Before you start working on any serving drills, consider placing targets on the pickleball court for you to hit. These targets can be cones, sidewalk chalk lines, or even your water bottle. Place your targets deep, to your opponents’ backhand area, and two to three feet within the inside of the lines on the pickleball court.

If you are beginner just learning the serve, or if your serve needs a little practice to gain some consistency, try “serving” without your paddle.

1. Hold a pickleball in your paddle hand by your pocket.

2. Stand a step behind the baseline with your feet together.

3. Take a step with your non-paddle-side leg toward the baseline. Remember to compress into your legs. Also, keep your feet and shoulder relatively square to the pickleball net. Try not to over-rotate with your feet or your shoulders, which could cause some inconsistency in the direction of your serve and lead to unnecessary unforced errors.

4. Lift and follow through with your hand up and out in front of your chest. Remember to keep your wrist firm and stable. The motion for the serve is a pendulum swing that comes from the shoulder.

Once you master the “serve” without your paddle, grab your paddle and do the same motion with your paddle. Make sure you are working on hitting your targets, and practice each type of serve to make them as consistent as possible. One tip if you have a pickleball basket is to use your basket as a barrier on your non-paddle side to make sure that you are finishing your serve by following through with your paddle in a forward direction toward to your target.

The serve is one of the few shots in pickleball that you can practice by yourself. So, grab as many pickleballs as you can, get out there, and practice!

Key Takeaway:

1. Drill, drill, drill and serve, serve, serve to master the first shot in every rally, the serve.