Why 99% of Players Miss Too Many Easy Put Aways

You’re in the thick of a rally, you're moving like a champ—every step is on point and every shot is working out just the way you intended. You’ve got your opponent on the ropes, scrambling to keep up. The point is yours for the taking. Then it happens: the ball floats up, a gift-wrapped sitter, the kind of shot you could make blindfolded... and you shank it into the net. Or rocket it wildly beyond the line.

Your partner groans. Your paddle feels like a traitor. And that beautiful point you spent so much energy crafting? Gone in a blink.

It’s one of the most maddening paradoxes in pickleball: we pour our hearts into building something brilliant, only to trip over the simplest step. Why does this happen? Is it just nerves? Bad luck? A cruel cosmic joke?

I’ve been digging into this for a while now, and it turns out we just keep falling into the same mental trap over and over about how we frame the shots in our minds.

The good news? It’s fixable.

I’ve put together a video that breaks down why our bodies betray us on the “easy” shots, and the exact steps you can take to stop it from stealing your hard-earned points.