Beginner
Serve
The pickleball serve is an underhand stroke, made below the waist, hit diagonally into the opposite service box. It starts the point but — under the two-bounce rule — can’t be followed to the net.
The serve must be struck with an upward arc, contact below the waist, behind the baseline, and land in the diagonal court past the kitchen. Because the serving side must let the return bounce (the two-bounce rule), the serve is a setup, not a put-away. Depth matters most: a deep serve keeps the returner back and buys time to handle the third shot.
Example
The server contacts the ball below the waist with an upward motion and drives it deep into the diagonal box, then stays back for the return.
Related terms
- Two-Bounce RuleThe two-bounce rule requires the ball to bounce once on each side before either team may volley: the serve must bounce, and the return must bounce, before anyone hits it out of the air.
- Third-Shot DropThe third-shot drop is a soft shot hit from the baseline that lands in the opponent’s kitchen, giving the serving team time to advance to the net.
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