When you think about the rules of pickleball, you quickly realize that serving is one of the most important skills to master. It’s the action that sets off every game, and your success hinges on your serve!

In other words: You must master the serve in pickleball.

As of 2023, there are only two valid strategies: the professionally-preferred volley serve and the humble drop serve. Today, I’ll be focusing on the latter of these techniques.

The Serving Rules of Pickleball

Considering its importance in a game, it’s no surprise that a nice chunk of the pickleball rule book is dedicated to serving.

The Basic Serving Rules of Pickleball

Let’s start the lesson by defining a valid serve in pickleball. Per the most recent USA Pickleball rules, a valid serve must meet all of the following criteria:

• Faults: Players continue to serve until the serving team performs an improper serve. Each server has one chance to perform a successful serve in pickleball.
• Foot Placement: Both feet must be behind the baseline. Some rules (particularly among friends or in casual matches) allow for one foot to extend beyond the baseline.
• No Spinning: As of 2022, players can no longer impart additional force or spin upon a ball. This change also invalidated the so-called “chainsaw serve,” which allowed players to put an outrageous amount of spin on a ball.
• Service Court: A serve must land in the diagonally opposing service court. As an example: If a server is in the left court for their side, their serve must land in the opponent’s right court.
• Serving Motion: Players must use an upward motion when serving. Players cannot hit the ball from the top or side.

Now, an astute reader may be saying, “Hey! You left out two rules!”

I sure did! There are two notable omissions from this list, namely…

• Paddle Height: The highest point of contact must be the wrist. In more descriptive terms: The player’s paddle head must be below their hand when serving.
• Waist Height: Initial contact must be made at or below the player’s waist, often defined as the navel.

While these three rules constitute a legal serve, they do not apply to a drop serve. So, while important, these rules are only useful if you’re performing a “regular” serve (also known as a “volley serve”). The omission of these rules for drop serves is applicable across the board, even when you’re playing at a non-USA Pickleball Association game, such as the PPA Tour.

Rules for the Drop Serve

You may also notice that these rules have no vocabulary to cover bounces.

There are, in fact, separate rules governing the drop serve. These were considered provisional rules until January 2022, when the USA Pickleball Association moved them to the “official” rule book.

Generally, a drop serve does not require an upward arc or low contact point. However, it must still abide by the following rules:

• Bounce Height: While contact can be made anywhere below or above the navel, the bounce cannot pass the player’s waist.
• Drop Height: Stretch your off-hand as far as you can over your head. This is your reach. It’s also the maximum drop height for a pickleball serve.
• “One Bounce Rule:” The ball must bounce at least once before it can be hit.
• One-Hand Serve: The player can only use one hand or the face of the pickleball paddle head to drop the ball.
• Power and Spin: Players can no longer add power or spin during the initial ball drop. Tossing or throwing the ball during the drop serve is illegal.
• Visibility: The physical “drop” must be visible to both the opponent and any referees. When playing doubles, everyone on the other team should be able to see the ball drop.

Who Uses the Drop Serve?

Overall, the pickleball drop serve is a popular choice for beginners and amateur players.

Now, let’s get one big thing out of the way: The pickleball drop serve is not a bad thing! It’s fine to use the drop serve, and it’s also great to do a volley serve. Both options are perfectly valid. It’s just a matter of preference.

Nonetheless, you may notice that drop serves are not commonly seen in professional play. Why?

Drop Serves Are About Consistency

The first reason is consistency.

Drop serves are popular thanks to their easy-to-learn nature. It takes less practice to consistently hit a drop serve than a volley serve. You have less to worry about as you swing, and your wrist can be in a comfortable position for you.

However, that same consistency can be a disadvantage.

Certain players in the sport consider the drop serve a liability. It’s an “everything on the table” move. You can’t hide your movements behind your hand, and experienced players can easily read the angle of a hit. This has led to some highly competitive styles of play banning the drop serve, though it remains a viable option in both casual and professional spaces.

Should You Use the Drop Serve?

Now, that may have gotten you thinking.

“Should I be using the drop serve in pickleball?”

