The Tweener isn’t just a showoff shot—it is a legitimate defensive tool when you are beaten by a deep lob. If you can’t run around the ball in time, hitting it between your legs is your last resort to keep the point alive. Warning: This shot requires timing and flexibility. If you mistime it, you risk hitting your own ankles (or worse). Practice this with a soft foam ball first!
When my partner raced back to return a lob, I couldn’t believe what I saw next. In an act that seemed like it came straight from Ringling Bros., he turned his back to the net and made a perfect return from between his legs: it was a pickleball tweener.
WOW.
But he wasn’t showing off. Well, maybe a little. What he was doing was putting the “tweener,” one of the best known pickleball trick shots, on full display.