You’ve probably never played a racket sport in your life.
But pickleball seems fun! You try it out and have a ball.
Still, early on there’s clearly a number of rules and a bunch of different types of shots you can take and its becoming a little much. There’s dinks, groundstrokes, bangers, overheads, and maybe you’ve even heard of a third shot drive. But the most important shot in the game every beginner has to learn is the volley. And by the end of this you’ll be baiting people into rallies at the net with you like a pro.
What is a Volley in Pickleball?
Volley shots exist in almost every racket sport, but the pickleball volley plays a much larger role in the game than tennis.
During a rally, a volley shot is simply any shot when you hit the ball out of the air before it bounces on the ground. There are both forehand and backhand volleys.
These shots normally take place behind the kitchen line, but players will sometimes volley from further back as well.
Not every shot hit before the ball touches the ground is a volley. Volleys do not incorporate a full swing, instead opting for a half swing or none at all. One of the main goals of a volley is to be quick, and winding up with your whole arm is as opposed to a quick flex of your elbow is much slower.
When can you Volley in Pickleball?
Sometimes.
In pickleball, the area of the court closest to the net is called the non-volley zone. This is a seven by twenty foot box that is also known as the kitchen.
Inside the non-volley zone, as you might guess from the name, volleying is illegal. If you are standing in the kitchen or on the non volley line, you must wait for the ball to bounce first and hit a dink shot or ground stroke back towards your opponent.
This basic rule is very simple, but the rules around the kitchen are quite a bit more nuanced. Most beginners never learn them, sometimes playing for months incorrectly. There are actually several more complex kitchen rules around volleys that force you to change the way you play.
Positioning for a Volley
To get set up for a volley you almost always want to start just behind the non volley zone line. This is the closest you can be to the net and still legally volley. And it gives your opponent the shortest amount of time to react, which is what volleying is all about.
At the line you always want to be facing straight with your shoulders square to the net and feet shoulder width apart. This lets you react to a shot to either your forehand or backhand. If you ever see your opponent turned one direction instead of square, you should always aim your shots back towards their backside. It’s harder for them to reach these and do anything other than play defensively, which lets you continue to control the rally.
Make sure your paddle is up. This makes it way easier on your reflexes. The paddle has to travel a shorter distance to hit the ball than when its at your side.
Take an athletic stance with knees bent on the balls of your feet. You need to be ready to move. Pickleball is so much a game of quickness and speed instead of power. Volleys epitomize this.
Paddle Grip and Position
The best grip is the continental grip. This is used nearly universally by pickleball players. We can’t be holding our paddle like a club.
For those familiar with the grip in tennis it’s exactly the same. The old saying used by tennis pros is to “shake hands with your racket“. Or in our case the paddle.
You want your index finger and thumb making a V, with your index finger slightly extended supporting the bottom of the paddle, and your other fingers wrapping around the grip. It should feel fairly natural.
Paddle Position
This is more personal preference than anything. I like to hold my paddle facing slightly towards the backhand.
Generally you’ll hold the paddle face one of three ways
- Slightly open towards your forehand volley (Uncommon)
- Perpendicular to both the net and ground
- Parallel to both your body and the net, holding completely in a backhand volley position
Volley Technique
In a basic volley you’ll be standing at the ready and extend your paddle with your elbow to punch or push through the ball. Again this motion is a half swing or less. Your wrists should be firm and relaxed.
The paddle face is going to be more open or closed depending on the type of shot and placement you’re going for.
Spin
Putting topspin on the ball will accelerate and make it dive down. This is done with a closed paddle face and a volley motion the goes from low to high over the face of the ball. You’ll begin with the paddle face slightly open and close it as you roll over the ball.
Putting backspin on the ball is the opposite. This takes a lot of the speed out of the ball and will pop it up. This is for slower change of pace shots. Use an open face and cut down on the ball from high to low. Be careful not to pop the ball up too high, or you’ll open yourself to slams.
Pickleball Volley – Types
Push Volley
Time to go on offense.
There are a few types of pickleball volleys. This one is the the bread and butter of a pickleball player. A push volley is very simple and is what most people usually think of when we say volley in racquet sports. In the ready position you extend your elbow towards the ball and push the racket through the ball.
This is often called a punch volley. The motion will somewhat resemble a jab from a boxer.
It can done with either an open or closed face. Depending on the location of the ball, you’ll want to go open for returning a low shot and closed for a high shot. When the ball is low, you’ll pull a little power off of it to have it resemble more of a dink shot. Otherwise you may find yourself sending it sailing out of bounds.
This is great for aiming strategic shots at the court away from your opponent with some power behind it.
Reaction Volley
A reaction volley is purely a defensive shot.
It’s a reactive hit where you play defensively to try to keep the point alive.
Often your opponent will hit the ball hard at you on a drive or quick volley and you barely have time to react to stop the ball from flying past you. This is not going to generate any offense and is just a desperation play to stop the ball and send it back into the opponent’s court.
Roll Volley
The roll volley is the first volley that requires a little more skill.
It gets its name from the motion used to generate topspin on the ball where you approach it with the paddle face slightly open and roll it over the ball finishing with a closed paddle face to generate topspin with a slight flick of the wrist. This is generally easier to hit forehand.
This shot is perfect when the ball comes to you low and you want to send it deep to pin your opponent in the back without the ball flying out of bounds. The topspin will help bring the ball down.
Catch Volley/ Drop Volley
Perfect for changing the pace or keeping your opponent off guard, these volley’s are practically synonymous with each other.
When your opponent is hammering shots at you from their backline, this is your shot. You don’t want push into this shot but will instead try to absorb the impact of the ball and almost “catch” it to slow it down.
This idea is to take all the momentum out of the incoming ball so that it bounces off your paddle and drops right over the net into the non volley zone, forcing your opponent to charge up to try to get to it just in the nick of time. I always imagine the ball is an egg you’re trying to stop from breaking.
You can also open your face a little on these and chop down to create backspin and slows down the ball even more.
There’s nothing more deflating than hitting a great drive off the backline just to see them volley it right back dropping dead in the kitchen.
Why Volleys are so Important
There is very little space on the pickleball court.
It is not hard to cover the space, so you need to give your opponent as little time to think and react as possible. Volley’s make your returns much faster because you aren’t waiting for the ball to bounce. This in turn gives your opponent less time to react and position for his next shot.
Final Tips on a Pickleball Volley
- Open the paddle face on low volleys and take your power off of them. Either you hit the ball into the net or your paddle face is open and you hit it too hard and it flies out of bounds. It’s all about minimizing unforced errors.
- Hit the ball at your opponent’s feet. These are awkward shots to return, and they might pop the ball up for an overhead slam if you’re lucky.
- Keep the paddle out and away from your body.
- Hit the ball away from their positioned paddle side. If they stand at a backhand ready position send it to the forehand and vice versa. People will position towards the type of volley they favor and will have a tougher time returning shots to the other side.
- Stay at the kitchen line. Do not retreat. This gives your opponent less time to react, and gives you more angles for your shot placement. Volley exchanges are won from the kitchen.