If you’ve been using PB Vision to analyze your pickleball games, you might have noticed a quality rating for your 3rd shots. But what does it really mean if your app shows that the quality of your 3rd shots is 50%? Let’s break it down.

Shot quality meter - an average of all displayed shots in a given category

What is PB Vision Measuring?

‍The quality metric for your 3rd shots is based on how well your shot challenges your opponent. Imagine your opponent is standing at the net, ready to intercept your shot. PB Vision visualizes a sphere around your opponent, representing the area within which they can make contact with the ball.If your shot intersects that sphere at a low point—forcing your opponent to hit upward—your drop shot is considered effective, and the quality is rated higher (usually indicated in green). Conversely, if your shot is easier for your opponent to handle, the quality rating decreases.

Quality shown by color for individual drops

‍What It’s Not Measuring

‍It’s important to note that this metric doesn’t account for your opponent’s actual position during the game. The analysis is purely based on how your shot would fare against an ideally positioned opponent. So, if your opponent is slow getting to the net and you drop the ball with more space, that might be a smart play, but it won’t necessarily be reflected in the quality score.

Quality Scale

‍Why Does This Matter?

‍When practicing your 3rd shots, it’s beneficial to imagine your opponent is always in the best possible position. This mindset challenges you to improve your shot quality and helps you get better practice. In summary, a 50% quality rating means that, while your shot is effective, there’s still room for improvement in making it more difficult for an ideally positioned opponent. Keep practicing, and use PB Vision to track your progress! Please do keep in mind that our AI is only as good as the data it's trained on. We will only get better with time.