Description:
Steve Dawson
The fourth shot is one of the most important parts of the rally because it’s your response to your opponent’s third shot. So if they wind up and smash the shot at you, you have to know how to respond. And if they drop shot it to you, you have to instantly decide if their drop shot is good, which means you have to have a choice but in most cases leads to dropping their drop shot, or if their drop shot is bad, you just let them have it and unload it.
The fourth shot is the instant reaction to what your opponent has given you on the shot after they return serve. Tactically, an important part of the fourth shot is to understand if your opponent has hit a good enough third shot drop in your kitchen that you should actually be drop shotting in their kitchen.
The reason this tactic is done is contrary to what is normally taught at the rec level or park level pickleball courts. It’s very important that you learn this lesson at the highest level, because if you try to keep a back person back, they poach.