One More Shot: The Pickleball Strategy That Wins Games

Most pickleball advice makes the game harder than it needs to be. Fancy shots, complex footwork, strategies that fall apart under pressure. Meanwhile, the best players in the world win by doing something almost annoyingly simple. They just hit one more shot than the other team.

It’s called OMS, and it’s the strategy that separates players who win from players who wonder why they keep losing. Here’s how it works, why the pros swear by it, and how you can use it starting today.

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Bad Advice

You know the feeling. You watch a YouTube video, then your friend gives you different advice, and your instructor says something else entirely.

Everyone has an opinion on how you should play pickleball. It gets confusing fast.

You end up trying to remember a dozen different tips while the ball is coming at you. No wonder your game feels stuck.

The truth is that most pickleball advice makes things harder than they need to be. It focuses on flashy shots, complicated footwork patterns, and strategies that require perfect execution.

But the players who dominate at the highest level don’t play that way. Ben Johns doesn’t win by hitting crazy winners.

Anna Leigh Waters doesn’t dominate by trying to end every rally in three shots. They win by doing something much simpler.

They just hit one more shot than their opponent. That’s it.

That’s the secret that separates the best players in the world from everyone else. And it’s the same strategy that will transform your game, no matter your skill level.

So let’s stop chasing complicated advice and start looking at what actually works. In the next section, we will break down exactly what One More Shot means and how Ben Johns uses it to stay on top.

What OMS Means

So what is this simpler strategy?

It’s called OMS, which stands for One More Shot. It sounds almost too simple, right?

Just hit one more shot than your opponent. But that’s the secret.

The best player in the world, Ben Johns, wins by doing exactly that. Go watch any PPA Tour finals match with Ben Johns.

Pay close attention to his shot selection. You won’t see him trying to force a ton of crazy winners.

You won’t see him attacking every ball off the bounce. What you will see is a guy who is perfectly content to hit a soft dink crosscourt.

Then another one. Then another one.

Watch his partner, Gabe Tardio. Gabe has the talent to speed the game up and hit flashy shots.

But that’s not the plan. The plan is OMS.

Johns and Tardio win by outlasting their opponents, not by overpowering them. Johns only uses his famous backhand roll volley when the opponent gives him a popup.

He never forces it. If he doesn’t have a wide-open look, he just sends the ball back over the net.

Crosscourt or middle. That’s it.

Rinse and repeat. Just One More Shot.

It works because most players can’t resist the temptation to end the rally early. They go for the hero shot and miss.

Johns simply refuses to make that mistake. He trusts that he can hit one more ball than you can.

This isn’t just a men’s game strategy either. The same principle applies on the women’s side, and it’s a big reason why Anna Leigh Waters stays on top.

Proof It Works

The women’s side tells the same story, just with a different flavor. Anna Leigh Waters is known for her power.

She can end a rally in a heartbeat. But watch her closely during a tough match, and you will see something else.

She is also a defensive wall. She doesn’t panic when the ball comes back fast.

She extends the rally. She waits for the right moment, not just any moment.

The Kawamoto sisters are the perfect example of why this matters. Jade and Jackie Kawamoto are the embodiment of OMS.

They keep the ball in play longer than almost anyone else. Their whole game is built on rally extension.

They refuse to miss. So why can’t they consistently beat Waters and Bright?

Because Waters and Bright are also masters of OMS. They have the same discipline, plus more putaway power.

But that power alone wouldn’t be enough without the OMS foundation. The 2025 Cincinnati Showcase proved this point perfectly.

The Kawamoto sisters beat Waters and Bright in the semifinals. They won by outlasting them.

If the most offensive player in the game needs OMS to win, what does that say about the rest of us? The answer is simple.

You need it too. And in the next section, I will show you exactly what happens to your win rate when you add just one more shot to every rally.

Rally Math

Let’s say your average rally lasts 4 shots. You hit the ball, they hit it back, you hit it, they hit it, and then someone misses.

That’s probably the average for your regular play group. If everyone is around the same skill level, you are all stuck in that 4-shot range.

Now imagine you do some work on your game. You focus on clean contact, high net clearance, and smart placement.

Nothing fancy. Just consistent, repeatable shots.

