When you are the receiving team, you want to keep the serving team back by the baseline. To do this, you typically are looking to be aggressive when hitting the fourth shot and take the pickleball out the air in order to take time away from your opponents. However, not every shot should be taken out of the air. For instance, if your opponents hit a third shot that will land in the Kitchen, but will bounce up above the net, then it is better to let the pickleball bounce, wait for it to rise above the net, and then aggressively hit down on the pickleball—just like pro James Ignatowich does in the point below.
The alternative would be to take the pickleball out of the air, but then you would be forced to hit up on the pickleball with a less aggressive shot. Do your best to take time away from your opponents, but look for opportunities to hit down on the pickleball toward your opponents’ feet.
