Intermediatethird-shot

Make your third-shot drop reliable under pressure

The third-shot drop separates players who drift in no-man's land from those who actually get to the kitchen. Briones zeroes in on the mechanical mistakes that make the drop float long, and the fix is about swing path, not grip pressure.

Watch: If You're MISSING Your 3rd Shot Drop, DO THIS | Briones Pickleball
12 min
Watch “If You're MISSING Your 3rd Shot Drop, DO THIS | Briones Pickleball” Briones Pickleball · captions

Key takeaways

  • Swing low-to-high: think 'lift', not 'hit', so the ball arcs softly instead of driving flat.
  • Contact the ball well in front of your body, not beside your hip, where you lose direction.
  • Stay relaxed through the shot; arm tension is the single biggest reason drops land long.
  • Hold your follow-through up toward the net tape to keep the arc consistent.
  • After the drop, immediately begin moving up; it buys you time to advance, so use it.

Drill to try

Drop-feed yourself 10 balls from the baseline, execute a drop on each, then take two deliberate steps forward. Focus purely on landing it in the kitchen. If it floats, freeze and check your follow-through.

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