What is a “Fourth Shot” in Pickleball?

The fourth shot is simply defined as your own shot after the return of serve. The serve is the first shot. The second shot is the return. The third shot is the return of serve. In this video, we’re working on the fourth shot technique. 

This technique forces you to master the shot. If someone’s hitting it hard at you and you’re swatting the ball back at them, your shot’s going to go 20 feet out. But if they hit a soft drop shot and their ball is floating to you, that’s when you smack it. Hard shots you block back, soft shots you kill back.  

The toughest part of your technique on fourth shot is when your opponent hits a good drop shot. If their drop shot is good, your job is to drop shot them back.