How to Hit a Slice Return in Pickleball

Part of our guide to improving your pickleball game.

The slice return is a backspin return of serve: instead of driving through the ball, you brush under it with a slightly open paddle face so it carries backspin. That spin makes the ball travel slower, land deeper, and stay low after it bounces. The slower flight is the point — a return’s only real job is to give you enough time to get your feet all the way to the kitchen line, and a floating slice buys that time better than any other return in the game. For most players, it should be your default.

Why the slice works: it buys you time

A return has one real job: give you enough time to march forward so you and your partner are both set at the non-volley zone line before the next ball comes back. Everything good in pickleball happens from that line. A flat, hard drive reaches the baseline fast, which feels aggressive but works against you — the ball returns quickly while you are still halfway up the court. A slice floats, and that extra half-second is exactly the time you need to close the distance and get set.

• Slower ball, more travel time. You can walk in under control instead of sprinting and getting caught wide of the line.
• Depth pins them back. A deep slice forces the serving team to hit their third shot from behind the baseline, farther from the kitchen and under more pressure.
• It skids low. The ball sits down and stays low off the bounce, so the third shot must be lifted up — a harder drop and a slower, more attackable drive.

How to hit it, step by step

The motion is a controlled downward brush, not a chop or a hack — meet the back and bottom of the ball and carry it forward.

• Set up early with a slightly open face. Turn your shoulders, take the paddle back a touch high, and tilt the face slightly upward. That open face sends the ball up and out with backspin rather than into the net.
• Brush high to low, under the ball. Swing from high to low so the paddle travels under the ball at contact, cutting down the back of it — that is what creates the backspin.
• Keep the wrist firm. A firm, quiet wrist keeps the face angle stable. A flicky wrist pops the ball up short — the single most common slice error.
• Contact out in front. Meet the ball clearly in front of your body, not beside your hip. Out-front contact lets you aim and keeps the shot going forward and deep.
• Follow through toward your deep target. Finish long, extending the paddle toward where you want the ball to land. A short, stabbing finish robs the ball of depth and leaves it floating short.
• Then move. The swing flows into your first steps forward. Hit, then go — use the time the slice bought you.

Aim deep and down the middle as your bread-and-butter target: it minimizes your angle risk, erases the opponents’ angles, and can create hesitation about who takes the third. Once you have read the opponents, send it deep to the weaker side instead.

When to use it (and when to drive instead)

The honest answer: the slice is a safe, repeatable return you can hit on almost every point, and leaning on it costs you very few errors. It earns its keep most in three situations.

• When you need more time to get in. If you are slow out of the stance or returning from well behind the line, the float is your friend.
• Against bangers. Players who want to rip every ball hate a low, deep, slow return — it gives them nothing to time and forces them to make their own pace from a bad position.
• On a tough or low serve. When a serve jams you or stays low, slicing lets you handle it with margin instead of forcing a risky drive.

A flatter drive return has its place — it rushes opponents who are slow to the kitchen — but it is a lower-margin, higher-skill play. Here is the trade-off plainly.

For the full picture of what a return should accomplish, start with our guide to the return of serve. To understand how brushing changes flight, see how to add spin in pickleball, and for the mirror-image read when the serve arrives with spin, see how to return a topspin serve.

Troubleshooting: floating too high or too short

Almost every slice problem is one of two things — the ball sails high and sits up, or it dies short. Both are fixable.

• Floating too high and sitting up? Your face is too open or your wrist is breaking at contact. Close the face a few degrees and keep the wrist firm and quiet. Shorten how far you drop the paddle back so you are brushing, not scooping.
• Landing too short or into the net? You are decelerating and stabbing straight down. Lengthen the follow-through toward a deep target and make the path more forward-and-down so the ball carries out — depth comes from finishing forward, not swinging harder.
• No backspin at all? You are hitting flat through the back of the ball. Exaggerate the high-to-low path and feel the paddle grip and cut the bottom of the ball.

Groove it with a simple drill: hit ten slice returns deep into the back third and down the middle, and only count the rep if you reach the kitchen line before an imagined third shot comes back — depth and footwork together are the whole skill.

Which levels this skill helps

The slice return pays off most for players building consistency and court position.

• 3.0 to 3.5: This is where getting to the kitchen reliably separates players. A dependable slice removes return errors and fixes your biggest leak — getting caught in no-man’s-land.
• 3.5 to 4.0: Now you add placement and intent — deep to the weaker side, skidding low to force weak thirds — and start using the slice to control the pace of the whole point.

Frequently asked questions

Is a slice return legal in pickleball?
Yes. Backspin returns are completely legal. There is no rule against spin on a groundstroke return — the only spin restriction in the rules concerns adding spin with your hand before the serve, which does not apply here.

Does the slice return really give me more time to get to the kitchen?
Yes, and that is its main advantage. Backspin keeps the ball in the air longer and slows it down, so it comes back to you later. That extra time is exactly what lets you walk all the way up to the non-volley zone line under control instead of getting stranded in the middle of the court.

Should I slice every return or sometimes drive it?
Make the slice your default — it is safe, repeatable, and buys you time. Mix in a flatter drive return only when you want to rush opponents who are slow getting to the kitchen. The drive carries less margin, so use it as a change-up, not your main return.

Why does my slice keep floating up and sitting there?
That usually means your paddle face is too open or your wrist is flicking at contact. Close the face a few degrees, keep a firm quiet wrist, and brush more forward-and-down rather than straight down so the ball carries deep instead of popping up.

Want this dialed in person?

A low, deep, repeatable slice return is one of the fastest wins in a lesson because it is pure technique — brush path, face angle, and footwork. For eyes on your motion and a drill plan to groove it, book a session through our coaching page.

— Jason Regan, USA Pickleball Ambassador & PCI-certified coach