Pickleball Techniques & Strategy: The Complete Guide
Pickleball rewards players who think strategically and develop a diverse technical toolkit. While raw athleticism and power can carry you in the early stages, the players who consistently win at intermediate and advanced levels are those who have mastered the art of shot selection, court positioning, and mental discipline. This guide covers everything from foundational mechanics to advanced competitive strategies.
The Four Core Shots of Pickleball
1. The Serve
The serve starts every rally, and while it’s not the scoring weapon it is in tennis, a smart serve can set up easier third shots. All serves must be hit underhand with the paddle face moving upward at the moment of contact, and the ball must land in the diagonal service box past the kitchen.
Power Serve: A deep, hard serve pushed to the opponent’s backhand or body can force a weak return. The goal isn’t an ace — it’s pushing the receiver back so they can’t rush the net.
Topspin Serve: A topspin serve lands deep and kicks up after the bounce, making it uncomfortable to return. To execute: brush up the back of the ball at contact while swinging through the shot.
Lob Serve: A high, arcing serve that lands deep forces the opponent to hit from behind the baseline. Use sparingly as a change-up.
Spin Serve: Note that pre-spinning the ball with the non-paddle hand before serving was banned by USA Pickleball in 2023. You may only spin the ball with paddle contact.
2. The Return of Serve
The return of serve might be the most underappreciated shot in pickleball. A great return of serve gives your team an enormous advantage — a poor one surrenders it immediately.
The Golden Rule — Go Deep: Your primary objective on every return is to hit the ball deep, toward the opposing baseline. A deep return pushes the serving team back, preventing them from easily executing the third-shot drop and giving you and your partner time to reach the kitchen line before the next exchange.
Target the Backhand: Most players have a weaker backhand than forehand. Consistently directing your returns to the opponent’s backhand side (particularly the server’s partner’s backhand when they’re positioned in the middle) creates more errors and weaker third shots.
Advance to the Kitchen: After you hit your return, move immediately toward the non-volley zone line. The moment that return leaves your paddle, start moving forward. You and your partner should ideally reach the kitchen line before the serving team can advance.
3. The Third-Shot Drop
The third-shot drop is widely considered the most important shot in pickleball and the one that separates beginner-intermediate players from truly skilled competitors. After your team serves (shot 1) and receives the return (shot 2), you hit shot 3 — and instead of driving it hard, you arc it softly into the opponent’s kitchen.
Why It Works: When the ball lands in the kitchen, the opponents must hit upward to get it back over the net. That upward trajectory gives you a ball that’s rising, not threatening — it’s much harder to attack. Meanwhile, the soft drop buys your team time to move from the baseline to the kitchen line.
How to Execute It: Use a continental or eastern grip. The swing is pendulum-like — open-faced paddle, contact the ball low with a soft, controlled follow-through. The ball should arc softly, peaking early and then dropping into the kitchen. Practice hitting from around mid-court first before attempting from the baseline.
The Third-Shot Drive Alternative: Not every third shot needs to be a drop. Against players who struggle with fast balls or when positioned inside the baseline, a hard-driven third shot can be effective. The drive-or-drop decision is a fundamental read-and-react choice that develops with experience.
4. The Dink
The dink is a soft, controlled shot hit from near the kitchen that arcs over the net and lands in the opponent’s kitchen. It’s the most uniquely pickleball shot — there’s nothing quite like it in any other sport — and mastering it is essential to competitive play.
Purpose of Dinking: Dinking neutralizes power, forces patience, and creates opportunities. When both teams are dinking at the net, the rally becomes a chess match — each player trying to create an angle, expose a weakness, or draw an attackable ball from the opponent.
Mechanics: Stand with your knees bent, weight forward, paddle in front of you. The dink motion is a small, controlled push or pat — minimal backswing, minimal follow-through. Contact should be with an open paddle face and a slight upward lift to clear the net.
Dink Placement: Dink crosscourt (diagonally across to the opponent’s kitchen) more often than straight ahead. The crosscourt dink travels over the lowest part of the net (the center) and has more margin for error. Straight dinks go over the higher sideline sections of the net and are easier to attack.
Attacking the Dink: When an opponent’s dink sits up — rises above the net level — you have an attackable ball. Speed it up aggressively at the opponent’s feet or body. This is called a “speed-up” and is a critical weapon at intermediate and advanced levels.
Advanced Shots
The Erne
One of pickleball’s most visually impressive shots, the Erne involves moving around the kitchen post and volleying from outside the court boundary. Since you’re not inside the kitchen, you can legally volley from this position and attack from angles that are impossible from inside the court. The Erne requires anticipation — reading that the opponent is going to dink down the line — quick footwork to get around the post, and a decisive, aggressive volley.
The ATP (Around the Post)
When the ball is hit wide and travels beyond the sideline of the court, you can hit it around the post without it needing to go over the net — it just has to land in bounds. The ATP is a defensive counter that can become an offensive highlight. When your opponent hits an angle shot that pulls you wide, instead of popping it up, run with the ball and hit it around the post. Because you’re going around the post instead of over the net, you can create low angles that are virtually unreturnable.
