Learning to serve in this sport is the most important thing to keep the game on. I still remember, when I got a pickleball paddle as a gift from my mom on my 5th birthday, I was eager to learn the basics of the game first. Later once I understood the basic rules of the game, the first thing I got interested in mastering was “Serving” in the game. 

  Mastering serve can give you extra edge because it gives you confidence and consistency to hit the ball exactly where you want to. Also adding spin along with deep serves on top of it is like cherry on the cake.

For instance you can throw a few spin serves that would land at the corner or near the corner curving the ball outside the court after bouncing.This would puzzle the opponent. Even if the opponent tries to position themselves in a spot to stop that, you can then return back with a low bounce right in the middle of the court.

 My mom taught me all the techniques and rules to master serve when I was very young. As a beginner I am sure you would also have the same questions. In this guide, I will share the exact same techniques that I learnt from my mother helping you to master the serve so that you can rock on a court like a pro!

Remember These Rules for A Pickleball Serve: 

First things first, I want you to be aware about these 7 basic rules for pickleball serve according to the USAPA rules in 2024,: 

• You should not serve with the paddle above your waist level. You must not hit from above, or the side.
• While striking the ball, the server’s forearm should be moving in an underhand or backhand motion.
• The top part of the paddle should be below the top part of your hand wrist which is in contact..
• Each serve should be done in the diagonally opposite direction of the court. Also, the ball should land within the confined area of the opponent’s court.
• Another version i.e. ‘Drop serve’ is allowed..
• Your feet must be in the right position while striking the ball. Your feet must be away from the court but within the imaginary boundary if you stretch the side line and centerline. It is mandatory to keep one foot behind the baseline on the ground.
• Each server can attempt only one serve at a time. You will not get a second chance. The serving position will go to your partner or opponent according to the serving sequence. 

How Do You Serve In Pickleball?

• Serves In Doubles And Singles – Server number and Positioning:

Serves in doubles: 

In the doubles match, the player on the right side of the court is denoted as server 1 and serves in the diagonally opposite direction of the court. 

If the server gets a point, he moves to the left side of the court and continues to serve in the diagonally opposite direction of the court. For each scored point, the server moves from left to right and right to left in the court. 

Server 2: The non-serving partner is the server 2. He can stand wherever he likes when he is not volleying. If server 2 gets the serving position, he must stand behind the baseline and let the ball bounce before serving it.

Receiving players do not interchange their positions until they get a serving position. If the team loses a rally due to a fault, the serving position is passed from serve 1 to server 2. 

When the second server also loses a rally and commits a fault, the serving position goes to the player on the right side of the opponent’s court.

Receiver 1: The receiving player stands 1 to 2 ft behind the baseline. Professional players stay in the central position for the competitive return of serve.

Receiver 1’s Partner: The non-receiver player stands at the kitchen line since he will be ready to smash back the served ball without letting it bounce for higher competition..

Serve in singles:

Serving in singles is the same as doubles, but they do have server number 2 and receive number 2. The serving starts from the right side of the court if the score is even and the left side if the score is odd. According to the server’s score, the receiver changes his position from left to right or vice versa. When the serving player commits a fault, the serving position goes to the opponent on the opposite side of the court.

Important Tips To Master Serves In Pickleball Like A Pro:

• Make your serve motion smooth:
  I have seen that many players try to strike forced serves. Their body looks stressed and wrist movement is inflexible. I would recommend that if you want to master these services, you have to follow a basic process. You should start with a small backswing from the shoulders instead of the wrist and elbow in a pendulum motion to gain a smooth fluidity for a consistent serve. This smooth movement should be throughout the game to hit balls at the ideal position of the opponent’s court.
• Follow a pre-serve routine for you:
  Have you ever observed that many professional players follow a pre-serve routine? E.g. A player might fix his hat, move his wrists, rotate his neck sideways, move a hand over his forehead and hair, and then serve the ball. It may feel odd if we notice this again and again. But, let me share a little secret! Doing these routined steps indicates to your brain that you are mentally ready to serve the ball and will serve a perfect shot. The only key point to remember while following a pickleball routine is to call out the score loudly first and then serve the ball. 
• Create more paddle speed:
  A High-speed serve generates more competition for the opponent. Use your legs and knees wisely to focus your core strength on your paddle speed. Serve a powerful shot smoothly so that it feels difficult for the opponent to serve back.
• Aim different target points:
  You should practice serving balls at different target points in the opponent’s court. Serving in the same direction with a similar pace allows the opponent to guess your serving style and he can easily beat you with possible faults. When we used to play pickleball in our teenage years, my brothers used to serve mix shots at different corners of the opposite court. It made me realize that pickleball is a game of logical thinking too. Your one serve may go to the right with high speed and your next serve may go to the left with slow speed in the opponent’s court. You must be alert and serve each shot with a pre-defined strategy at various volleying zones. 
• Master to strike consistent and legal serves:
  As I suggested, use different serving shots at various zones of the opponent’s court. Do this until you find your perfect/ master shot on which you can rely anytime and serve in any condition. Be confident and create a mixture or combination of these shots to enhance competitiveness. Ensure you serve legally within the court lines in a volleying zone. 
• Hit your serve as deep as possible:
  Serve deeply in the opponent’s court gives you extra time in the kitchen. The opponent can come near the kitchen in short serve.  And, many points are scored from the kitchen line itself. Hence, try to strike the ball as deep as possible. This makes the back serve almost unreturnable for the opponent and you get the point for that.
• Spin the serve :
  As the name tells, in topspin, the ball rotates in forward direction and in backspin, the ball rotates in the backwards direction. Topspin usually includes the famous Magnus effect which causes ball to land sooner than expected in the tough serving areas of the opponent’s court. You may get a point if your opponent fails to return the spinned serve.
  As you learn the tricks and tactics of this game, remember to use spin serves to increase the competition for your opponent. Pickleball has two common type of spin serves such as topspin and backspin or slice. 

