Pickleball Singles Strategy for Beginners

Pickleball singles strategy rests on three habits: hit your serves and returns deep, recover to the middle of the court after every shot, and make your opponent hit while moving. With no partner to cover half the court, depth and positioning matter more than they do in doubles.

Singles uses the same court, the same net and almost all of the same rules as doubles. The tactics are what change. This guide covers the standard ones.

How Singles Differs From Doubles

Two rules stay exactly the same and shape singles tactics: the two-bounce rule (the serve and the return must each bounce before being hit) and the non-volley zone, where you may not volley. Both are explained in the rules guide.

Singles scoring pointer

In singles the score is called as two numbers: the server's score, then the receiver's score. Under standard scoring, only the server can score a point.

The server's own score decides which side to serve from:

• Zero or an even score: serve from the right side.
• Odd score: serve from the left side.

The server keeps serving, switching sides after each point won, until they lose a rally. Then it is a side out and the opponent serves. There is no second server. For a full walkthrough with examples, see how to keep score in pickleball.

Serve Placement

The serve matters more in singles than in doubles, because a weak return leaves the whole court open for your next shot.

Serve deep. Depth is the first priority. A serve that lands near the baseline keeps the receiver back, takes time away from their return and makes it harder for them to follow the return to the net. A short serve invites the receiver to step in, hit an aggressive return and take the net position.

Stand near the centerline. Serving from close to the middle of the baseline puts you in the best spot to cover a return to either side. Serving from out wide leaves more open court behind you.

Pick a target with a purpose. Common choices are:

• Deep to the backhand, since many players return less strongly from that side.
• Deep down the middle, which reduces the angle available for the return.
• Wide, to pull the receiver off the court, used as a change of pace because it also opens an angle for them.

Consistency still comes first. A serve hit out or into the net costs you the serve. The legal service motions are covered in the serving rules guide.

Return Depth

The return of serve sets up the receiver's whole point. Standard advice is to return deep and move forward behind it.

A deep return does two things. It keeps the server pinned at the baseline, where the two-bounce rule already forces them to let the ball bounce. And it gives you time to move up toward the kitchen line, so the server has to hit a difficult third shot past a player who is already at the net.

Where you aim the return shapes the next shot:

• Deep to the weaker side forces a less comfortable third shot.
• Deep down the middle gives the server the smallest passing angles.
• Deep to a corner makes the server hit on the move, but leaves a wider angle available if they reach it comfortably.

As you move in, follow the path of your shot. If you hit to the server's left corner, shift toward that side so you are between the ball and the open court.

Court Coverage

Covering 20 feet of width alone is a positioning problem more than a speed problem.

Recover after every shot

After each hit, move back toward a central ready position before the opponent makes contact. From the baseline, that is roughly the middle of the court. At the net, it shifts slightly toward the side where the ball is, because that is where the opponent's easiest shots will go.

Split step

Pause in a balanced, knees-bent stance at the moment your opponent hits. A player who is still running when the ball is struck cannot change direction for a shot hit behind them.

Keep the ball deep

A deep ball gives your opponent less angle and gives you more time to recover. A short ball that sits up lets them move forward and hit to the open court.

Move forward on your terms

The net is still a strong position in singles, because a volley takes time away from the opponent. It is also riskier than in doubles, since there is open court on both sides of you. Standard guidance is to come in behind a ball that puts the opponent under pressure: a deep return, a deep approach shot to a corner, or any ball that forces them to hit while stretched or moving backward.

Passing Shots

When your opponent comes to the net, you need a way to get the ball by them. That is the passing shot, and it is the signature shot of singles.

• Down the line. The ball travels the shortest distance, so the net player has the least time to react. It crosses a higher part of the net, so it needs margin.
• Cross-court. The ball crosses the lower middle of the net and has more court to land in. It has to be angled enough to get past the opponent's reach.
• Low at the feet. A dipping ball that lands at the net player's feet does not need to pass them. It forces a low volley or half volley that often comes back high, setting up an easier pass on the next shot.
• The lob. Useful against an opponent who crowds the net, used sparingly. A short lob becomes an overhead for them.

Hitting passing shots is easier when you make the approach difficult. Deep serves and deep returns keep the opponent from coming in behind an easy ball.

Soft shots have a smaller role than in doubles. A drop into the kitchen can still be useful to bring a baseline player forward or to change the pace, but a long dinking exchange is uncommon in singles because any slightly loose dink leaves a wide open court to hit into.

A Simple Singles Game Plan

When serving:

1. Serve deep from near the centerline.
2. Let the return bounce, then hit your third shot deep to a corner or low past an opponent who has come in.
3. Recover to the middle and look for a short ball to approach on.

When receiving:

1. Return deep, with enough height to give yourself time.
2. Follow the return forward along the line of your shot.
3. Split step as the server hits, then volley to the open court.

On every shot:

• Recover before the opponent hits.
• Favor depth over pace.
• Make the opponent move, and hit behind them now and then when they start to anticipate.

Singles rewards fitness and footwork, and its baseline rallies and passing shots will look familiar to anyone with a tennis background. The pickleball vs tennis comparison covers how the two sports differ. For the partner version of the game, see the doubles strategy guide.