You get your average up to 5 shots per rally. One extra shot per rally.

What do you think happens when you show up to play with your regular group? You are now a 5-shot player playing against 4-shot players.

You are going to win more games. Not every single game, but way more than before.

The math is that simple. This works the other way too.

If you are a 4-shot player trying to hang with a group of 5-shot players, you will struggle. You will feel rushed.

You will make errors you don’t normally make. That gap of one shot per rally is the difference between winning and losing.

It is a bigger deal than any fancy shot you can learn. Consistency beats flashiness at every level.

From the 3.0 rec player to the pro finals.

The team that can keep the ball in play just one more time almost always wins. It’s not about hitting harder or spinning the ball more.

It’s about being boringly reliable. And that is a skill you can actually develop.

Three Rules

You need three specific things to focus on if you want to execute OMS. Don’t try to change everything at once.

Start with net clearance. The net is your biggest enemy because hitting into it is a guaranteed loss.

You can pop the ball up and still recover. You can hit it long and hope your opponent lets it go.

But the net? It’s a 100% loss every single time.

Here are some specific height targets to aim for. For your serve and return of serve, aim 4 feet over the net.

For a punch volley, aim about 16 inches over. For an offensive dink, keep it tight at 3 inches.

And for a third shot drop from the baseline under pressure, give yourself 2 feet of clearance. These numbers give you a buffer.

They let you make mistakes and still survive. Second, reduce your winners.

I know this sounds backwards. Winners look amazing.

They feel great. But winners are risky by definition.

You are trying to end the rally with a low percentage shot. The scoreboard doesn’t care how pretty your winning shot was.

A rally that ends with your opponent hitting into the net counts exactly the same. Third, use less spin.

Spin adds variables you can’t fully control. It changes the bounce, the trajectory, and the timing.

Unless you are a pro who has practiced a specific spin shot thousands of times, you are just adding risk. Simple topspin or slice is fine.

But don’t try to get fancy. When you aim higher, stop chasing winners, and reduce unnecessary spin, your consistency jumps up immediately.

You become the player who just doesn’t miss.

Bottom Line

This is where it all comes together. The strategy is not complicated.

You don’t need a bag full of trick shots or a new paddle every month. You just need to buy into one simple idea.

Hit one more shot than the other team. That is it.

That is the whole game. Think about the best players in the world.

Ben Johns doesn’t try to end every rally with a highlight reel winner. He waits for the mistake that almost always comes.

Anna Leigh Waters doesn’t panic when she gets pushed back. She resets and extends the rally until she gets the opening she wants.

They trust the process. They trust that if they keep the ball in play, the other team will crack first.

You can do the same thing. It starts with letting go of the need to be the hero.

You don’t have to hit the perfect shot every time. You just have to hit a good enough shot that keeps the ball in play.

The net clearance targets we talked about. The decision to hit fewer risky winners.

The choice to use less spin. These are not complicated changes.

They are simple, repeatable actions that add up to one extra shot per rally. And that one extra shot will change your results completely.

Stop looking for the magic secret. The magic is in the boring stuff.

The magic is in trusting that you can hit the ball over the net one more time than the person on the other side. Keep it simple.

Trust OMS. And watch your win rate climb.

FAQs

What does OMS mean in pickleball?

OMS stands for One More Shot. It is a strategy built on the idea that you win more rallies by simply keeping the ball in play one extra time. Instead of going for risky winners, you focus on consistency and let your opponent make the mistake first.

Does OMS work at lower skill levels or only for pros?

OMS works at every level. If your average rally is 4 shots and you can push it to 5, you will beat players who are still stuck at 4. The math applies whether you are a 3.0 rec player or competing in a PPA Tour final.

How do I start using OMS in my next game?

Focus on three things: aim higher over the net to avoid unforced errors, stop trying to hit winners when you don’t have a clean look, and cut back on unnecessary spin. These small adjustments add up to one more shot per rally and a noticeable jump in your win rate.

Can I still hit winners if I play the OMS strategy?

Absolutely. OMS is not about never attacking. It is about being disciplined enough to only attack when you have a high percentage opportunity, like a popup or a ball sitting in your strike zone. Ben Johns still hits winners, but only when the opening is obvious.