Introduction:

During my pickleball learning days, I saw my father volleying the ball going from the out of bounds just adjacent to the non volley zone. I asked my father about this fast and tricky shot. My father answered this is an erne shot. One of the most competitive, and skilled shots that players perform!’ This shot fascinated me to such a great extent that I learned every point of this shot from my brother. With regular and consistent practice, I soon developed the perfect strategy to deliver this unique shot!

 I won the semi-final rounds of the Holiday smash 2015 Tournament held at Carolina courts in Concord, NC. I played like a pro to quickly strike the opponent’s balls with consecutive Ernes. Today In this article, I will discuss the ‘ Erne in Pickleball’. I will share my personal experiences and takeaways! 

What is an Erne?

In the erne shot, the serving player hits the ball in the air closer to the net with a jump and stays around the kitchen (NVZ) on his side of the court. The players re-enter their feet out of bounds in the NVZ after hitting the ball in the air. Enre shots need strong control of footwork and timing. 

This high-risk shot can cause you to cause a fault if you do not pay attention while running and jumping around the kitchen and volley zone while serving the ball. You can refer to a detailed guide on Kitchen and its rules on GetSetPickleball.com. Let’s move ahead to learn about the discovery of this shot.

Origin Of Erne Shot:

The legendary pickleball player Erne Perry executed this shot at the USAPA National Pickleball Tournament in Buckeye, Arizona in 2010. He smartly used to jump and hop around the NVZ line sides while hitting the ball out of bounds in the air.

During one match, a videographer named Jeff Shank was recording a match and noticed that this legendary player was using this trick in pickleball rallies. Even though Perry did not discover this shot directly. However, he was using this ninja tactic to score in rallies. Eventually, this shot was called ‘Erne Shot’.

From that point onwards, the spectacular Erne shot became famous in picklers. Every emerging pickler started to learn and play this shot in professional pickleball leagues. 

How To Perform Erne Shot?

I would say the this shot needs logic to strategize and consistently perform. Each professional player follows some basic steps to perform this shot.

Ways To Hit The Erne Shot:

Now we will explore the types of erne that can be hit differently. It all depends on your finesse over the footwork, control, balance, and timing. The ways to hit this shot are as follows:

1. Roundabout : You have to hit the ball from the side of the non-volley zone. Remember to go around the kitchen, stand in the out-of-bounds area, and serve an erne closer to the net. Your feet must touch the court surface outside the NVZ before hitting the shot
2. Through the kitchen : You have to volley the ball after walking through the kitchen, stand in the out-of-bounds area, and hit the volley. Remember to keep your feet steady and Players need to plant them steadily. Like Roundabout Erne, here also your feet must touch the court outside the kitchen area before you hit ball
   I like ‘Through the Kitchen Erne’ the most because we can get over the kitchen smoothly. Until your opponent notices, you reach the sideline of the NVZ when you go through and hit the serve!
3. Jumping on the kitchen: You must volley while jumping over the non-volley zone. It is mainly used when the opponent is dinking in a rally. So by the time they stand straight again after a dink, you can already reach closer to the net by hopping and performing this shot. It just distracts your opponent and you get the point if they miss the returning serve. 

Make sure your feet land outside the kitchen. If not, this move will be considered a fault in the rally. Eventually, your opponent will get a point.

It is important to note that players tend to go closer to the net. Any part of your body must not touch the net while serving the Erne shot. If it touches, it will be considered a fault for you in the rally. 

Positioning For Erne’s Shot:

Generally, you must stand behind the NVZ line and closer to the net and baseline if you want to serve this unique shot. You will do lots of hopping, jumping, and moving around the kitchen and volleyball zone while performing Ernes. 

 It’s the basic rule that your feet must not come in contact with the kitchen for an Erne shot. Distance between you and your partner must be less while maintaining these rules so that you can quickly move around the NVZ for Erne. 

Well, your partner’s position does not play an important role that much. Because it is you who will be dinking and your opponent will receive it.  

A few months ago, my brother and I were in between a rally of pickleball. My brother was getting the lead while scoring points. Being an experienced pickler, I opted for this unique shot to return his incoming dink. My brother was expecting a straight dink from me. Instead, I played logically and served a quick volley out of bounds near the sideline of my NVZ. And, Voila! My brother missed that surprise Erne shot, made a fault, and I got one point for that! 

A major takeaway from the above event was that you have to think strategically about when you have to go for an Erne and where you have to stand for that so that your opponent does not get an idea about it and misses the serve. 

Drills To Master The ERNE Shot

Like other pickleball shots, the Erne shot does not have many drills. From my experience, you can practice drills including dinks and fast footwork regularly to master this shot. 

 Dinking Drill For Erne: 

1. Keep a cone near the NVZ area of your opponent’s court near the net in the corner. 
2. Tell your opponent to hit the dinks straightway on your side of the court.
3. Now start serving dinks back and forth and try to take your opponent towards the cone placed in the NVZ.
4. As soon as he comes near the NVZ, you can try an erne shot going in the middle of his court. As your opponent is near the cone around his NVZ, he will find it hard to go back in the middle to return the serve.
5. Remember this is a drill and not a match so go slow and steadily to understand the flow of your erne shots.
6. Keep your feet moving until you find the right spot to hit volley going outside NVZ adjacent side. Also, do not target the same point in the opposite court again and again to hit the Erne shots. Your opponent will get its clue and can defend your Erne.

