Ben Johns Shocks Fans with a Secret Lefty Forehand at PPA Worlds

Ben Johns, widely considered the greatest male pickleball player of all time, reached deep into his bag of tricks at the PPA World Championships this week.

In a men’s singles match against Brandon French, Johns unleashed a series of left-handed forehands — a shot he had not used in competitive play for years.

The move caught fans and commentators off guard.

Johns is a right-handed player.

He typically hits a forehand and a two-handed backhand, like most pickleball players.

But in this match, he switched to his left hand for several attacking shots.

The lefty forehand was not a new invention.

Johns explained after the match that the shot dates back to his tennis days.

“Back in the day when people played singles, it was pretty much all drives,” Johns said in a post-match interview.

“Then, I started dropping and coming in — the cat and mouse style as we know it today — and that required me to just hit backhand slices, basically backhand drops.”

He stopped using his left hand as his game evolved.

“So I stopped using my left hand and I stopped really hitting a bunch of passing shots, as I would just drop and come in… that’s kind of the style I just continued to play for singles after that.”

But the sport has changed since those early years.

Equipment developments have altered how singles is played.

New balls, such as the LT Pro 48 used on the PPA Tour, behave differently.

Paddles have become more powerful.

Johns believes the traditional drop-and-approach strategy is no longer as effective as it once was.

“You can’t really drop and come in super well with this ball,” he noted.

“You can hit accurate drops, but the ball bounces pretty high and people have a lot of spin on their paddles, so they can just take a drop and do a lot with it, so cat and mouse doesn’t really work very well.”

He added that drops remain useful for staying in rallies, but they are no longer a reliable way to build his game.

Since Johns does not generate much power with his backhand, the left-handed forehand offers an alternative.

The shot first appeared in Johns’ game in 2016 and 2017.

He used it in men’s singles during that period.

Over time, his playing style shifted toward a more tactical approach, relying on drops and moving to the net to pressure opponents.

The left-handed forehand gradually disappeared from his repertoire.

Johns began his PPA Worlds campaign with an 11-7, 1-11, 11-5 victory over Brandon French on Tuesday.

He exited the singles competition in the Round of 32 after losing 8-11, 8-11 to ninth seed Noe Khlif on Wednesday.

Despite the early exit, Johns made one thing clear.

The left-handed forehand is here to stay whenever he takes the court.

“When I do play singles, you can expect to see it,” Johns said.

He is unsure how frequently he will compete in singles going forward.

But the shot is no longer a forgotten weapon.

The revival of the lefty forehand comes at a time when the game’s top players are searching for edges.

Singles pickleball has evolved into a faster, more athletic contest.

Players who rely solely on power are being challenged by those who mix in finesse and deception.

Johns, at 26 years old, is still in his prime.

He has won dozens of PPA titles and multiple Triple Crowns.

His ability to adapt has kept him at the top for years.

The left-handed forehand is the latest example of that adaptability.

It is not a gimmick.

It is a calculated response to changes in equipment and playing styles.

Johns explained that in the early days of singles, rallies were built around powerful drives.