A pickleball drip shot is best used as a controlled, topspin-heavy third shot between a drop and drive. It works especially well against opponents still moving toward the kitchen. Intermediate players should master reliable drops and drives first, then use the drip as a pace-control option rather than a completely separate stroke.
The “drip” may be the most overcomplicated third shot in pickleball right now.
Pro player Mari Humberg recently made a pretty strong argument against the way it is being taught: below roughly the 4.0 level, most players should stop treating the drip as a separate must-have shot and get genuinely reliable at the drive and drop first.
I think that criticism is fair.
Not because the drip is useless.
It isn’t.
Pro Zane Navratil has been teaching a hybrid drop-drive for years, and newer coaching content increasingly describes the drip as a medium-paced, topspin-heavy third shot designed to dip toward an opponent’s feet.
The problem is that nobody seems to define it exactly the same way. For an intermediate recreational player, that creates unnecessary confusion.
So let’s simplify it.
First: What Is a Drip?
The cleanest definition is: a drip is an off-speed topspin drive that travels faster and flatter than a traditional drop but dips lower than a full drive.
Think of third shots on a continuum:
Drop ← Drip → Drive
A traditional drop has more arc and buys you time. A full drive has more pace and tries to force a weak block.
The drip sits between them.
You are not trying to blast through the opponent. You are trying to make the ball arrive quickly enough to pressure them, while topspin pulls it down toward the ankles or shoelaces.
That matches how Navratil describes the hybrid drive: roughly moderate pace, compact control, and a ball that descends toward the opponent rather than arriving comfortably at waist or chest height.
Cue
Drive shape. Drop destination.
Why the Term Causes So Much Trouble
Here is where the skeptical coach has a point. Some instructors describe the drip as a completely separate third-shot technique.
Others describe almost the same ball as a:
- topspin drop
- roll drop
- hybrid drive
- drive-drop
- soft drive
Even experienced players debate whether these are genuinely different strokes or simply different points along the same spectrum.
For recreational players, I would not obsess over the label. The mechanics overlap heavily.
A forehand drop, drip, and drive can all begin from a similar preparation. What changes is mainly:
- paddle speed
- trajectory
- amount of forward acceleration
- spin
- target depth
That is much easier to learn than imagining you need three unrelated strokes.
Is the Drip Too Advanced Below 4.0?
Not automatically. But it is easy to misuse.
The difficult part is not simply making the ball travel at medium speed. It is combining:
✔️ Enough pace to pressure
✔️ Enough topspin to bring the ball down
✔️ Enough height to clear the net
✔️ Enough control to avoid feeding an easy volley
That window is smaller than it looks.
A traditional drop gives you more time and margin. A full drive gives you a simpler intention: accelerate through a bigger target.
The drip asks you to blend those two.
That is why a 3.5 player who cannot yet control both a basic drop and a drive may actually make their third-shot game worse by chasing the drip.
My rule would be:
If you cannot intentionally change between drop and drive, you are probably not ready to obsess over the ball between them.
The Drip Should Come From Your Drive, Not From a New Swing
This is the biggest technical simplification. Do not build a special “drip stroke.”
Start from your controlled topspin drive. Then reduce pace.
A useful starting point is around 50–70% of full drive speed, depending on the incoming ball.
Keep:
- the same early preparation
- a compact backswing
- contact comfortably in front
- a low-to-high paddle path
- acceleration through the back of the ball
What changes is how much you drive forward through contact. You want enough topspin that the ball begins dipping before it reaches the opponent.
Do not manufacture the dip by violently rolling the wrist. That creates an unstable paddle face.
Cue
Same swing family. Less speed. More shape.
@tanner.pickleball How to Hit a Drip (drive / drop combo) in Pickleball! 🏆🥇 1️⃣ This shot is a combination of the strokes: forehand drive, and third shot drop. 2️⃣ Keep a stiff arm on contact and come over the ball. 3️⃣ Swing at 70% power. #pickleball #pickleballlife #pickleballtiktok #pickleballtips #pickleballaddict #pickleballrocks #pickleballaddiction #pickleballtournament ♬ original sound – Tanner.pickleball
Where Should the Ball Land?
This is another place the drip gets misunderstood. You are not necessarily trying to land it softly in the kitchen.
In fact, many good drips land around the kitchen line or slightly beyond it, depending on where the opponents are standing.
The important thing is the opponent’s contact point.
You want them:
✔️ Volleying near their knees
✔️ Short-hopping the ball
✔️ Contacting while moving forward
✔️ Blocking upward instead of attacking downward
That is why a drip can be particularly effective against opponents who are still moving toward the kitchen.
A slow drop gives them time to arrive and establish position.