Advanced version of Erne- The Bert Shot:

If you ever performed the Erne shot, it is possible that you also must have come across the Bert shot.  A Bert is a more advanced and skillful shot than an Erne shot. If you watch the Sesame Street show, you must have seen the muppets named Bert and Erne always together.  Similarly,  A Bert is the same as Erne in pickleball but with a higher complexity.

So, what is a Bert shot in Pickleball?  Consider that a doubles match is ongoing, and your team is between a paced rally. So, you move from your side to your partner’s side of the same court area and perform an Erne shot. This is what a ‘Bert’ shot is! 

This shot needs more footwork, time accuracy, and quick decisions to avoid fault. Most importantly, your partner must know that you will be moving on their side of the court and hitting the ball with Erne (Bert) )anytime within the rally. Doing this avoids any miscommunication or accidents with your teammate. 

If your opponent is hitting a high ball, you can fastly move to your partner’s kitchen line and return the ball with a Berne shot out of bounds. If you want to reposition yourself for returning serve, the Bet shot is the best solution for you.

How To Defend Erne Shots?

If your opponent is hitting this unique shot between a rally, you must learn how to defend an it to survive in the game. You can follow a few key points to face the ernes skillfully. 

1. Guess the opponent’s next moves: Try to recognize the returning serve from your opponent when you serve any kind of volley or dink. Guess the opponent’s next move with logic and grab the opportunity to defend if he hits an Erne shot.
2. Perform Lob shots: If you feel your opponent would hit an Erne in his next move, you can prepare yourself for a returning lob. This unexpected move will confuse your opponent and he will cover his maximum court area. He might miss it or step in the NVZ while returning a lob shot. His fault may score you one point.
3. In the middle of the court: Hitting the returning ball in the middle of the opponent’s court is a great way to defend if he (the opponent) serves the Erne.  These returning shots will keep the ball out of reach from your opponent. 

• Straight return of serve: If your opponent is serving an erne and goes back to his position while crossing the sidelines in his court, you can set up a returning straight shot for defending. This direct shot hits hard on the opposite side of the court. Your opponent may step in his NVZ to survive such hard shots. 
• Try short shots: Generally, the opponent who hits Erne expects a miss or long serve from your end. If you serve a shorter shot with a small flight and trajectory, your opponent may miss it to serve or create a fault while reaching his sideline to hit the short shot.

Why Should We Perform Erne?

1. Distance between the net, you, and your opponent plays a vital role in performing and perfecting this shot. Your opponent may miss or enter his NVZ to return this surprisingly short-distance Erne shot. It can help you to score points. 
2. This shot can be super beneficial to be safe in tough rallies. If your opponent does not recognize your intent behind jumping or hopping for an Erne, it can allow you to scale in the game with competitive mode. However, if they catch you, you can get a fault if you miss the returning serve.

Is Erne legal to serve?

Erne is a part of Pickleball and all the players must follow the USAPA Non-volley zones rules while performing this shot.

Section 9 of the USAPA rulebook states kitchen rules for pickleball. Even if it is an Erne shot, the pickleball rules state that 

‘All volleys must be initiated outside of the non-volley zone or the NVZ line.’

It means you can hit the Erne shot legally from outside the NVZ line while going around. Players tend to lose the momentum and control of their bodies while running fast for an Erne. Players may step into the kitchen while doing such quick movements. It is a fault if you hit the ball with an Erne shot while touching any part of the non-volley zone.

When Does The ERNE Become Illegal?

In some situations, an Erne shot can become illegal to serve if you do not obey proper guidelines or rules in the USAPA rulebook. I have experienced some illegal Erne serves during my practice days. Here are some insights from my end on illegal Ernes:

1. Sometimes with fast momentum and quick movement, the player may jump off from the kitchen and hit the ball directly in the air ti hit the Erne shot. However, it is not allowed to serve an Erne like this according to the USAPA rules. It is considered illegal and a fault is registered for that player.
2. Players may touch the net or any part of the net post while going around the kitchen for an Erne. It is also illegal and counted as a fault.  You must maintain a short distance between the net and yourself to avoid any fault.
3. Players should make sure they don’t hit the ball on the side of their opponents court. The ball should pass over the net and should be in the area of the player about to hit the erne.

Final Thoughts:

Erne Perry developed the most beautiful yet skillful Erne shot in pickleball history. You need to gain control over your momentum, speed, footwork around the NVZ lines, and strategies to master the Erne shots. Whether you go around the kitchen or go through the NVZ, the Erne shot will always benefit you for more points. Most importantly, do not forget to master Erne’s best buddy, i.e. the Bert Shot to climb a step higher in pickleball! 

If you are also a skilled pickler, let me know your experiences in Erne shots!