Pickleball is a sport that demands the player to have a cumulative skill of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. All these skills need to be executed on a court size of 44 feet by 20 feet, which is much less than a tennis court.
Schematically, one side of the pickleball court can be divided in three zones. Firstly, there is the baseline area or the back of the court. Second, there is a kitchen area or a non-volley zone which is six feet on either side of the net. In between these two zones is the body of the court. During a rally or strategic play, this area becomes the transition zone.
The transition zone is named so because the basic gameplay of pickleball requires the player to attack by hitting a shot from the baseline and follow it up by getting just behind the non-volley zone in a commanding position. However, since both players would want to get into that position, reaching this stage would lead to both players enter the transition zone repeatedly.
In terms of strategy, the transition zone is a naysay for most pickleball coaches and pundits. This is true because wandering in this zone leads to the opponent having a multitude of options to finish the rally. Firstly, they can hit an easy passing shot in the open side of the court. Secondly, a dink shot can put the player in the transition zone off-zone. Thirdly, a depth shot from the opponent which lands right beside the feet of the player in the transition zone would be good enough to force the error out of the player.
All these tactics are applicable only for singles. The proposition is not the same when it comes to doubles play. In doubles, it is better to have one player of a team on one half of the court in the transition zone depending on the rally progression. Though doubles pickleball is dominated by dink shots, a mistimed one can create problems for the player in the transition zone.
The transition zone can be used to advantage irrespective of whether the playing style is singles or doubles. However, to make this happen the player needs to control the rally by moving their opponent to the corners of the court, thereby opening the court up for a finish. This is particularly difficult if the opponent has the skills to bring the pace of the rally down through dink shots.
The transition zone has been dubbed as the no man’s land of pickleball. But whether a player chose to escape this land or become the king of it, depends on their tactical acumen.
