Ask ten recreational pickleball players which shots decide a rally and you'll hear the same answers: the serve, the third shot drop, the kitchen dinks, maybe an overhead. Almost nobody names the return of serve. That's a mistake. The return is the second shot of every rally your team plays on defense, and it's the one shot that literally sets the tempo, depth, and geometry of everything that happens next. A good return buys your team five extra seconds to close the kitchen. A bad return gets you smoked by a third-shot drive before you've taken two steps forward.
This article breaks down the return of serve from the ground up: what it does, why "deep and high" beats "hard and fast" almost every time, the mechanics that make a return reliable under pressure, and three drills you can run at open play to actually get better at it.
Why the Return of Serve Matters More Than You Think
Pickleball's two-bounce rule creates a very specific problem for the serving team: after they serve, they have to let the return bounce before they can hit their third shot. That means for a few precious seconds, the serving team is stuck at the baseline while the returning team is free to move forward and take control of the kitchen line — the most valuable real estate on the court.
Your return of serve is the shot that decides how much time your team gets to make that trip. A deep, high, arcing return keeps the servers pinned back and gives you and your partner four or five full seconds to sprint the whole court and set up at the non-volley zone before the third shot even comes. A short, flat return does the opposite: it gives the servers a low ball at the baseline that they can drive right at your feet as you're still transitioning.
In the pro game, players talk about "return efficiency" — the percentage of returns that land deep enough to force the third shot to be a defensive drop rather than an aggressive drive. At the 4.0+ level, deep returns correlate with rally wins more strongly than almost any other shot except the third shot drop itself. In recreational play, the effect is even more pronounced, because most opponents can't reliably drop a low ball from the baseline. Force them into that shot and you'll win more points than any tactical adjustment you can make.
The Return Philosophy: Deep, High, Middle
Nearly every coach worth their salt teaches some version of the same rule for the return of serve: deep, high, and down the middle. Let's unpack each of those.
Deep. Your target is the last three feet of the court before the baseline. Not "past the kitchen" — actually deep, within a paddle's length of the baseline. A deep return does two things at once: it forces the servers to stay pinned back (they can't step in on a ball that's landing at their feet), and it maximizes the amount of time the ball spends in the air, which is time you and your partner are using to walk to the kitchen line.
High. This is the counterintuitive one. Most rec players try to hit hard, flat, driving returns because they feel powerful. But a flat return travels fast, which means it gets to the servers faster, which means you have less time to close. A high, arcing return with real air time is almost always better. Think of a return that peaks eight to twelve feet in the air — high enough to let you walk, low enough that it isn't a lob invitation.
Down the middle. Cross-court and down-the-line returns look pretty, but the middle is the highest-percentage target. It creates confusion about which server should take the third shot, it removes any angle they can hit back, and it takes the sideline out of play entirely (no going wide, no ATP). A middle return with depth turns the servers' third-shot options from "four choices" into "one very hard drop."
Mechanics That Make the Return Repeatable
The return of serve is not a power shot. It's a placement shot. That means your mechanics should be built around consistency and depth, not spin or pace. Here are the checkpoints that make the biggest difference.
1. Start behind the baseline
Set up one to three feet behind the baseline before the serve is even struck. Most rec players hover on the baseline itself and end up jammed by deep serves. Backing up gives you room to move forward into the ball — and moving forward into the return is where all your depth comes from.
2. Take the ball on the rise or at the peak
If you let the return bounce all the way down before you hit it, you'll have to hit up on it hard to generate depth. Instead, take the ball on the rise or at the peak of the bounce. This lets you use the ball's own momentum to create depth without having to swing hard.
3. Long, slow swing — not short and punchy
The return is a groundstroke, not a volley. Take a full backswing, contact the ball out in front of your body, and follow through toward your target. A long, low-to-high swing path creates natural topspin and lift, which is exactly what you want for a deep, arcing return.
