Pickleball Videos
These instructional videos should provide general guidance on strategy and technique. You should not consider any guidance an absolute. But these strategies and techniques will work for most people, most of the time.
#1 - Return of Serve
This video section covers return of serve. Return of serve is the shot you hit when you are the receiver of the serve. Pay special attention to the following concepts:
- The team that gets to the net first will win rallies 60-70% of the time
- When hitting a weak return of serve, your opponents will get to the net 83% of the time
- When hitting a strong return of serve, your opponents will get to the net only 49% of the time
- Your goal as the receiver is to get to the net as soon as possible. Hitting a high deep return gives you time to do this
The first 4 minutes covers strategy. The rest covers the mechanics of hitting the return of serve.
#2 - Drop Shots (aka, 3rd shot drop)
Why the drop shot exists
Once you understand the kitchen advantage, the drop shot makes sense strategically:
-
Baseline vs kitchen is a losing position
If you stay at the baseline while opponents are at the kitchen line, they can volley aggressively at your feet. -
The drop shot neutralizes the net team
A soft shot into the kitchen forces opponents to hit upward, which removes their attacking angle. -
It allows you to move forward
The drop buys time so you can advance to the kitchen line, where most rallies are won. -
It transitions the rally into the soft game
Once both teams reach the kitchen line, points usually become dinking battles, where control and patience decide the rally.
A properly executed drop shot lands softly in the opponent’s kitchen so it is difficult to attack, often forcing a soft return. The goal is to hit the shot so that your opponent is forced to hit up on the ball. Best practice is to have the ball hit its apex before it goes over the net.
The following videos cover drop shot strategy and mechanics. The first video covers strategy. The rest cover mechanics. Drop shots are one way of allowing you to transition from the baseline to the net. When both partners are at the net, they have a 60-70% chance of winning the rally. Drop shots are often referred to as “Third Shot Drop”. This can be confusing, since you may want to hit a drop shot regardless of which shot in the rally it is.
One thing I don’t see covered enough in these videos is when NOT to hit a drop shot. These are examples:
Opponents are Back: If one or both opponents are at the baseline, drive the ball to keep them back. A drop allows them to advance. Be aware that if one of your opponents is already at the net, they may try to poach the shot if you drive it.
Short/High Return: If the return is short and sits up, hit a third-shot drive.
You are Out of Position: If you are stretched out or off-balance, attempting a precise drop is risky; a drive is often more consistent.
#3 - Third Shot Strategy - Drop vs. Drive
The third shot is when the serving team hits the ball after the serve is returned. Example: I serve – that’s shot #1; Receiving team returns the serve – shot #2; Serving team hits the returned serve – shot #3.