Guides · Pickleball

How to hit a drive in pickleball: forehand and backhand

The drive is the hard, low shot in pickleball: hit from the baseline or midcourt, with pace and usually topspin, to push the opponents back, force a weak volley, or put away a ball that sat up. The one thing that separates a good drive from a bad one is height over the net. A drive that clears the tape by a hand's width and dips is hard to handle; one that clears it by a metre is either long or a free volley.

Updated 19 September 2026 · 7 minute read

When to drive

The drive is a choice, not a default. Pickleball's net is low, 86 cm (34 inches) in the middle, but the court is short, and the players at the kitchen line are only a few metres from your paddle. A drive at a set opponent from below net height usually comes back faster than it went. Drive when the situation favours it:

The third shot drive. When the return is short, high or weak, drive it at the returning team's feet as they move forward. The aim is a pop-up you can attack, or a ball soft enough to drop on the fifth shot.
Attacking a high ball. Any ball that bounces above net height near midcourt can be driven down. The higher the contact, the more you can hit through it.
The return of serve. A deep, driven return keeps the serving team back. Depth matters more than speed; a short return gives them an easy third shot.
The passing shot. When an opponent drifts toward the middle or is stuck in the transition zone, a drive down the line or at the feet ends the point.

When not to drive: from deep behind the baseline off a low ball, at two opponents set at the line who block well. That is a third shot drop.

What a good drive looks like

Preparation. A unit turn: shoulders and hips rotate together, paddle goes back at about waist height. The non-paddle hand points toward the ball.
Drop. The paddle dips below the level of the ball before swinging forward.
Contact. In front of the front hip, with the body rotating through it and the weight moving onto the front foot. The wrist releases the paddle head through contact.
Finish. Low to high, ending over the opposite shoulder on a forehand or high on the paddle side on a backhand.
Recovery. Back to ready, split step as the opponent hits, and be ready to move forward off the reply.

The backswing is shorter than a tennis forehand. The ball is lighter, the paddle is shorter, and the reply comes back quickly.

Grips for the drive

Eastern forehand. Palm behind the handle, the shake-hands grip. Flat to moderate topspin, easy to learn, and the most common forehand drive grip.
Semi-western forehand. The hand turned further under the handle. More topspin and more margin over the net, but harder to use at the kitchen, so it suits players who drive a lot from the baseline.
Continental. Works for both sides without a change and is the grip at the net, but it gives a more open face on the forehand and less topspin. Fine for beginners; most improving players move to eastern for forehand drives.
Eastern backhand. For a one-handed backhand drive, turning the hand a little over the top of the handle gives a firmer face.

The forehand drive, step by step

Turn early. As soon as you read forehand, turn the shoulders. A late turn turns the drive into an arm swing.
Short backswing, paddle dropping. The paddle goes back to about hip height and then dips below the ball.
Step and rotate. Weight moves forward onto the front foot as the hips and then shoulders rotate. The arm follows the body, not the other way round.
Contact in front of the front hip. Around 30 to 40 cm in front of the body. Contact level with the hip means you were late.
Release. Let the wrist release the paddle head through contact. That lag and release is where the paddle speed comes from, not from squeezing harder.
Finish over the shoulder. Hold the finish for a beat, then recover.

Cue: turn, drop, brush up. If the paddle never goes below the ball, it cannot go up through it.

The backhand drive

The backhand drive is harder for most club players, and that is where opponents will aim. Two options:

Two-handed. Legal and common, especially for tennis players. The second hand adds stability and power. Turn the shoulders fully, drop the paddle below the ball, swing low to high and let the top hand drive through. The cost is reach and a slightly slower switch at the net.
One-handed. More reach and a quicker transition to volleys. Contact needs to be further in front than on the forehand, well ahead of the front foot, with the shoulders turned so your back is nearly toward the net at the start. The paddle arm swings up and out, not across.

Beginners often do better hitting a controlled backhand drop or a deep, rolled backhand rather than forcing a backhand drive. Build the forehand drive first.