A full drive may reach them at a comfortable waist height.
The drip can arrive while they are still moving and dive toward their feet.
The Best Time to Use a Drip
✔️ The returner is still moving forward
This is the ideal window. Aim at their feet while they’re advancing so they have to handle pace, topspin, and movement at once.
✔️ The return sits around thigh-to-waist height
That gives you enough space to accelerate without having to lift a very low ball.
✔️ You want pressure without a full drive
If the return is attackable but not ideal for ripping, the drip gives you a controlled middle ground.
✔️ Your drives keep getting comfortably blocked
Take 20–30% off the pace and force a lower contact point instead.
More pace is not always more pressure.
When I Would Not Use It
✖️ The return is very low
If contact is below your knees, creating both pace and heavy topspin gets much harder. A higher-margin drop may be the better choice.
✖️ You are moving backward or off balance
The drip works best with controlled forward acceleration. If your balance is compromised, simplify.
✖️ Both opponents are set at the kitchen
A mediocre drip can become an easy roll volley. A traditional drop may be better because it gives you more time to advance.
✖️ You keep hitting the net
If the ball keeps dying into the tape, you’re probably trying to hit it too hard and too low. Go back to your drop-and-drive fundamentals first.
Why You Still Need a Real Drop
This is where I strongly agree with the criticism againts the drip below advanced level.
The drip should not become an excuse to avoid learning the third-shot drop. A traditional drop does something the drip does not:
It gives you time.
A higher, slower ball that descends into the kitchen can let you gain several feet of court before the opponent contacts it.
The drip moves faster. That means less time for you to advance.
Recent pickleball ball-flight research also found that for traditional third-shot drops, launch speed and launch angle influence success more strongly than spin. In other words, understanding trajectory and pace remains fundamental even in a sport increasingly obsessed with topspin.
Learn the drop first.
Then make it more aggressive.
And You Still Need a Real Drive
The drip should not replace your drive either. When you receive:
- a short return
- a high bounce
- an opponent caught badly out of position
- a clear body or middle target
a full drive may be the correct choice.
You do not need to turn every third shot into a delicate hybrid. The more advanced skill is having a pace dial.
You should be able to hit:
30% → 50% → 70% → 90%
with similar preparation.
That makes you much harder to read than learning four named shots with four different swings.
One Important Tactical Difference: Drip to the Moving Player
If both opponents are already at the kitchen, your target options narrow. But if the returner is still coming forward, that player is usually the best target.
Why?
Their feet are moving.
Their paddle is changing height.
Their balance is not fully established.
That is precisely what the drip exploits.
Navratil has emphasized using the hybrid when opponents are not yet comfortably set at the kitchen, because the combination of pace and dip attacks that transitional moment.
Cue
Attack movement, not just space.
Your Follow-Up Matters More Than the Drip
This is where recreational players often waste a good shot.
- They hit a beautiful drip.
- The opponent blocks it low.
- Then they try to drive the fifth shot from midcourt.
Wrong idea. The drip is often designed to create a weaker fifth ball.
So think:
Drip → advance → expect soft block → reset/drop fifth.
If the fourth ball pops up, attack it.
If it stays low, continue transitioning.
The drip should improve the rally. It does not have to finish it.
A Better Way to Practice It
Do not stand at the baseline hitting 50 “drips.” Instead, practice a pace ladder.
Hit five balls at roughly:
- 30% — traditional drop
- 50% — aggressive topspin drop
- 65% — drip
- 85% — controlled drive
Use the same starting preparation. Your partner should tell you afterward what contact they received:
- below knee;
- knee-to-thigh;
- waist;
- chest.
That feedback is more valuable than whether the ball landed in a particular named zone.
Your goal is learning how paddle speed changes the opponent’s contact point. Then randomize the feed and choose the shot rather than deciding in advance.
That is when it becomes usable in a match.
Stop Learning the Name and Learn the Dial
I think that coaches who have beef with the drip are right about the biggest problem. Intermediate players are being given too many labels.
They hear drive.
Drop.
Drip.
Topspin drop.
Roll drop.
Hybrid.
And suddenly a simple third-shot decision starts sounding like six different techniques. I would simplify the whole thing.
Build one reliable soft drop.
Build one reliable topspin drive.
Then learn to control everything between them.
When you can intentionally take pace off your drive, add shape, and send the ball down toward a moving opponent’s feet, congratulations—you have a drip.
You did not need to invent a new swing.
And if you are a 3.5 player who cannot hit that ball reliably yet, nothing is wrong with your game.
A good drop and a good drive will take you much farther than a fashionable third shot you only make half the time.
The drip is useful. It just should be an extension of your fundamentals, not a replacement for them.