The Lob
When both teams are at the kitchen line, an offensive lob launched over your opponent’s head can be devastating. The key is disguise — make it look like a dink, then at the last moment open your paddle face and drive the ball up and deep. Target the weaker player’s backhand side for the best results. Beware: a poor lob (too short) will be put away by your opponent for an easy winner.
The Roll Volley (Topspin Volley)
Instead of a flat, controlled volley, the roll volley uses a brushing motion to put topspin on the ball, making it dip quickly after crossing the net. This is effective when you get a ball at mid-height — not high enough to slam, but above the net. The topspin pulls the ball down to the opponent’s feet.
The Reset
The reset isn’t a glamorous shot, but it might be the most valuable. When an opponent speeds up the ball or hits a hard drive at you, the instinct is to fight fire with fire. Instead, absorb the pace, soften your grip, and push the ball softly back into the kitchen — resetting the point to a dink rally. Mastering the reset requires “soft hands” (relaxing your grip on contact) and mental discipline to resist countering with power.
Court Positioning and Movement
The Three Positions
In doubles pickleball, there are three fundamental court positions: the kitchen line, the transition zone (mid-court), and the baseline. The kitchen line is where you want to be — it’s the dominant position in pickleball. The baseline is where you start (serving or receiving). The transition zone is where rallies are often won or lost, because you’re vulnerable to fast balls at your feet.
The goal of every team after the serve-and-return exchange is to both reach the kitchen line as quickly as possible. The team that controls the net controls the game.
Stacking
Stacking is an advanced doubles positioning strategy where both players stand on the same side of the court before the serve or return, then move to their preferred positions after the ball is struck. The purpose is to ensure each player covers their strongest positions — for example, if both players prefer the right side (to use their forehand in the middle), they can stack and rotate to keep that configuration throughout the game.
The Poach
In doubles, a poach is when the net player (the non-server or non-returner) moves laterally to intercept a ball heading toward their partner. Effective poaching requires communication, timing, and commitment — a hesitant poach can leave your side of the court wide open. Call “mine” or use hand signals before poaching so your partner can cover the court behind you.
Mental Strategy and Game Planning
Play the Percentages
Pickleball is a game of errors as much as winners. The player who makes fewer unforced errors almost always wins. Early in a match, default to high-percentage shots: deep returns, controlled third-shot drops, crosscourt dinks. Save the risky shots for when you have a clear advantage.
Identify and Exploit Weaknesses
Within the first two or three games, you should have a clear picture of your opponents’ weaknesses. Does one player have a shaky backhand? Can’t handle balls at their feet? Gets nervous on big points? Once you’ve identified a weakness, be relentless and disciplined about exploiting it — even when it feels unsporting, the strategic player stays on their target.
Control the Tempo
Pickleball allows you to dictate pace. If you’re in a comfortable dink rally, be patient — don’t speed up until you have a genuinely attackable ball. If your opponents love long dink rallies, disrupt them with an occasional drive. The ability to change the pace and tempo of a game is a powerful weapon.
Communicate With Your Partner
In doubles, communication is as important as skill. Call the score before every serve. Call “mine,” “yours,” or “bounce it” on every ball between you. Signal your intentions before the serve (stacking moves, poaching plans). After every rally, quickly exchange a word on strategy. Partners who communicate constantly outperform more skilled partners who play in silence.
Drills to Improve Your Game
Cross-Court Dink Rally: With a partner, sustain a cross-court dink rally for as long as possible without the ball leaving the kitchen. Start with a target of 20 consecutive dinks and build to 50 or more. This is the single most valuable drill for intermediate players.
Third-Shot Drop Practice: One player feeds from the kitchen line, the other practices third-shot drops from the baseline. Hit 50 drops per session, focusing on arc, placement, and consistency. Track how many land in the kitchen.
Reset Drill: One player drives hard balls at their partner’s feet from the transition zone. The partner works on absorbing pace and returning softly into the kitchen. This builds the soft hands and discipline needed for real-match resets.
Skinny Singles: Play singles on just half the court (one service box per side). This forces better shot placement, exposes weaknesses, and dramatically improves your footwork since every inch of your half matters.
Speed-Up/Reset Exchanges: Two players dink crosscourt. Either player can speed up at any time — the other must reset. Continue until someone pops the ball up or makes an error. This drill simulates the kitchen battles of competitive play better than almost any other drill.
Continue Your Pickleball Journey
Technique without context is only part of the picture. Head to our Equipment Guide to make sure your paddle is matched to your skill level — the right gear makes a real difference in executing the shots above. And if you’re new to the sport, our Getting Started Guide covers the fundamentals you’ll need before diving into advanced techniques.
Ready to practice? Find your local court at our Dahlonega courts guide or North Georgia courts directory.