4. Neutral, closed stance
Whether you're hitting forehand or backhand, plant a stable base with your shoulder turned toward the ball. Beginners often try to run through the return, which sends the ball flying long or into the net. Plant, hit, then move.
5. Move on your follow-through
The instant your paddle finishes the follow-through, start moving forward. Don't admire the return. Don't wait to see where it lands. The whole point of the deep return is to give you time to close — use it.
The Return in Singles vs. Doubles
Doubles returns follow the philosophy above almost verbatim: deep, high, middle, then close together with your partner. Singles returns require an adjustment, because there's no partner covering the other half of the court.
In singles, the return usually goes cross-court rather than down the middle. This isn't because middle stops being a good target — it's because you need the extra time to recover to the middle of the baseline yourself. A deep cross-court return keeps the point neutral and lets you reset to the center of your side of the court. Hitting down the line in singles opens up a huge diagonal that a decent server can exploit.
One universal singles tip: return depth matters even more than in doubles, because in singles the server has no partner to bail them out. A deep return in singles often gets you a weak, defensive third shot you can attack.
Three Drills That Actually Build Return Skill
Drill 1: The Baseline Target
Have a partner serve to you from across the net. Place a paddle cover, water bottle, or towel three feet inside the baseline as a target. Try to land ten straight returns past the target. Miss short? Reset the counter. This drill trains one thing only: depth. Do it for ten minutes a session, twice a week, and your return depth will noticeably improve within a month.
Drill 2: Return-and-Sprint
Same setup as drill one, but this time you must physically get both feet to the kitchen line before your partner can touch the ball on the third shot. If you can't beat them to the kitchen, your return was too short or too flat. This drill couples the return with the movement it's supposed to enable, which is what actually wins points.
Drill 3: The Arc Test
Set up a raised barrier six to eight feet above the middle of the net (a bungee cord tied to two chairs works). Your return must clear the barrier and still land deep. This forces you to hit up and out, not flat and hard. Most rec players are shocked to discover how much air time a good return actually has.
Common Return Mistakes to Kill Fast
Trying to return like a tennis groundstroke. Tennis returns are hit hard because tennis courts are longer and the server is farther away. In pickleball, hard is worse. Slow down.
Hitting a "safe" short return over the kitchen. This is the single most common rec-play mistake. A return that lands two feet past the kitchen looks safe, but it's actually catastrophic — it lets the servers step in, cut off your close, and drive the third shot at your feet. Short returns are more dangerous than long returns. Miss deep, not short.
Not moving forward. Some players return well and then jog toward the kitchen at half speed. The whole point of the deep return is the time it buys you. If you don't use it, you get nothing for the effort. Sprint on your follow-through.
Going for winners. The return is almost never a winner. Treat it as a setup shot. Its job is to hand you and your partner the best possible chance to win the rally, not to end it.
How Return Skill Ties Into Everything Else
A good return of serve is the foundation for every other advanced skill you'll build. It's why you get to work on your kitchen dinks — because you got to the kitchen line. It's why third-shot drops work against you — the deep return forces your opponents into that shot. It's why doubles communication matters — a good return with a good close gives you and your partner the platform to actually run a strategy.
Most players who plateau at 3.5 and can't figure out why are losing points at the return of serve without realizing it. They serve fine, they dink fine, they even hit occasional bangers — but they consistently give up the kitchen because their returns don't buy the time. Fix the return and everything downstream gets easier.
Spend one open-play session doing nothing but deep returns and honest kitchen sprints. Ignore your dinks, ignore your drops, ignore the score. Focus on making every single return land in the last three feet of the court and getting both feet to the kitchen before the third shot. You'll notice the difference in your win rate the same day.
Bottom Line
The return of serve is the most underrated shot in pickleball because it doesn't feel exciting to hit. It doesn't produce winners. It doesn't get highlight reels. But it's the shot that decides who owns the kitchen, who controls the tempo, and who wins the majority of rallies. Deep. High. Middle. Move forward. That's the whole formula. Master it, and everything else in your game gets a lot easier.