Well, the answer is complicated. It’s ultimately a matter of personal preference. Many casual players consider the drop serve their go-to; others think of it as a stepping stone. More avid pickleball players usually drop the drop serve after a while, but you don’t have to. If it’s more comfortable for you, keep at it!

Either way, you’ll want to know a few things about this classic serve in pickleball.

Pickleballs Don’t Really Bounce

One of the first things you’ll notice is that a pickleball ball doesn’t have much bounce. It hits the playing surface and comes up a few inches, but you’ll be hard-pressed to make it rise above your mid-thigh. Moreover, the ball has less bounce on warm days, as the expanding plastic reduces its overall elasticity.

This is both a plus and a minus for players.

High bounce serves are not legal. So, there’s your plus! You’ll (probably) never have to worry about that rule.

However, you will have to worry about control. The low point of contact makes it hard to put much power into your swing, as you must balance your body and control your hit. That’s not to say it’s impossible to have high-powered drop serves, but it’s trickier to master.

You’ll generally get more power from a volley serve.

There’s More Risk

I already mentioned the predictability of a drop serve, but I didn’t address the dangers of outdoor variants.

While indoor players will never contend with these problems, you won’t always find an available indoor pickleball court! And, when you go to the outdoor court, you’ll quickly notice that the wind influences your ball bounce. The air flowing through your pickleball ball means that it will rarely remain in a tidy up-and-down line. It will, instead, prefer to wander. This may make it hard to hit the ball, and a strong gust of wind may throw you off entirely!

Comparatively, the shorter distance of a volley serve adds more control over the ball. The server knows where the ball will be and exactly where that initial point of contact should go.

Spinning’s Out

Finally, you may see articles mentioning that the ability to add spin is a major perk of the drop serve.

This — as we’ve established — is no longer true. The official rules ban spin as of 2022.

This change has led some players to abandon the drop serve altogether. After all, alongside consistency, the ability to impart spin on a ball was the second reason to utilize a drop serve. These new rules have removed that advantage.

But that doesn’t mean you have to go for a volley serve! As I’ve said many times: Keep the drop serve if it’s more comfortable for you.

How to Perform a Great Drop Serve

Now that we’re on the same page…

Let’s get to the juicy stuff!

It’s time to learn how to perform a drop serve!

Before You Start: Know the Rules

Before you begin your drop serve, ensure you know the rules. Need a refresher before you head out to the pickleball court? You can scroll up for an in-depth explanation or read this condensed list of basic guidelines:

• Foot Position: Both feet should be behind the baseline.
• Height: The bounce cannot exceed the height of your waist. Similarly, it cannot be dropped from a height that exceeds your natural reach.
• No Force: The ball cannot be hit, spun, or tossed when dropped.
• No Spin: The server cannot intentionally spin the ball.
• One Bounce: Let the ball bounce at least once before hitting it.
• One Hand: The ball must be dropped with one hand or from the surface of a stationary paddle.
• Visibility: Everyone should be able to see the initial drop.

Got that memorized?

Great!

Now, let’s move to what makes a drop serve a great drop serve.

Step 1: Drop the Ball

The drop serve has only two steps. I’ll do my best to explain the process, but you can also find plenty of videos — including a wonderful walkthrough by Pickler Pickleball — on YouTube.

The first of these steps is to drop the ball. This may be done from your non-dominant hand or by rolling it from the surface of a flat pickleball paddle.

Notably, you can repeat the drop if you fail to hit the ball. Simply catch the ball and try again. As long as you make your serve within ten seconds, you’re golden.

Step 2: Serve

Once you’re ready to hit the ball, make your serve!

In addition to standard one-hand hitting styles, you can also adopt a two-handed backhand serve when using this technique. The aforementioned Pickler Pickleball video has a great illustration of this method.

Amplify Your Pickleball Game

Ready to start playing?

Find a local pickleball court and rock your stuff! The community is always happy to welcome a new player. If you ever need help, consider asking your fellow players. You can also consult Pickle Goddesses for more pickleball tips, tricks, tutorials, and news!