Ben Johns Shocks Fans with Secret Left-Handed Forehand at PPA Worlds

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

He unleashed a series of devastating left-handed forehands during a singles match against Brandon French.

The shot stunned fans and commentators alike.

Johns is a right-handed player.

He typically hits a forehand and a two-handed backhand, just like most players on tour.

But in this match, he switched to his left hand for several aggressive forehand winners.

In a post-match interview, Johns explained the origin of the shot.

Back in his tennis days, he actually preferred to hit two forehands.

He brought that technique into pickleball and used it regularly in the early years of his career.

According to Times Now, Johns originally played the left-handed forehand in men's singles during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Then he stopped.

“Back in the day when people played singles, it was pretty much all drives,” Johns explained in the 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.”

“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.”

For years, the drop-and-approach strategy defined Johns' singles game.

But the sport has changed dramatically over the past decade.

Equipment has evolved.

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

Paddles have become more powerful, generating more spin and speed.

These changes have altered the demands of singles play.

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 while drops remain useful to stay in rallies, 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.

It allows him to attack from a side of his body that opponents are not used to defending.

The PPA World Championships are being held this week at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Arizona.

Johns began his singles campaign on Tuesday with a victory over Brandon French.

The match ended 11-7, 1-11, 11-5.

He then advanced to the Round of 32.

There, he faced ninth seed Noe Khlif on Wednesday.

Johns lost that match 8-11, 8-11, exiting the singles competition.

Despite the early exit, Johns made one thing clear about his left-handed forehand.

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

The Dink Pickleball, which first reported the story, described the shot as a "surprise" and "devastating."

Johns is known for constantly evolving his game.

Over the years, he has added new shots to his repertoire, such as a two-handed roll dink.

The left-handed forehand is the latest addition to that arsenal.

For fans who have followed Johns since his early days, the shot is a throwback.

It reminds them of the aggressive, drive-heavy style he played before mastering the cat-and-mouse game.

For newer fans, it is a revelation.

Many had never seen Johns hit a left-handed shot in a competitive match.

The shot has generated significant buzz within the pickleball community.

Players and analysts are studying the footage to understand how Johns executes it and whether others might adopt it.

The development comes amid a broader shift in men's singles pickleball.

As equipment continues to evolve, players are searching for new tactical advantages.

The left-handed forehand could become a trend.

But for now, it remains a signature move of the sport's greatest player.