Third Shot Drop in Pickleball: How to Hit It

The third shot drop is the soft shot the serving team hits after the return of serve. It arcs gently over the net and lands in your opponents’ kitchen, low enough that they can’t attack it, which buys you time to move up to the kitchen line. In doubles it’s the shot that turns a rally you start behind in into an even one. Below: how to hit it, where to aim it, when a drive is the better choice, and what to do once the ball is gone, drawn from USA Pickleball’s coaching guides.

The short version

The third shot is the serving team’s first shot after the return. The two-bounce rule keeps you at the baseline until then.
A drop is a soft shot, like a long dink, that lands in your opponents’ kitchen so they have to hit up.
Use a semi-open stance, keep the paddle out in front with a short backswing, and hold it loosely: about a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Lift with your shoulder, not your wrist, and aim to clear the net by a little, not a lot.
When in doubt, aim for the middle.
Drive instead when the return bounces above your knees and you can step into it, then plan to drop the fifth shot.
After a good drop, move up with your partner. After a high one, hold back and try again on the next ball.

Why the third shot is the hard one

Every rally starts with two bounces. The serve has to bounce before the receiver hits it, and the return has to bounce before your team hits it (rule 10.A). So after you serve, you and your partner wait near the baseline. The receiving team has no such problem: the returner’s partner is already standing at the kitchen line, and the returner can follow the return in.

By the time you hit the third shot, both opponents are often at the net and both of you are at the back. The team at the kitchen line has the edge, because it can hit down on balls the other team has to lift. Drive the ball hard at two players set at the net and a well-blocked reply can land at your feet while you’re stuck between the baseline and the kitchen. A good drop does the opposite. It’s low by the time it reaches them and it lands in the kitchen, so they have to let it bounce or play it from below the top of the net. Either way they’re hitting up, which is hard to attack from, and you get time to move forward.

How to hit a third shot drop

USA Pickleball describes the drop as a soft, controlled shot, like a longer dink. You want the touch of a dink with just enough swing to carry the ball from the back of the court. These are the cues its coaching pages give, in the order you use them.

1. Get to the ball early, and stay low

Use small steps so you can hit the ball out in front of you, not beside or behind you. A rushed, reaching drop is the one that floats. Favor your forehand when you can, but the return won’t always cooperate, so practice the backhand drop too.

2. Use a semi-open stance

Stand halfway between facing the net (open) and standing sideways to it (closed). The semi-open stance keeps the movement compact, limits the backswing and lets you aim straight at your target.

3. Keep the paddle in front, with a short backswing

USA Pickleball’s image for this: picture a brick wall behind your legs that the paddle can’t swing past. A big backswing adds power you don’t want and makes the shot harder to control.

4. Hold the paddle loosely

Grip pressure of about 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. A tight grip sends the ball farther, which is how most drops end up long. A relaxed grip absorbs the pace of the return so the ball comes off the paddle softly.

5. Lift from the shoulder, not the wrist

The swing is a gentle upward push. DUPR’s coaching tip is to move the paddle with your shoulder and keep the wrist firm but relaxed. A wrist flick is hard to repeat the same way twice; a shoulder swing is easier to groove. Finish with a full, smooth follow-through toward your target rather than stopping at contact.

6. Clear the net by a little, and land it in the kitchen

Aim for a soft arc that clears the net by a small margin and drops into the kitchen, where it should bounce low. The goal is placement, not speed. The miss to avoid is the high one: a ball that floats up gives the players at the net something to hit down at you.

Where to aim it

When in doubt, aim for the middle. USA Pickleball calls it the safest and most consistent target, for three reasons. Both opponents can reach the ball, so they may hesitate over who takes it. A ball in the middle gives them fewer angles to attack. And if you miss, a middle ball tends to come back toward you and your partner instead of out wide.

Crosscourt is a solid, safe choice too. Middle and crosscourt drops both cross the net near its center, where it’s lowest: 34 inches, against 36 inches at the sidelines (rules 3.B.6 and 3.B.7). Crosscourt also gives you the longest stretch of kitchen to land in. The catch is that it’s harder for your partner to step in and help, because they still have to cover their sideline.

Down the line is the high-risk, high-reward option. It crosses the highest part of the net and lands in the shortest part of the kitchen, so the margin is small. It works best off a short return, and it gives your partner room to cut into the middle and take the next ball.

Drop or drive?

The drop isn’t the only third shot. A drive, a fast, hard shot, puts immediate pressure on the receiving team, and USA Pickleball’s coaching pages give simple rules of thumb for choosing between them.

Drive a return that sits up. If the bounce peaks above your knees, you can drive it, and waist height is ideal.
Drive when you can step forward into the ball, for example on a return that lands about halfway between the baseline and the kitchen line. Moving into the shot keeps you balanced, and hitting from closer to the net gives your opponents less time.
Drive a slice return nearly every time. Their backspin turns into topspin off your paddle, which helps a hard ball dip and stay in, and often leaves them hitting up from well below the net.
Drive when you’re off balance. Both USA Pickleball and DUPR call the drive the quicker, simpler option when you’re rushed or still moving.
Drop a low return that’s hard to drive, and drop when a deep return has pushed you back and you need time to move up.

If you drive, plan your next ball before you hit it. A third shot drive usually comes back, and USA Pickleball’s advice is that the best follow-up is usually a drop on the fifth shot. Each drop gets easier the closer you are to the kitchen, and a good drive can force a shorter reply that lets you hit that fifth shot from farther forward.

After the drop: move up, or wait for the next ball

The drop only pays off if you use the time it buys. After a good one, move forward to the kitchen line with your partner. If it floats high or lands deep, don’t charge in behind it: hold back, defend the next ball, and try again on the fifth shot.

Either way, don’t stop halfway. The area between the baseline and the kitchen line, the transition zone, is where opponents can hit hard, downward shots at your feet, so move through it rather than setting up there. Our doubles strategy guide for beginners covers moving forward as a pair.

Once you’re at the line, the kitchen rule takes over. You can step into the kitchen at any time to play a ball that has bounced, but you can’t volley while touching it, and its lines count as part of it (rules 3.A.4.c and 11.A). Our guide to the kitchen rules has the details, including the momentum fault.

Common third shot drop mistakes

Squeezing the paddle. A tight grip is the usual reason drops land long.
Taking a big backswing. It adds pace the shot doesn’t need and costs control.
Swinging for speed. A drop wins by where it lands, not how fast it gets there.
Flicking the wrist. Let the shoulder do the lifting.
Dropping a ball you could drive. A return that bounces above your knees is usually a drive.
Misreading your own shot. Staying back after a good drop wastes it; rushing in behind a high one invites a ball at your feet.

How to practice it

The drop is a touch shot, and touch comes from repetition. A simple way to build it with a partner: start a few steps behind the kitchen line and drop balls into their kitchen while they feed you easy balls. When most of yours land in, take a step back, and keep going until you’re hitting from the baseline. Then practice the whole sequence: your partner hits a return, you drop it, and you decide in the moment whether it was good enough to follow in. Mix in backhands, since the return won’t always come to your forehand.

What to learn next

If the two-bounce rule or the kitchen still trips you up, pickleball rules for beginners puts every rule for a first game on one page. If your drops are fine but rallies still go wrong, start with the 11 mistakes almost every beginner makes.

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