When pickleball pro Hurricane Tyra Black (with her partner Christian Alshon) faced off against Julian “Andiamo” Arnold and Meghan Sheehan-Dizon, she knew she had to find a way to frustrate Arnold, who is known for his fiery, animated play and “hot” streaks on the court (in other words, when Arnold is “talking and yelling” on the pickleball court, he is in the zone and playing his best). Black wanted to find a way to cool Arnold’s momentum and keep his “Andiamo” screams between rallies to a minimum. So, Black came up with a plan that was based on a strategy used during a women’s match the year prior at the same venue. Black identified that the elements—notably, the sun—made this pickleball strategy effective the year prior, and she and Alshon could have success implementing it again. Black’s pickleball strategy to frustrate her opponent Arnold was—the high lob!
The high lob can be frustrating as it:
- Is generally an untraditional and uncommon strategy—especially at the pro level. So, the high lob can throw off pickleball players because they are not used to seeing it and can throw off their rhythm on the pickleball court.
- Is disorientating, as pickleball players are required to look high into the air (almost…
