Pickleball shots are traditional, yet evolving, so what’s better than having a shot named after you, am I right? To answer this question, I will first list and explain all the basic strokes, along with the names of all pickleball shots.
Once you have learned about all the shots you can play, you can vote below on what is better, is it basic shots or innovative shots? Now Let’s play pickl…. I mean lets take a look at the types of Pickleball shots
Basic strokes
A lot of players feel stroke and shot refer to the same this. Knowing the difference between a stroke and a shot will help you with better shot selection and choices. A stroke is basically the action that you perform before making contact with the ball whereas a shot is the aftermatch of a stroke. Strokes in pickleball are of three types:
Groundstroke
Groundstroke is the most common stroke in pickleball as it is a shot you make after the ball has bounced once. Dinks, third shots drops and speed up off the bounce are examples of groundstrokes.
Volley
Any shot that is made by directly taking it from the ait is a volley shot. Whether you hit the ball over your head or just near the ground, its a volley as long as the ball does not bounce. Volley strokes will help you return the ball with much more speed towards the opponent, and as we all know the overhead smash is an all time favourite stroke for all pickleball players. However, do not forget the golden rule of Pickleball, No volleying in the kitchen.
Dink
A dink is a type of groundstroke that is exclusive to Pickleball. Dinking is the act where a player aims to land the ball in the opponents kitchen area with the softest of touches.In a match you can use dinking to outplay even the pros, which is one of the reasons why Pickleball is such a high IQ sport.
If you are new to the game or even a seasoned pro, do check out this complete dink guide that I have curated with the help of some seasoned pros. The guide will surely help you think like the pros when it comes to playing pickleball. Now just to explain in brief, i’ll try to sum up what is dinking in a small paragraph here.
In pickleball, dinking will help you with resetting the point, regaining momentum of the point and even tire out your opponent into making more errors. To dink a ball correctly all you need to do is push the ball as gently as possibly so that it just falls over the net and lands inside the opponents kitchen area. At first it may feel like a boring stroke but once you start understanding when and why to dink, you will end up doing more dinking drills then any other drills.
Golden giveaway on how to think of a dink (the pro’s would charge you $1500 for this), “Use the dink not as a winner but as a stroke that will never lose you a point.”
How to hit a clean dink?
Again, I have compiled a detailed guide on how to hit a clean dink which you would not want to miss out on. The reason I have multiple guides about dinking is because it is the heart and soul of Pickleball, you will find most of the pros to have some sort of racket sport background, so adding a masterful dinking game in your arsenal will ensure an even playing field every time you enter a Pickeball court.
In a gist, hitting a dink should almost be a soft pushing motion from down to up. You need to be gentle yet sturdy and accurate, similar to a surgeon’s precision. It may sound like a lot and don’t be disheartened if every now and then you offer your opponents a pop-up, remember, Practise is what makes you perfect.
The basic shots
Stick to the basics! This rule also applies to Pickleball, what I mean by that is while Pickleball as a game is evolving with every passing year, i cannot emphasis enough on the importance of mastering the basic strokes of Pickleball. Whether you plan on playing a tournament only once a while or plan on competing every weekend or just want to enjoy a good game of pickleball you need to master the basic strokes.
The basic strokes include a serve, a forehand drive, a forehand dink, a back hand drive and a back hand dink
The serve
Just like any other racket sport, a serve is the first shot that is played in Pickleball. Its the shot that starts the point. As a server all you have to do is perform a underhand motion and hit the point to opponents diagonal box. The ball should bounce ahead of the kitchen line and within the sideline and byline for it to be a legal serve.
Once you start getting comfortable with your serves, you will realize it is the shot that will help you set up the entire point, i have written about different service strategies, that you can use to help you take control of a point just with your serve.
The lob
The lob shot in pickleball is the rebel child of basic shots. If the execution of a lob is correct it will help you take control of the point but the downside is due to its loopy nature a good opponent can identify it as an easy put away. Hit a lob only when you know you are in a position to deceive your opponents, consider this shot as the least used basic shot on pickleball.
