The Best Techniques for Hitting a Serve Return in Pickleball

Where people stand on the return will vary. Some players like to stand very close to the baseline. The problem with this is that a person that’s able to serve a good, deep serve is going to force you to have to take that ball right off the bounce. And it’s difficult to take that ball and do a whole lot with it. 

Standing further back from the line allows you to see what your opponent is doing and gives you a chance to react by moving one way or the other with your weight moving forward. You want to avoid having to shift your weight backward and then trying to move forward. So standing a little bit back behind the baseline, you’ll want to keep your paddle in front of you, so as you hit the ball, you’re going to rotate and hit through the ball with a little underspin and move forward. Or if you hit it with your backhand, you can slice the ball and move forward.