Pickleball Return of Serve: Hit Deep and Get to the Net

The return of serve has one job: hit it deep and follow it to the net. A deep return pins the serving team at the baseline, forces a harder third shot, and buys you the time to reach the kitchen line — which is the receiving team’s built-in advantage. Return with margin into the back third of the court, take pace off rather than adding it, and aim at the server’s backhand. You get to let the serve bounce, so there is no rush; depth and a clean move forward beat power every time.

Why depth is everything

The whole point of the return is court position. Hit it deep and the serving team has to strike their third shot from behind the baseline, which is longer, harder, and more error-prone — and it slows their march to the net. Hit it short and you hand them the opposite: they step in, take the ball early, and reach the kitchen line before you do.

Depth is also the lever you control most. You cannot dictate the serve, but you can almost always choose to aim deep with margin instead of flirting with the lines. Aim for the middle of the back third, well inside the sidelines. A deep return down the middle is safer than a deep return to a corner and does nearly the same job.

The return, step by step

Start deep. Stand near or just behind the baseline so a deep serve does not jam you. You have time — the two-bounce rule forces you to let the serve bounce, so set your feet.
Let it bounce, take it clean. No volleying the serve. Meet the ball out in front after the bounce.
Hit deep with margin. Aim for the back third, taking a little pace off rather than adding it. A controlled deep ball beats a hard one you spray.
Target the backhand. The server’s backhand third shot is usually weaker, which makes their transition harder.
Follow it in. As the return travels, move forward toward the kitchen line to join your partner. This is the step most players skip — and it wastes the return’s whole purpose.

Take pace off, don’t add it

The instinct to hit the return hard is a trap. Because you let the serve bounce, you are not under time pressure, and extra pace mostly costs you depth and control. A high, deep, softer return actually buys more time to get to the net than a flat drive, because it stays in the air longer. Prioritise a reliable deep ball you can follow in behind, not a winner — the return is a setup shot, not a put-away.

Use your positional edge

In doubles the receiving team starts with an advantage: the returner’s partner is already at the kitchen line, since they are not held back by the return bounce. The entire sequence is designed to get the returner up there too, so both partners hold the line together and put the serving team on defence.

	Do	Don’t
Depth	Aim for the back third	Drop it short mid-court
Pace	Controlled, a touch soft	Blast it flat and spray it
Target	Server’s backhand, down the middle	Chase the sidelines
After the shot	Follow it to the kitchen line	Hit and admire from the baseline

Get the return deep and get in behind it, and you have taken the serving team’s serve and turned it into your point. From there the rally becomes a battle for the net that you started ahead in — exactly the edge our pickleball doubles strategy guide is built around. Drill the deep return alongside your serve technique, since together they decide how every point begins, and a returner who lands deep and moves in is a returner who is hard to hold serve against.

Frequently asked questions

Where should you aim your return of serve in pickleball?+

Deep, into the back third of the court, and ideally at the server's backhand. A deep return pushes the serving team behind the baseline so their third shot is longer and harder, while you and your partner move up to the kitchen line. Depth matters far more than pace or hitting the sideline — aim for the middle of the back third with margin.

Should you follow your return to the net?+

Yes. The receiving team's advantage is that one player is already at the kitchen line, and after a deep return the returner should move up to join them. A deep return buys the time to walk in behind it. Hitting a good return and then staying back at the baseline throws away the very edge the return created.

How hard should you hit a return of serve?+

Not hard — controlled and deep. Because you let the serve bounce first, you have time, so the priority is a reliable deep ball, not a powerful one. Adding pace usually costs depth and control and gives the serving team an easier ball. Take a little pace off, aim deep with margin, and use the time to advance to the net.

Can you volley the return of serve?+

No. The two-bounce rule requires the serve to bounce before the receiving team hits it, so you must let the serve land before returning it. That mandatory bounce is also why there is no need to rush the return — you have time to set your feet, hit deep, and move forward behind it.

Why is a deep return so important?+

It pins the serving team at the baseline and forces them to hit a longer, harder third shot from deep, which raises their error rate and slows their advance to the net. A short return does the opposite: it lets the server step in, take the ball early, and reach the kitchen line first. Depth is the single biggest lever the returner controls.

Where should the returner's partner stand?+

At the kitchen line, ready. In doubles the returner's partner starts up at the non-volley-zone line because they are not restricted by the return bounce, giving the receiving team a player already in the strong position. After the return, the returner joins them so both are at the line together, which is the goal of the whole sequence.

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