The third shot in doubles pickleball is the most important shot of every rally for the team serving the ball. A good third shot will set up your team with a chance to win the point while a bad one will end the rally quickly.
What is the Third Shot Drop?
The Third Shot Drop is the shot taken after the return of serve that is meant to land softly in the opponent’s Kitchen. The shot is used to prevent your opponents from attacking and giving your team time to advance to the net and neutralize control of the court.
What is the Third Shot Drive?
The Third Shot Drive is the shot taken after the return of serve that is meant to set up an easy fifth shot drop or to beat your opponents reaction time to win a quick point.
Which is Better?
Asking which is better is a common question, but a bad one. We shouldn’t be asking which way is better, we should be asking when we should utilize each one.
It’s common theory that the third shot drop should be your only play because they say it’s the serving team’s best chance to get to the net. I argue that the serving team’s goal is to score points, and a drop shot is not the only way to get your team to the net and set yourself up to score.
The third shot drop is always a good, safe decision, but it’s not always the best. Sometimes it’s better to drive the ball when the opportunity is there.
How Often do the Pros Drive and Drop the Third Shot?
I watched over 250 doubles pickleball rallies from Men’s and Women’s gold medal matches from APP Open Tournaments and kept track of how often they dropped or drove the third shot. Here are the stats I found.
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Third Shot Drop %
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Third Shot Drive %
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66%
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34%
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These numbers show that the third shot drop is used more often, but driving the third shot at the professional level is more common than you may have previously thought. This helps prove my point the driving your third shot has a time and place. About 34% of the time, actually.
What’s more interesting is knowing how these rallies finished. Did drop shots or drives result in more points? I kept track of that too. Here are the numbers.
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Third Shot Drop Winning %
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Third Shot Drive Winning %
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45%
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53%
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Isn’t that interesting? Third shot drives converted into points at a higher percentage than drop shots. Now don’t read this and think, “I’m going to drive the ball every time, the numbers say I should score more points that way”. What these numbers are saying is that third shot drives can be very effective when used at the right time. If you decide to drive the ball at the wrong time, you will be setting yourself up for failure. You’ll see why later in this article.
When Should you Drive the Third Shot.
The purpose of the drive is to set up what comes next. Don’t ever expect your drive to be a winner. Good players will hit them back, and hit them back well if you make it too easy for them. We want to use the drive to set up an easy put away for your partner or to set up an easier drop shot for yourself.
Example #1 of a Good Third Shot Drive
Here’s a video from a pro match showing a good time to drive your third shot that sets up your opponent to finish the job.
The APP Tour, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D1rz38cUCM.
Notice that the return of serve is high, shallow, and lands in the midcourt, a perfect time to drive the ball.
After Tyson McGuffin drives the ball, his partner, Riley Newman, moves in (while Tyson is swinging) to clean up the rest. Notice how Tyson drives it cross-court, the side of the court his partner is on, so he can clean up what comes next. If Tyson had not driven cross court, but instead hit it towards his same side opponent, Ben Johns, then Ben had a better angle to hit the ball away from Riley and keep Tyson in the backcourt.
Example #2 of a Good Third Shot Drive
This video comes from the Women’s doubles Gold Match at the APP Hilton Head Open Pro. The return of serve is fairly deep, but it’s pretty high and soft, so Carr decided to drive it. The drive didn’t result in a quick winner, but it set up an easier drop shot. This is still a good result from a drive.
The APP Tour, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tewClcEptpc.
These are just a couple examples of when to drive it and how to do it well. Here are some other situations of when to drive it:
- When one opponent stays back, drive it to them to keep them back (watch out for a poach, though).
- When your opponents are out of position. If they are crowding the center then drive it down the line.
- If one of your opponents doesn’t handle the drive very well, drive it to them periodically.
Some players are better at driving the ball than others, if you have a weak drive then I would hit drop shots in these situations instead.
When Should you NOT Drive the Third Shot?
The APP Tour, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D1rz38cUCM.
Notice how far back the player is when he drove the ball. He was well behind the baseline. Because he drove it, he gave himself no time to advance towards the net, and his opponent, Riley Newman, had plenty of time to react to his shot. Riley then keeps him in the backcourt and maintains control of the rally until Adam hits the ball into the net.
Third Shot Drop Strategy and Tips
The third shot drop is essentially the shot you should play when you don’t have a good chance to drive it. Here are some tips to hit great third shot drops.
Related Post: Hit Less Third Shot Drops Into the Net With This Pickleball Drill
1) Be intentional with the placement of your third shot.
If you hit your drop shots to the sidelines then it makes it difficult for your opponent to hit a good attacking shot straight on and forces them to play a cross court dink that is easier for your team to handle.
2) Hit your drop shots with forward momentum
Use your forward momentum to advance towards the net after your shot. Hitting with forward momentum always puts your body in a good position to hit your shot with better accuracy and consistency.
3) Don’t stand inside the baseline after your team serves.
Lot’s of players (the server and the partner) tend to take a step inside the baseline after the serve is hit. Putting them in a bad position to hit the third shot. I think it happens because your team just served, your momentum is going forward, and you unconsciously follow the ball a step inside the baseline. Doing so may catch you on your heels and make your third shot difficult to execute and then advance to net. Don’t lose a rally because of this simple mistake.
Here’s an example to illustrate what I’m saying.
Pickleball Global, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFYyij4ykTI.
After serving the ball, the server steps in front of the baseline. The return serve is deep and it forces him to hit the ball while moving backward, preventing him from moving to the net after his drop shot. The other team keeps him back and wins the rally. Had he stayed behind the baseline after his serve then he could have hit his drop shot with his weight forward and then advanced to the net to take advantage of his great drop shot.
Summary
The third shot drop should be your default shot, but don’t be afraid to drive it when a good opportunity arises.
The third shot drop and third shot drive both have their place, and the teams that play them at the right times will give themselves the best chance to win.
