The strengths and weaknesses of hitting a third shot drive.

When do you want to hit a third shot drive?

Hit a Drive to challenge one of the players who are up that may have a weak volley. Better players will be able to hit their drive to 25% of the opponent’s court which corresponds to one player’s forehand or backhand Volley.

Hit a drive when the return of serve has excessive spin. The spin causes the ball to come off your paddle differently and therefore more difficult to execute a drop shot. Hitting a strong drive on your 3rd shot will generally get a defensive volley as the returning shot. Now you have an easier ball to hit for your 5th shot which will allow you to have better control if you decide to hit a drop shot.

Hit a drive when the return is deep which makes it more difficult for your third shot drop.

Hit a Drive to the side of the court of the returner if that player stays back. You and your partner should recognize a player back and automatically hit to that side and both of you move up to your NVZ line.

Hit a Drive when one of your opponents is moving forward to their NVZ line.

Hit a Drive if you don’t have a dependable drop shot. A drive is an easier shot just by the target area of 300 feet versus 60 feet.

The strategy of hitting a third shot drive and staying back is not emphasized enough because pickleball teaching starts from the best players and filters down. At every level, if the player at the baseline were to hit a hard drive, like their serve at the players at the NVZ line, the players hitting the volley would be defensive and inwardly say, OMG, here comes a fast drive and let’s try to defensively volley this tough ball back. The point being, a well hit drive should force the player up into hitting a defensive volley. Very few players would try to hit an angled volley for a winner and only the best players could hit a drop volley winner.

The strategy of hitting a drive and staying back is contingent upon you being able to physically cover your side of the court. You will be vulnerable to mis-hit volleys that land short in your court. These short balls require you to be able to physically move in order to keep the ball in play. I ask my students a couple of questions. Do you ever get aced by your opponent’s serve? Rarely, if ever is the normal answer. Does your opponent ever hit a return of serve that you can’t move to their shot and get your paddle on the ball? Rarely, if ever is the normal answer. Therefore, you can hit the easier shots of drives and lobs and stay back and your opponents will be hard pressed to put the ball away. Often, your opponents will hit a shorter volley requiring you to move forward and on these balls you have the option to hit a close range drive or an easier drop shot into their kitchen. Bear in mind that at the highest levels of play, the volleys are very good and therefore it is safer to hit a drop shot and move up to your NVZ line.

Another aspect to understand is where do you position your partner and yourself after you hit a third shot drive? You should position yourself deeper if your opponents have good volleys and a little in front of the baseline if your opponents volley the ball shorter into your court. Be ready to move just like you are when your opponents are hitting a serve. You are employing this strategy because hitting a drive is an easier shot than the drop shot. Additionally, your drive is going to challenge your opponent’s volley. I simply believe that it is a better strategy to play your opponent’s volley after the ball bounces versus moving forward and trying to play their volley from the middle of the court and often their volley will be landing at your feet. So position yourself accordingly and get your stance like a track sprinter ready to move to your opponent’s next shot. As we get older and our movement is slower, you will have to compromise some and get into position on the court to better cover your limitations of movement. I view some top quality players with great hands in the older age brackets that position themselves a little inside the baseline to cover drives and drop shots.

Another point to consider is how well the net players actually volley. They may be able to hit one volley forcefully which can certainly win the point if you are up, but can they hit 5 or more volleys in a row? I often attack a player with flaws in the mechanics of their volley. Many players have too big of a motion which will be susceptible to making errors. Most players hit predominantly backhand volleys and hitting drives to their forehand side can win points. Conversely, there are some players who hit all forehands and don’t have a backhand Volley. Some players use one side of their paddle for all volleys and these unorthodox techniques can be exploited. It is safer to hit a drive to a specific side of an opponent forcing them to hit what you want them to hit and stay back because it is just very difficult for the net player to put a ball away if you stay back, you can always hit a drop shot on the 5th, 7th, 9th shot and advance.

This strategy sets up the “Match Up” of the groundstrokes versus volleys. In essence, this is “Skinny Singles” and a good test for each player. Under the “Drills Section”, look at the description of this one as it is one of the most important drills to practice.

Then there are players who hit predominantly topspin volleys. These players do not have a drop volley and can only hit the ball back to you. Then they are vulnerable to balls that are lower than the net. Really good players have a strike zone where the ball has to be a certain height before they hit a topspin volley. When the ball is lower than the level of the net, the physics of a “Closed” paddle face hitting topspin on the ball and getting the ball back up over the net is more difficult. In certain sports like ice skating and gymnastics, the athlete gets bonus points for the more difficult the skill but not so in pickleball. The strategy at higher levels in pickleball is to place the ball low and away from the opponent’s body and challenge their technique and skills.

The main point is the strategy of 2 players back can be very good and certainly much better than hitting a high ball and going forward because you were told that you have to get up to the NVZ line. Moving up to your NVZ line on any and all balls is simply a bad strategy.