Drop Serve Vs Volley Serve- Know Their Pros And Cons: 

Pickleball has two types of legal serves, volley serve and drop serve. In volley serve, you serve the ball before it hits the court. In drop serve, you drop the ball from any suitable height, let it bounce on the court first, and then serve it. 

As a beginner, me and my brothers used to practice drop-serves as it was easy to learn and seemed very much like tennis. In 2022, USAPA added drop serves in their provisional rules so that everyone can adopt and play with these serve rules.

Differences Between Drop and Volley Serves:

In drop serves, the server has to keep his feet in the legal position on the court, drop the ball with an open palm, let it bounce, and then strike the ball. After playing many pickleball games for years, I have enlisted some basic but major differences between drop serve and volley serves, as follows: 

Pros And Cons Of Drop And Volley Serve:

A volley serve gives your ball more speed and power. You have to hit the ball just below the height of your belly button to get the required height for a strike. Many professional players use volley serves more commonly than drop serves. I still remember my pickleball learning days when I practiced volley serve. Each serve gave me an understanding of how much power and speed the paddle can generate for an ideal and smooth serve.

According to my experience, the drop serve is as interesting as the Volley serve as it is easy to learn as a beginner. Drop serve allows you to add a little spin to your ball with a lower contact point. This spun shot makes it difficult to serve back. The ball is less likely to bounce to mid-thigh level even if you drop it from a large height. 

Avoid These Common Faults In Pickleball: 

If a player breaches any serving rule while playing, it is considered a ‘Fault’. After years of playing under all USAPA regulations, I have summarized these basic and common faults that every player should avoid in pickleball:

Serving Faults:

• Foot Fault: According to the USAPA rules, at least one foot of the server must be in contact with the ground surface. Feet must not touch the baseline. However, they should be behind the baseline and within the imaginary area of the sideline and centerline. If the player breaks any of these rules, it is considered as a foot fault. 
• Wrong Player Serves:  You must serve in sequence like server 1 and server 2. It is a ‘wrong player fault’ if you mistakenly served the ball even if it was not your turn, 
• Illegal Serving Motion:  The server should have an upward arc to serve the ball. The ball is allowed to hit with a forehand or backhand motion. The paddle must touch the ball below the waist level. It is considered an ‘illegal serving motion fault’ if a player breaches these rules.
• Serving Out Of Bound: The serve must be done on the opposite side of the court in a diagonal direction. The ball must land beyond the non-volley zone of the opponent’s court. It is a fault if you fail to follow these rules.

Receiving Faults:

• Hitting Return of Serve before the Ball’s Bounces:  A server must return the ball after it bounces. It is a fault if he hits or touches the ball before it bounces in the volleying area.
• Late Score Correction: it is allowed to ask the referee for the right score. A receiver cannot ask for the score after the server has served the ball. If a receiver asks for the score during the shots, it causes a distraction to everyone, and is called a ‘fault’.
• Request For Timeout: Like above, if the receiver asks for a timeout after the server has placed the shot, it causes a disturbance in the match and is counted as a fault for the receiving player. 
• The wrong receiving player hits the ball: Like the wrong player’s fault in serving, the receiver also gets faults if another player strikes the back serve. The receiving team must serve shots in coordination according to the sequence and beyond the kitchen line

Why Is The Deep Serve Important in Pickleball?

A deep serve might benefit you from getting more points as your opponent commits a fault. This revolutionary serve strikes the ball deep into the opponent’s court so that the receiving player may miss the return of serve. Keep the momentum optimum and drop serve the ball deeply to make the match more competitive. As a result, the receiver misses the back serve or might come in the kitchen area, and you get the point for his fault. Deep serve is my personal favorite shot to play defensively. 

What Is A ‘Let’ Serve in Pickleball?

Have you ever wondered what happens if the served ball touches the net? Is it a fault? Or the game continues? I have explained about this scenario in this context below:

If the served ball touches the net and falls in the correct service court, it is called a ‘let serve’ and the player can continue playing without interruption. However, if the serve hits the net and does not fall in the correct service court, it is considered a fault. The let serve was discontinued from USAPA 2021 rules to avoid unnecessary benefits of scoring points.

What Are Pickleball Serving Drills?

During our learning days, we practiced drills with various common drills. These drills gave us an experience of real-time matches, enhanced our tactics and positioning, and helped us to understand the game better. I have explained these drills as follows :

• Four corners:  position 4 different items such as disc cones, sticky notes, etc., in the four corners of the box each. These items should be diagonally opposite to the position you’re serving. Now, try to strike the ball to these marked places. Practice your accuracy of landing the balls perfectly.  See how close you can get while keeping the ball in bounds.
• Spin Drill: Like we spin the ball in cricket or baseball with our bare hands, try to spin the ball with the paddle in pickleball. Observe your spinning techniques and spin and swing the ball using your paddle with a smoothly movable wrist. You can practice the top, side, or backspin using the same drill.
• Ladder Drill: We kept the marker in four corners in the corner drill. Similarly, put them in a straight line at different lengths with some distance. You can initiate with the marker placed in the middle of the box, then the centerline, and the sideline. This drill will help you strengthen your deep serve, drop serve, and ball placement with accurate power and speed.

Conclusion:

I hope this guide on ‘ How do you serve in pickleball?’ has given you meaningful insights on serving strategies, tips, and differences in various serves like drops, volley, spin, lets, etc., faults, and drills. Pickleball is a game of focus and logic. So practice each serve with perfection and leverage your performance wisely. For the cherry on the top of the cake, do not forget to use deep serves to win points smartly!