Third Shot Drop

Avoiding the Cone of Death

January 09 2025


As the serving team, your goal is to reach the kitchen line quickly to neutralize the point. That, however, does not give you permission to sprint to the line with reckless abandon.

Your approach should be strategic. It depends and multiple factors including the quality of the third shot, placement of the third shot, and your partner’s willingness to move forward.

Pickleball coach and former pro player, Morgan Evans, shows how you can avoid the cone of death in a new video.

  • As a general rule of thumb it’s a good idea to maintain the same depth as your partner to avoid opening large gaps that can be exploited.
  • The cone of death is created when one player moves forward, their partner stays back, and the ball is hit in front of the partner who stayed back.
  • The gap between partners is an easy and obvious target for the opposing player to end the point.

Evans recommends only staggering with your partner when the player advancing is on the same half of the court that the ball is dropped. This eliminates the advantageous angle from the opponent and opens up poaching opportunities.

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