The short answer
Your paddle face is open and your swing goes from low to high. The ball does exactly what you told it to do. It is not bad luck — it is physics doing its job.
Punch, do not swing
A volley is a short, firm push from the shoulder. No backswing, no follow-through past your body. The ball already has pace — your job is to redirect it, not add to it.
The bigger your swing, the more the face rotates through contact, and the less control you have over where the ball goes.
Keep the face vertical
An open face is a ramp. Square it up so the paddle points where you want the ball to go. If you need the ball to go down, the paddle goes slightly down — not the swing path going up while the face compensates.
Contact in front
Same theme as every other shot in this game. When the ball gets beside you, you cannot punch forward — you can only flick or scoop, and both open the face. Paddle out in front, contact in front.
Ready position matters more than you think
If your paddle is at your waist when the ball arrives, you will be late, and late means scooping. Keep the paddle up around chest height and out in front. You cannot punch a ball you have to lift the paddle to reach.
Firm wrist, soft grip
These sound contradictory but they are not. Grip pressure stays low so you do not add pace, but the wrist stays stable so the face does not rotate. A floppy wrist plus a hard ball equals a pop-up.
Final thought
Less is more. Shorten the swing, square the face, contact in front — and your volleys stop being gifts. If you are still building this from scratch, beginner pickleball lessons in San Diego cover the mechanics properly, and 1:1 pickleball coaching in San Diego will catch the specific fault in your swing.
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