How to Stop Hitting Into the Net in Pickleball

Short answer: How to stop hitting into the net in pickleball starts with meeting the ball out in front of you with a slightly open paddle face and swinging low-to-high, not down. Most net balls come from a closed face, a late contact point, or chopping down on the shot instead of lifting it.

By Jason Regan, USA Pickleball Ambassador

Here in New England I see the same thing on every court from Leominster to the Cape: a brand-new player and a solid 3.5 both lose points the same way, by dumping the ball into the net. It is the most common unforced error in the game, and the good news is that it is almost always a mechanics problem with a handful of fixable causes. Fix the paddle face and the contact point and you will erase a huge chunk of your errors overnight.

This guide walks through why the ball goes into the net in the first place, then gives you the cues and drills I use with students to pull the ball up and over.

Why do my pickleball shots keep going into the net?

Before you can fix anything, you have to know which of the usual suspects is costing you points. In my experience there are five, and most players are guilty of two or three at once.

• A closed paddle face: If the top edge of your paddle tilts forward toward the net at contact, the ball has nowhere to go but down. This is by far the biggest offender.
• Late contact point: When you let the ball get even with or behind your hip, the natural swing path is downward. Contact out in front lets you work up through the ball.
• Swinging down instead of up: A lot of players chop at the ball like they are hammering a nail. A downward swing path produces a downward ball flight.
• Driving the third shot flat: Trying to blast your third shot low and hard over the net leaves almost no margin for error, and it clips the tape.
• Rushing and tensing up: Fast feet, a death grip, and a panicked swing all shorten your arc and pull shots into the net.

Notice that four of the five are about swing path and paddle angle, not power. You rarely hit the net because you did not swing hard enough.

How to stop hitting into the net in pickleball: fix the paddle face first

If you only change one thing today, change your paddle angle at contact. The face should be slightly open, meaning the hitting surface is tilted a touch toward the sky, like you are carrying a tray of drinks that you want to tip backward just a little. An open face launches the ball upward even on a flat swing.

Here is a cue I give students: imagine there is a low wall three feet in front of the net, and your job is to hit the ball over that imaginary wall, not over the net tape itself. The net is 34 inches in the center and 36 at the posts. Aiming at the tape means any tiny miscalculation drops you short. Aiming a few feet above it gives you margin, and the ball still comes down well inside the kitchen or at your opponent’s feet.

A quick self-check: after you hit, freeze and look at your paddle face. If it is pointing down at the court, that is your answer. You want the face looking slightly up and out toward your target.

Where should I make contact to keep the ball out of the net?

Contact point is the quiet killer. When the ball gets behind you, physics takes over and the only clean path left is down and into the net. The fix is to meet the ball out in front of your body, roughly even with your lead foot, while it is still on its way up or at the top of its bounce.

• Move your feet, not just your arm: Getting in position early is what lets you take the ball in front. If you are reaching, you are late.
• Catch the ball on the rise: On groundstrokes and resets, contacting the ball as it rises off the bounce naturally sends it upward and forward.
• Keep the paddle up and ready: Starting with your paddle out in front of your chest means you are not scrambling to catch up to the ball.

A great drill for this is the “catch it in front” shadow drill. Without a ball, practice stepping forward and swinging so your paddle meets an imaginary ball a foot or two ahead of your front foot. Do twenty reps before you ever step on the court and your body starts to remember where contact should happen.

How do I fix a swing that goes down instead of up?

The path your paddle travels is the path the ball tends to follow. If you swing down, the ball goes down. The cue every coach repeats, because it works, is low to high. Start the paddle below the ball and finish with the paddle head higher than where you began. You are brushing up the back of the ball and lifting it.

I like to have players exaggerate it at first. Finish every soft shot with your paddle up around shoulder height, even on a gentle dink or drop. It will feel like too much. It almost never is. Once the upward path becomes automatic you can tone the follow-through down.

