How to Hit a Third Shot Drop (and When to Drive Instead)

The third shot drop is the shot that separates players who get stuck at the baseline from players who get to the kitchen line. It is not a hard shot to understand. It is a hard shot to hit consistently under pressure, and most of the difficulty comes from what happens before and after the paddle touches the ball.

Why the third shot exists at all

Pickleball's two-bounce rule shapes the whole start of every point. The serve has to bounce before the returner hits it, and the return has to bounce before the serving team hits it. That second bounce is the reason the serving team starts at a disadvantage: the returner can hit a deep return and walk straight up to the kitchen line, while the serving team is pinned at the baseline waiting for the ball to land.

So the serving team's third shot has one main job: get from the baseline to the kitchen line without getting hit by a volley on the way. A drop does that by sending the ball low and soft into the kitchen, where the opponents cannot attack it. If it lands there, they have to hit it upward, and upward balls give you time.

Does the third shot have to bounce?

This is the most searched question about the shot, and the answer trips people up because two different players are involved.

• The serving team must let the return bounce before hitting the third shot. That is the second of the two bounces.
• The receiving team does not have to let the third shot bounce. Once both bounces have happened, volleys are legal for everyone. The opponents at the kitchen line can volley your third shot out of the air.

That second point is exactly why the drop matters. If your third shot is high or deep enough for them to volley comfortably, they will, usually at your feet while you are still moving. A good drop is low enough at the net that volleying it gains them nothing.

The target: think about the arc, not the landing spot

Most players aim a drop at the kitchen and then hit it into the net or float it too high. A more useful mental picture is the arc. You want the ball to reach the top of its flight while it is still on your side of the net, then fall over the net and drop into the kitchen. If the peak of the arc is over the net or past it, the ball is still rising when it crosses and it will sit up for the volley.

How to hit it

1. Get set early. Move to the ball and be stopped, or close to it, when you hit. A drop hit while running backward or lunging sideways is mostly luck.
2. Get low. Bend at the knees, not the waist. Being low lets you swing from low to high without dropping your paddle head toward the ground.
3. Open the face slightly. The paddle face tilts up a little so the ball leaves with lift. Too open and it pops up; too closed and it goes into the net.
4. Swing from the shoulder. A short, smooth push, with a firm wrist. The power comes from the shoulder and legs, not a flick of the wrist, which is the main source of drops that sail long.
5. Follow through toward the target. Finish with the paddle pointing up and out along the arc you want, not wrapping around your body.
6. Keep a loose grip. A tight grip makes the paddle a trampoline. A relaxed grip absorbs pace and gives you touch.

The part everyone forgets: the follow-in

A perfect drop that you watch from the baseline wastes the shot. The whole point was to create time to move forward. After you hit, move up, then split step (a small hop that lands you balanced on both feet) as the opponent is about to hit. Hit the next ball from wherever you are, and keep working forward.

Many players who think they have a bad drop actually have a fine drop and a bad follow-in. They stay back, the next ball lands at their feet in the transition zone (the area between the baseline and the kitchen), and they blame the drop. On video the difference is obvious: you can see whether the ball was attackable, or whether you simply never moved.

Third shot drop vs drive

The drop is the safe default, but it is not the only option. A third shot drive, hit hard and low, can be the better choice in the right situation.

Many experienced players use a drive to set up a drop: the drive forces a weak block, and the fifth shot becomes an easy drop from closer in. That pattern is often called "drive and drop", and it is worth learning once your drop is reliable.

A useful honest check is whether you drive by choice or by habit. If every third shot is a drive regardless of the return, you are probably driving when a drop was on, which is one of the faults reviewing your own match video surfaces fastest.

Common third shot drop mistakes

• Drops floating high. Usually a wrist flick or a face that opens at contact. Shorten the swing and keep the wrist firm.
• Into the net. Often hitting while still moving, or standing tall instead of bending. Get set, get low.
• Too deep. Too much swing. The drop needs far less pace than it feels like it does.
• Hitting and watching. The follow-in is half the shot.
• Aiming for perfection. Trying to land it an inch over the net leads to more errors than aiming for a safe, low arc.

How to practise it

Start close and move back. Begin at the kitchen line hitting soft dinks, then step back to the middle of the court, then to the baseline, keeping the same soft motion. With a partner, have them feed from the kitchen while you drop from the baseline, then add the follow-in: after each drop, take a few steps forward and split step. A wall works too if you mark a line a little above net height and aim to drop the ball just over it.

Our drills by level lay out progressions for drops at each stage, and the reset shot guide covers the closely related soft shot you hit from mid-court.

The drop at different levels

What a "good" third shot looks like changes as you improve, and it helps to know which version you are working on.

• Newer players: the goal is simply a soft, high-ish ball that lands somewhere in the front half of the court. If it clears the net comfortably and does not go deep, the opponents are unlikely to put it away, and you learn to move forward after it.
• Intermediate players: the drop gets lower and lands closer to the kitchen. This is the stage where the follow-in becomes a habit, and where you start choosing between drop and drive based on the return instead of always hitting the same shot.
• Advanced players: drops are hit with a variety of spin and pace, often off harder returns, and are disguised so the opponents cannot read them early. The drive and drop become a combination rather than a choice.

At every level, the honest measure is the same: after your third shot, did the opponents get to attack, and did your team get closer to the kitchen line? If yes and yes, the shot worked, whatever it looked like.

Drop targets: cross-court or straight?

Many players drop straight ahead by default. A cross-court drop is often the better choice, for the same reason the cross-court dink is: the ball travels over the lowest part of the net and has a longer court to land in. A drop to the opponent with the weaker backhand is another sensible default. What you want to avoid is dropping to the opponent who is already set at the line with their forehand ready; that is the ball most likely to come back at your feet.

What filming a game shows you

You cannot see your own drop's arc while you are hitting it, and you definitely cannot see your feet after it. A fixed camera from a court corner shows both: whether the ball was low enough at the net, and whether you followed it in or stayed planted. Coach Dink's game report looks for exactly these habits, including drops that float high, driving when a drop was on, and stalling in the transition zone, and ranks drills for whichever shows up most.

Frequently asked questions

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