How to hit a lob?
A lob shot is when you you hit the ball high up into the air with the aim of it going over the heads of your opponents and landing inside the court. When your opponents are dominating the kitchen line a lob shot can be your perfect weapon to force your opponents backwards so you can come forward and take control of the kitchen area. However, I strongly advise using the lob once once a while as its success depends on how well you are able to deceive your opponents, lobbing repeatedly will let your opponents read it well and end up hitting easy overhead smashes.
Cross-court dink
Cross-court dink is a shot where you hit the ball on the opposite side of the opponent’s court. It’s call cross court dinking as you aim to land the ball in the opposite kitchen area.
While the pro’s make it look easy, cross court dinking is actually one of the mist difficult shots to master in Pickleball. You can easily identify the skill level of a player by the way they hit their cross court dinks. This stroke is so important and effective that it also brough about the invention of a two handed cross court dink.
The drive
A drive in Pickleball is a shot that you hit with power, whenever you hit groundstroke or volley with power it is a drive shot.
Drives are the most popular shots in pickleball as everybody fancies their chances when they get an opportunity to hit the ball as hard as possible. But the real trick to hitting a clean drive is use only 70% power and 100% placement.
Block shot
The block shot in pickleball simply refers to a shot which is used to counter third shot drives or just regular drives and force your opponents to stay as far away from the kitchen line as possible. Most pickleball players possess a good drive shot so drilling a block shot will give you an added advantage out on the court.
Hitting a block shot requires courage and that’s it. All you need to do is stand outstretched and face your paddle in a backhand position towards an incoming drive, have a premeditated position where you want to land the ball in the opponents court and thats it. Use the incoming ball’s power to hit a block shot, you do not want to use any force at all. Hold the paddle loose but keep your wrist cocked. At first you may seem weary of doing this so drill this scenario with a partner to build up that confidence of hitting block shots
Deep return serve
As the name reads, A deep return serve shot means you are hitting a serve return deep into the opponents court.
A deep return of serve does not need to be a powerful shot, infact it is better if it is loopy and as close to the base line as possible. Read these two guides on understanding advances pickleball strategies and How to return a serve deep in Pickleball to learn more on this.
The easiest way to begin is to have a friend/coach place cones in their court at different positions then hit a serve at you and you return the serve near those cones.
Backhand punch
In pickleball most shots are named after its literal meaning and a backhand punch shot follows this trend. When you are at the net and it is possible to take the ball out of the air simply hold your paddle in a backhand position and punch facing the paddle head downwards. This shot gives you the opportunity to hit a potential winner as it catches your opponent offguard. If not a winner, since you are targeting the opponents feet, they will be forced to hit down to up leading to an easy put away ball which you can finish with the next shot.
Overhead smash
Ah yes, the one shot which makes us feel on top of the world. I don’t think this shot needs any describing but for the sake of professionalism I need to write a few words about it. The overhead smash is a shot that is made by taking the ball on the volley and smashes into your opponents court, but do remembed you cannot hit a volley by stepping in the kitchen, even your follow through after hitting a volley cannot enter the kitchen orelse the point is rewarded to your opponent.
If your overhead smashes lack power or accuracy it maybe due to wrong mechanics, but ofcourse I have solution for it, read my overhead smashing guide and in no time you will transform it as a winner shot.
Third shot drop
As the game evolves, players and coaches now recommend a fifth shot drop rather than a third shot drop, that being said, I still recommend utilizing the third shot drop almost everytime especially if you have just made that jump to advanced pickleball play. This shot is hit in a soft arc with the goal to land the ball in the opponents kitchen, if done correctly it will force the opponents to wait for the ball to bounce, and you will get an easier return and, in turn, take control of the point. Initially, you will hit a lop of loppy balls when you try a third shot drop but like any other skill, with practice and confidence, you will soon be hitting clean third shot drops.
