Pickleball Shots: Every Shot Explained and How to Hit It

Every rally you will ever play is built from the shots below. Learn what each one is for before you worry about hitting it perfectly, because choosing the right shot matters more than swinging harder.

Work through the families in rally order: serve and return first, then the soft game, the net game, and the specialty shots that win the crowd. Brand new to the sport? Start with how to play pickleball, then come back here.

The Serve

The serve starts every rally and it is the one shot you hit with no pressure from an opponent. Its job is simple: deep, consistent, and hard to attack.

Master one reliable serve first, then add the drop serve and variations. These guides cover the mechanics, the rules and the serves worth learning.

• Pickleball serve tips — The fundamentals of a deep, consistent serve: stance, toss, contact point and follow-through.
• Best pickleball serves to master — The serve types worth adding to your game, from the power serve to the high soft serve.
• The pickleball drop serve — How the drop serve works, what the rules allow, and who it suits.

The Return of Serve

The return is a groundstroke with a strategy attached: hit it deep, give yourself time, and take your place at the kitchen line before the third shot arrives.

• Pickleball return of serve tips — Depth, height and positioning: the return that puts the serving team under pressure.

The Dink and the Soft Game

The dink is a soft shot from near the kitchen that arcs over the net and lands in the non-volley zone. It is the rally-building shot of pickleball, used to stay patient until an attackable ball appears.

Good dinking is about height and placement: low over the net, at your opponent’s feet, and never quite the same ball twice.

• What is a dink shot in pickleball? — The definition, the purpose, and how a dink rally actually works.
• How to perfect the dink shot — Technique for a consistent, low dink: grip pressure, paddle angle and touch.
• Pickleball dinking mistakes — The errors that pop the ball up, and the fixes for each one.
• How to keep the ball low — Contact point and paddle face control for every low shot, not just the dink.

Volleys and the Net Game

A volley is any shot hit out of the air before it bounces. At the kitchen line, volleys are how rallies speed up: compact swings, quick hands and balls taken early.

• What is a volley in pickleball? — The definition, the kitchen rules that govern volleys, and the momentum rule that catches players out.
• Ways to improve your pickleball volley — Faster hands, better blocking and punch volleys that stay low.

The Third Shot Drop

The third shot drop is the signature shot of pickleball: a soft, arcing shot from the baseline that lands in the kitchen and lets the serving team move forward.

It is the hardest core shot to learn and the one that separates beginners from intermediate players. This is its full technique guide.

• The third shot drop — Grip, arc, landing spot and the drills that groove it, plus the errors that leave it hanging.

Groundstrokes: Forehand and Backhand

Groundstrokes are your baseline and mid-court drives and passing shots. The forehand does most of the work, but a reliable backhand stops opponents targeting your weak side.

• Forehand vs backhand in pickleball — When each side is stronger, the mechanics of both, and how to stop running around your backhand.

The Lob and Defending It

The lob lifts the ball high over net players and lands it deep. Used sparingly, it resets a rally you are losing and punishes teams who crowd the kitchen.

You also need the answer to it: reading the lob early, turning, and either smashing it or letting it bounce and resetting.

• The pickleball lob shot — When to lob, how to disguise it, and where to aim it.
• How to defend the lob — Footwork, communication and the safe recovery when a lob gets over your head.

Specialty Shots

Three shots sit outside the standard library. The erne and the around-the-post turn defence into highlight winners, and the reset shot saves rallies that look lost.

None of them are beginner shots, but every player should know what they are and when they are legal.

• What is an erne in pickleball? — The leaping volley beside the kitchen: how it works and what the rules say about the non-volley zone.
• The around-the-post shot (ATP) — Hitting around the net post instead of over it: angle, timing and legality.
• The pickleball reset shot — Absorbing pace and dropping the ball softly into the kitchen from a defensive position.

Putting the Shots Together

Knowing the shots is half the game. Choosing the right one, rally by rally, is the other half, and that is strategy.

Our pickleball strategy hub organizes the decision guides: third shot choices, beating power players, doubles systems and training. For all-round improvement tips, see pickleball tips.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main shots in pickleball?

The core shots are the serve, the return, the dink, the volley, the third shot drop, groundstrokes and the lob. The erne, around-the-post and reset are specialty shots built on top of those.

What is the hardest pickleball shot to learn?

The third shot drop. It needs a soft touch from the baseline under pressure, which is why most players drill it more than any other shot.

What is the difference between a dink and a drop?

A dink is hit from near the kitchen during a soft rally. A drop, usually the third shot drop, is the same soft idea played from the baseline or mid-court to approach the net.

What is an erne in pickleball?

A volley hit while leaping outside the non-volley zone beside the net post. It is legal if the player avoids the kitchen and its lines during the jump and landing.

How many shots should a beginner learn first?

Four: a deep serve, a deep return, a basic dink and a block volley. Those four cover most of a beginner rally, and every other shot builds on them.