The Third Shot: Drop or Drive

After the serve and return, the serving team usually ends up stuck at the baseline while the opponents already control the net. The third shot is the decision that resolves that imbalance: either you play a soft "drop" that lets you move forward without handing over an easy attack, or you play a flat, fast "drive" aimed at winning the point or forcing an error before your opponent gets settled.

The drop is the safer choice and the one recommended for most points: a high, slow ball that falls into the opponent's kitchen, giving your own team time to walk up to the net while the ball is in the air. Choose the drop when there's no clear attacking opportunity, or when your opponent is already well positioned at the net.

The drive is reserved for when your opponent's return comes back short, high, or weak, leaving a clear opening to attack hard at the receiver's feet or sidelines. Playing a drive against a deep, well-placed return, on the other hand, usually ends in an unforced error, because there's no angle or time to execute it with control.

Reading your opponent's return — its depth, height, and speed — in the split second before your own shot is what separates a good third-shot decision from a bad one. A deep, controlled return almost always calls for a drop; a short or high return opens the door to a drive.

Whichever you choose, transition footwork never stops: after the drop, both players need to keep advancing toward the kitchen line over the following shots, splitting the movement across several strokes instead of sprinting all at once, so they arrive at the net balanced and ready for the next ball.