Advanced level drop shot tips: When you are at the baseline, hit the ball 6ft high in the air with a soft touch; mathematically, it has to land in the opponent’s kitchen area. There are many more such tips which I couldn’t fit in this article, so I compiled a complete third shot drop shot guide which will help you think like a pro pickleball player
Getting cheeky
Before reading further, pay emphasis on the word ‘cheeky,’ these are the shots that would give you a Gael Monfils reputation on a Pickleball court, they are unorthodox, deceptive, and ensure you have the most fun on court while still managing to win the point. Use these shots sparingly, as they are high risk high-reward shots. Even the pro players stick to the basic first and only then go for the cheeky shots
Centerline ace
This shot is a serve in which you hit the ball with power while applying heavy topspin on the ball, if done correctly the ball will land low on the centerline and takes off after bouncing which makes it difficult for your opponent to return the serve. It’s most effective when you are constantly serving to the opponents backhand so to protect their backhand they leave a big gap open down the middle.
There are times your opponent will not even move if your serve is accurate enough, out of all the cheeky shots, I highly recommend that you practise this shot.
The dink fake
Just like the name states, a dink fake is when you act like you are going to hit a simple dink but instead you hit a heavy drive which catches your opponent off guard, resulting in them making an unforced error.
If you are able to make this shot correctly it can be your x factor shot in Pickleball doubles. The reason it is difficult to make this shot is because a good dink fake requires minimum backswing, so not too many players are able to generate enough topspin and power with less backspin.
The key factors for you on when to hit this shot are
1. Ensure that the ball is just above net height after it has bounced
2. The ball does not have any spin on it (better if it is a dead dink)
3. Your body position needs to resemble that of when you hit a dink
4. Where you aim the speedup off the bounce is important; the safest option is on the body of your opponent, so even if your shot is going out, they have less time to duck and leave it.
Backspin return serve
A backspin return serve is when you return the turn with a top to down motion rather than the down to top swing. It is similar to a slice return expect that with this shot the ball will have more backspin to it.
This shot is effective when you realize that your opponents serves are high and slow. If you hit this shot correctly, the ball will have a lot of sidespin to it which will make even the best of players hit a foolish looking shot, this will give you a great advantage on the next shot or it can even lead to a direct point.
The perfect place to land this shot is for you to aim it at the extreme corners of the opponents kitchen area. If you have a super spinny paddle then you should definitely try making this shot.
Around-the-post shot
When you go around the post and make a shot you will have hit an ATP which will make you the most popular pickleball player in your picklers group. Pro players hit this shot with ease and by now we should not be surprised that 4 out of 10 ATP’s are countered quite easily. This is because pickleball players today focus more on fitness and do many pickleball agility drills to be so nimble on court.
If you want to feel like a gladiator wosrshipped in the colosseum then hit an ATP in front of all the people in the stands, be it 2 or 200 , I can bet that all of them will clap in awe. But remember, the only time you want to be hitting this shot is when an opponent it constantly cross court dinking with you, simply let the ball go as far as possible from the net and then make contact with the ball just before it is about to touch the ground, the low angle will force your opponents to backpedal resulting in them making an error. The key to hitting a perfect ATP is to wait for the right cross court dink and perfect footwork.
You dont want to be attempting atp’s to every cross court dinks as most have heavy spin on them which will ntomally force your shot onto the side post.
Two-handed backhand dink
This shot is just like a two-handed drive, except you hit it as a dink, it is the most effective dink shot for placement and accuracy. If you hold your paddle with its head upright, you can also add a lot of top spin to your dink.
When you are stuck cross court dinking with an opponent who is sending their dinks with heavy top spin, a two handed backhand dink is arguably the best defence you could ask for. Fair warning, though, to perfectly execute this shot you need to have good footwork.
Third Shot Drip shot
A third shot drip shot is a hybrid of a third shot drop shot and a third shot drive. If executed correctly, it will land in the kitchen area with a lot of speed, this catches your opponent off guard and forces then to hit the ball into to net or offer a pop up.
The third shot drip shot is quickly becoming a fan favorite and the go to third shot for the next generation pickleball players.
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