Wizards Do Exist, And This Ridiculous Jack Sock "Around The Post" Pickleball Shot Is All The Proof You Need
Pickleball still has a branding issue. It still carries a misconception that it's a sport for old people, or not even a real sport at all. And listen, I get it. If you go out to any public pickleball court in America today, you're most likely going to find a lot of old people playing the game at an alarmingly pedestrian pace. You'd never go to a basketball court and see a bunch of 70-year-olds hooping. You'd never walk out to a random football field and see your grandfather completely dominating. I can see why people who don't know any better would think that of pickleball.
So allow yourselves to get educated a bit here. Class is in session, bitch. And today's lesson is brought to you by Jack Sock.
And it case you weren't paying attention, he was kind enough to hit the exact same shot the next day, too.
The artistry. The wizardry. Just some supremely spicy stuff from the Showtime Sock.
Here's some context for the uncultured swine out there. Just like in tennis, players are allowed to pick the ball "around the post" in pickleball if possible. It's a pretty common shot once you get to the higher levels of pickleball since there's not a ton of room you need to cover from side to side. But for most right-handed players who are playing on the left side of the court, they would hit this ATP with a backhand. You're only ever hitting a forehand ATP if you're playing on the right side of the court.
Jack Sock isn't "most right-handed players". Jack Sock is a goddamn magician. He flips his hips, throws a grotesque amount of slice on the ball, and launches a laser beam into that back corner. If your grandma tried that shot, she'd be scheduled to get a hip replacement later this week. It's difficult to put into words just how insane that shot is. But just know that everybody reading this blog right now could go out and play pickleball for 12 hours later today, and none of you would be able to hit that shot even once. Unless you are actually Jack Sock and reading this right now. And in that case--sup, Jack?