The Full-Send Body Bag in Pickleball — Is it Ever Okay?

Proceed with caution. And always remember: don’t start a body bag battle you are not prepared to see through to the end

If you have played or watched pickleball, you should be very familiar with the term body bag. It’s a universal term that occurs when a player gets hit anywhere on their body with the ball.

There are accidental body bags that accompany net chords. However, thanks to an increase in technology that has resulted in the game getting faster and more powerful, the intentional body bag has never been more prevalent.

Which begs the question – is the full-send body bag ever okay, and if so, under what circumstances?

The Do’s of the body bag

First, it’s important to point out that body bagging someone doesn’t mean you have to hit them as hard as you can. That is known as the full-send body bag, and while it is still used in pickleball, I would say it makes up a minority of all body bags hit.

To me, it is always a fair play to go for a regular, non-full-send body bag, as it can be very tactical. The key to a good body bag is to disguise it as well as possible.

• If you are hitting a standard off the bounce speed up with your forehand, utilize the same grip and backswing you use on a routine forehand dink
• Hold that takeback as long as possible, then at the last second, power through the ball and drive it at the chest or belly button of your opponent
• Keep in mind that against better players, you may only get one or two opportunities to truly disguise a body bag before your opponent keys in on it, so use them wisely

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Another time where I think it is okay to use the body bag, and maybe even the full-send bod bag is if someone tries it on you first.

At some point in your pickleball career, you will face someone who will try to body bag you.

I see it more at the amateur level in open plays in Charlotte than I do on the PPA Tour. If someone is trying to body bag you, I believe it immediately gives you the green light to do the same. But realize that comes with consequences.

Similarly to fighting, there are risks to the body bag, especially if you try it on someone who is better at pickleball than you are. Understand that the ball could come back at you as fast, if not faster than you hit it in the first place. There is also the risk that by retaliating, you start a body bag war and open yourself up to being targeted more frequently throughout the match.

My last do of the body bag is to use it against taller, longer players who like to reach into the kitchen a lot.

• When your opponents are tall, with long arms and are aggressively taking your dinks and drops out of the air at the kitchen, this can be a great opportunity to target their body
• Usually, body blows are tougher for these players to cover, as it forces them to shorten their arms and stop using their length to their advantage. My final golden rule – be strategic and cautious when using the body bag

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The Don’ts of the body bag

Let’s start the don’ts off by discussing where to hit a body bag.

True to its name, the body bag is meant to target your opponent’s body.

I never condone hitting a ball, especially a full-send body bag at an opponent’s face.

Does this occasionally happen? Yes, which is why I mentioned earlier proceed with caution and that pace is not as important as location or disguise.

Targeting someone’s face is overboard and could result in your opponent retaliating outside of pickleball. Keep in mind that the harder you hit the ball, the less accurate you are likely to be.

From a rec play standpoint, I also think a huge don’t of the body bag is to try to body bag someone worse than you are at pickleball.

I like to play rec games with members at Peak Pickleball in Charlotte where I currently serve as Head Pro. As a professional, I would never think about body bagging an amateur player, even if they were trying to body bag me. I think the same rule should apply for two rec players with much different skill levels.

I realize this protocol is subjective, but if you are much better than your opponent and are not playing a tournament, I would advise against trying to body bag them.

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Continuing with our don’ts, don’t start a battle you are not prepared to see through to the end.

Echoing on something I touched on earlier; I would avoid instigating a body bag fight if you are not prepared or skilled enough to face the consequences. Part of why you will see the pros try to body bag each other is they feel confident enough in their skill and dodging ability to handle any retaliation. I don’t always see this being the case at the amateur level.

The adage holds true in this situation as well: pick on someone your own size (or skill). 

To close, my final don’t is a message to all pickleball players.

Unless someone is actively targeting your head repeatedly and without just cause, don’t whine if you get body bagged or targeted.

I have seen this happen in singles, both genders, and especially in mixed.

Whether you like it or not, pickleball has gotten faster and more powerful, and as a result, the body bag is more prevalent than ever.

If you can’t handle being targeted, there are other sports for you to play. The best way to get someone to stop targeting you is not to pitch a fit or complain, but rather by defending yourself and developing the shots and skills needed to make them stop with your play.

Just like there’s no crying in baseball, there is (almost) no justified whining in pickleball.