There’s a whole lot of talk about the third shot in pickleball, but Tyson McGuffin dropped a video that explored the fourth shot and the importance of using it effectively.

The fourth shot is just that, the fourth shot in a rally. The serve is the first, the return is the second, the third is either a drop or a drive, and then comes this particular one. 

“Why would you want to use the fourth shot? In the fourth shot, you’ve hit a return and now you’re up and established. You’re looking to push the servers back and trying to put them in a position where they’re feeling heavy traffic as they move forward. You’re just making it difficult for them to get up to the kitchen line,” explained McGuffin. “One thing you do not want to do is just give them an invitation to come up to the line.”

McGuffin recommended hitting your fourth shot out of the air at the kitchen line.

Ideally, it would be chest high or above where you can generate offense, which he termed the “green zone.” Taking a ball out of the air from chest to about knee level is in the ”yellow zone.” It isn't as optimal, but still manageable. 

But don’t take a ball out of the air from about your knee height to the ground. That would be the ”red zone.” Instead, McGuffin suggested letting the ball bounce, take a step back, and return the ball with a strong forehand shot to create offense. 

“Simply take a step back, find your forehand, and let the ball sit up to its highest peak, and then look to be aggressive off the bounce,” he mentioned. 

Then, hit the ball at your opponent’s feet. This will generate pressure and score you an unreturnable shot. 

McGuffin also cautioned against taking a step back too early. Remember, the ideal spot for executing the fourth shot is to hit it out of the air at the kitchen line in the green zone.

“Don’t be so premature with your court position. Look to address and assess, and simply see ball trajectory,” he explained. “Plan A is always taking it out of the air. Plan B is if you find yourself making contact with the ball low and you don’t want to quite surrender, so you’re going to take a step back and buy yourself some time.”

Next up, McGuffin demonstrated hitting a fourth shot out of the air as a roll volley.

“What’s fun about the roll volley is that you can take a ball from a lower location that should be safe or non-attackable, but with you swinging low to high and the ability to get your ball trajectory over the net, you can actually be aggressive from here,” he shared. 

McGuffin showed how to hit this shot with a forehand.

“Picture a clock in front of you. If the ball is at three o’clock, then my paddle is at four. You’re looking to get underneath the ball, swing low to high, get some friction, and get the ball to go up and down,” he said, while using a windshield wiper motion. 

It's a similar motion for the backhand, except McGuffin suggested hitting the ball at about 6 o’clock, then finishing at 12 o’clock with the same technique.

“I’m using about 70% shoulder and 30% wrist to spin,” he described. “Your main focus is that you’re in control of the court. You’re up and established at the kitchen line first and you’re utilizing the fourth ball as well as you can, but don’t invite your opponents up. Make them feel heavy traffic, make them feel pressure as they move forward, and make it difficult for them to move to the kitchen line.”

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