For the technique that depends on this most, see my full walkthrough of how to hit a third shot drop, which lives and dies on a low-to-high lift.

Why does my third shot keep hitting the net?

The third shot is where net errors pile up, because you are hitting from the baseline and trying to land the ball softly in the kitchen. Players make two mistakes here. First, they try to drive it flat and hard, which leaves no room over the net. Second, they decelerate out of fear and never give the ball enough lift.

The answer is a gentle upward arc. You want the ball to float up, peak around net height or a little above on your side, and then descend into the kitchen. Think “up and over, then down,” not “straight and flat.”

• Loose grip: Hold the paddle around a 4 out of 10 in tension. A tight grip deadens touch and shortens your swing.
• Legs, not arm: Bend your knees and lift with your body. Let the legs provide the upward energy so your arm can stay relaxed.
• Accept a higher arc: A ball that is a little too high is still playable. A ball in the net is a guaranteed lost point. When in doubt, add height.

If the full drop feels out of reach under pressure, learn how to reset in pickleball instead. A reset uses the same soft, upward, absorbing motion and is more forgiving than a perfect drop.

What drills actually fix hitting into the net?

Awareness is step one, but reps are what make the fix stick. These are the drills I run with students, and you can do most of them with just a partner and a bucket of balls.

• The ribbon drill: String a ribbon or tape about two feet above the net. Practice landing every drop and dink between the net and the ribbon. It forces you to add arc without launching the ball long.
• Dink-only games: Play soft-game points where every ball must land in the kitchen. The slower pace lets you feel the open face and the low-to-high lift. Start with my guide on how to dink in pickleball if your soft game needs work.
• Freeze-and-check: After every practice shot, hold your finish and look at your paddle face and follow-through height. Self-correcting in the moment builds the habit faster than anything.
• Drop progressions: Start at the kitchen line hitting soft lifts over the net, then take one step back every five good shots until you reach the baseline. This teaches your body to add arc as distance grows.

Ten focused minutes of the ribbon drill before you play will do more for your net errors than an hour of free play. For a structured path through these fundamentals, browse my improve your game hub.

Could my paddle be part of the problem?

Mostly this is technique, not gear, so fix your mechanics first. That said, an extremely head-light or very low-power paddle can make it harder to generate the gentle lift on a long third shot, and a paddle that is too heavy can make your swing late. If you have cleaned up your contact point and face angle and still struggle to get margin, it is worth checking that your paddle actually fits your game. My paddle finder walks you through matching a paddle to your playstyle.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I hit the ball into the net in pickleball?

The most common reasons are a closed paddle face that tilts the hitting surface downward, making contact too late or behind your body, and swinging down instead of lifting low-to-high. Power is almost never the issue. Open the face slightly, meet the ball in front, and swing up.

Should I aim higher over the net to stop hitting it?

Yes. Aim a few feet above the net tape rather than skimming it. The net is 34 inches tall in the center, so aiming at the tape leaves no margin. A higher target adds a safe arc, and the ball still drops into the kitchen or at your opponent’s feet.

How do I keep my third shot drop from going into the net?

Use a loose grip, bend your knees, and lift the ball with a gentle upward arc so it peaks around net height before falling into the kitchen. Do not try to drive it flat and hard. Let your legs provide the upward energy and accept a slightly higher ball over a ball in the net.

What is the best cue to stop hitting into the net?

Low to high. Start your paddle below the ball and finish with the paddle head higher than where you began, brushing up the back of the ball. Pairing that with an open paddle face and contact out in front fixes the large majority of net errors.

Is hitting into the net a technique problem or a paddle problem?

It is almost always technique: paddle face angle, contact point, and swing path. Fix those first. Only after your mechanics are clean is it worth checking whether a paddle that is too heavy, too light, or too low-powered is making a gentle lift harder to produce.

Want to go deeper on the rules and the fundamentals of the game? The governing body keeps the full, current rulebook online at USA Pickleball. Then get out to a local court and run the ribbon drill. I promise your net errors will start falling.