Every pickleball article on the internet wants to talk to you about the third shot drop. Fair enough — it's a great shot. But almost nobody talks about the shot that happens before it: the return of serve. And that's a problem, because a bad return doesn't just lose you a point. It hands your opponents the entire rally on a silver platter.
The Shot Everyone Skips
Think about how most rec players practice. They drill dinks. They drill drops. They rally forever at the net. Then they show up to a match and take a wild, off-balance swing at the return of serve like it's an afterthought. It's not. It's the first shot of every single point, and it sets the tone for everything that follows.
Why the Return Sets Up Everything After It
A weak, short return gives your opponents an easy, aggressive third shot — which means they're attacking before you've even gotten to the net. A strong, deep return does the opposite: it pins the serving team back near the baseline, buys you time to get to the kitchen line, and forces them into a harder, more conservative third shot. In doubles especially, the return of serve is the shot that decides who controls the point before it's even really started.
Depth Over Power, Every Time
The instinct is to crush the return. Resist it. A return that lands deep — inside the last few feet of the court — does more damage than a hard, flat return that gives your opponent time and pace to work with. Depth pushes the returner's opponent away from the net, which is exactly where you want them to be stuck.
Placement: Your Silent Weapon
Once depth is automatic, start thinking about placement. A return aimed at the server's backhand, or straight at the feet of a crashing opponent, creates problems that a generic middle-of-the-court return never will. Small adjustments here separate players who are simply consistent from players who are genuinely dangerous.
The Paddle Factor Nobody Talks About
Here's the part that gets overlooked: your paddle has a direct say in how well you execute all of this. A paddle that's all power and no touch will keep sending your returns long. A paddle that's mushy and control-only won't give you the pop to clear the net with pace when you need it. You need a face that lets you feel the ball through contact and a core that gives you predictable depth, shot after shot.
That's the exact balance built into the GatorStrike Gold Pro Elite T700. Its raw carbon fiber weave face gives you real touch and feedback on contact, while the polymer honeycomb core keeps your depth control consistent instead of guessing which return is going to sail long. It's built for players who want to own the first shot of the point, not just survive it.
Stop giving away free points on the return. Check out the Gold Pro Elite T700 and start dictating rallies from the very first shot.