Topspin and the low-to-high path

A flat drive has a small window: it must clear an 86 cm net and land inside a court 13.4 m (44 feet) long, often from a contact point below net height. Topspin widens the window by making the ball dip. You can hit it with more net clearance and it still comes down in the court, and it bounces forward and low.

To hit it, start the paddle below the ball, keep the face close to vertical (not open), and swing low to high so the paddle brushes up the back of the ball. The steeper the path, the more spin and the less pace. Plastic balls do not grip a paddle the way a felt ball grips strings, so the spin is subtler than in tennis.

Where to aim the drive

At the feet. A drive that arrives at an opponent's shoelaces has to be hit up. This is the default target when they are moving forward.
At the paddle-side hip. Hard to get the paddle around quickly. For a right-hander, their right hip.
Down the middle. The middle is lower over the net and creates doubt about who takes it.
Deep, on the return. The last metre of the court, and to the backhand when you can.

Common drive mistakes and the fix for each

Hitting long

The face is open or the path is too flat for the pace. Fix: close the face to vertical and brush up more; aim a hand's width over the net.

Arm only

No turn, so the arm has to supply everything and the timing varies. Fix: the non-paddle hand points at the ball on the turn, and the body rotates before the arm.

Squeezing the grip

A tight grip kills the wrist release and the speed with it. Fix: about five out of ten, loose enough for the paddle head to lag and release.

Driving from below the net at a set opponent

The ball has to rise to clear the tape and arrives at a comfortable volley height. Fix: drop that ball; drive the ones you can hit from above the net or at players still moving.

Late contact

Contact beside the body sends the ball wide and up. Fix: turn earlier and meet the ball in front of the front hip.

Admiring it

A good drive is often blocked straight back. Fix: recover and split step before the ball reaches them.

Drive drills without a court

The drive is a whip shot, which makes it the pickleball stroke where shadow reps give the most feedback. The home routine is in pickleball practice at home, and shadow swing drills covers good shadow reps in general.

Shadow drives, 15 forehands, 15 backhands. Split step, unit turn, drop, swing, hold. One cue per set: the turn, then the drop, then the finish.
Speed ladder. Five drives at 60 per cent, five at 80, five at full. The shape must look the same at each speed. If it only works slowly, it does not work yet.
Drive, then drop. Ten reps of a forehand drive, two steps forward, split step, and a shadow drop. That is the third-then-fifth pattern, footwork included.

With Pro, the speed readout is useful for the ladder above: if your 80 per cent drive reads faster than your all-out one, the all-out one is losing its shape. What the app cannot tell you is where the ball would land or how high it would cross the net. That needs a court.

Drive drills on court

Baseline drive rally. Both players at the baseline, cross-court, driving only. Count balls that cross below a line of tape or string a hand's width above the net if you can rig one.
Drive at the feet. Partner at the kitchen line; you drive from the baseline at a towel at their feet. They block back and you go again. Count balls that land on or near the towel.
Third shot choice. Partner returns, mixing deep and short. Drive the short ones, drop the deep ones. The drill is the decision as much as the stroke.
Drive and follow. Drive the third, move forward, drop the fifth, split step. Play it out.

Questions

When should you drive the third shot in pickleball?

When the return is short or high, when the returners are slow getting to the kitchen line, or when one opponent struggles to block pace. Many players drive the third and then drop the fifth off the ball that comes back.

What is the best grip for a pickleball drive?

An eastern forehand grip is the most common for forehand drives, with semi-western for players who want more topspin. On the backhand, a continental or eastern backhand grip works for one hand, and many players use two hands.

How do you hit topspin on a pickleball drive?

Start the paddle below the ball, keep the face close to vertical, and swing low to high so the paddle brushes up the back of the ball. Let the wrist release through contact and finish over the shoulder.

Can you hit a two-handed backhand in pickleball?

Yes. It is legal and common, especially among tennis players. It adds stability and power on drives, at the cost of a little reach and a slower transition at the net.

How hard should you hit a pickleball drive?

Hard enough to trouble the opponents, but only as hard as you can keep low over the net. A controlled drive at their feet beats a faster one that sails long or arrives at chest height.