44-foot length of the court).

We advocate learning to hit a variety of shots from any and all parts of the court, and a great way to switch it up is to play mini singles with points going down the line. This version allows you to experience the higher risks of the down-the-line pattern.

Using the same point format, you serving on the right side of the court, but instead of playing on the diagonal, play goes straight across. Compared to hitting cross court, there is less of a margin for error playing down the line. The net is 2 inches higher, and the court is only 44 feet long. The valuable take-away is that you have to use a little more spin and less ball pace to keep it inside the lines.

Whether you play the game cross court or down the line, the improvement will be obvious once you’re going back to full-court play. You should notice you have better staying power during rallies and feel more confident knowing which shot to hit and when. This in turn leads to feeling less pressure during longer rallies.