You hit a decent shot. Your partner hits a decent shot. The ball still finds the space between you.
Most of those points are lost on positioning, and on two players making different decisions at once. This guide gives recreational teams one shared plan: move up together, protect the middle, call early, recover as a pair.
The one idea behind good doubles: two players, one unit
Better Pickleball's playing tip on communication says the best partners move together at the baseline and at the net, and calls "yours" and "mine" the most important words partners exchange.
Start positions and getting to the kitchen together
Where you must stand to serve or receive is a rules question. Where you move next is strategy.
The official USA Pickleball rulebook says correct serving and receiving positions are determined by the team's score, and that, apart from serving and receiving, players are not restricted to one fixed spot on their side. If score-based positions still catch you out, see pickleball scoring explained.
For what follows, Better Pickleball coach CJ Johnson is direct in Top 6 Pickleball Doubles Strategies to Win More Games:
- Returning team: hit the return deep, then move forward to join your partner at the non-volley zone line. Do not leave one partner there and the other stranded halfway back, a gap Johnson calls the "island of despair" (the returner stranded halfway back while the partner is set at the line).
- Serving team: serve and stay behind the baseline until you play your third shot, so a deep return does not force you to backpedal.
- Send your third shot toward the returner, who is still moving, rather than the partner already set at the line.
A soft ball in the kitchen must bounce before it can be played, which is why that line matters. See our kitchen rules guide. One way to buy time to move up is the third shot drop.
Who takes the middle: forehand, communication and simple defaults
The middle causes two opposite errors: both players go and their paddles meet, or both wait and the ball lands untouched.
Better Pickleball's answer is Respect the X, in Covering the Middle in Pickleball Doubles: Who Takes the Ball?. Picture two diagonal lines crossing your side. A ball traveling along your diagonal is yours, even near the center.
That is why "forehand takes the middle" is only a starting point. In Forehand Takes The Middle: Fact or Fiction?, Johnson says it is not always the right strategy, because reaching across your partner's diagonal can leave you off balance and leave the other side open.
Agree these defaults before you play. They are team agreements, not rules:
| Situation | Simple default |
|---|---|
| Ball along your diagonal | You take it, following Respect the X |
| Straight middle ball to the forehand player | Forehand player takes it, unless you agreed otherwise |
| One partner has the clearly stronger middle backhand | That partner may take it, if agreed before play |
| Neither of you is sure | Whoever calls first takes it |
A clear call beats a perfect system delivered silently.
Calling the ball: mine, yours, and switching clearly
Keep calls short, early and loud.
Better Pickleball's communication tip advises calling every shot with "mine" and "yours", even after agreeing who takes middle balls. It also suggests "switch" when you have crossed behind your partner and want your partner to cross over, plus short directional help such as move up or go back when you are not side by side.
Call before you swing where you can. If you call "mine", commit. If you call "yours", clear out and reset. Keep any fix between rallies to one short sentence. See also pickleball etiquette and open play.
Some advanced teams also use stacking, a planned starting arrangement that Blog #14 will cover in depth.
Moving as a pair: up, back and side to side
In Move Around the Pickleball Court by Learning to Cha Cha with Your Partner, CJ Johnson suggests keeping about six to eight feet between partners, noting that standing much closer opens the sides and drifting much further apart opens the middle. Johnson advises following the direction of your team's shot as you move forward, so one player covers a sideline and the other covers the middle and a step wide.
Move forward together after a shot that gives you time, shift sideways together, and recover before the next shot. If one partner is pulled wide, the other shifts toward the middle.
Johnson also warns in the Top 6 article not to give up the kitchen line without a good reason, such as defending a popped up ball. Drifting back on an ordinary dink can leave your feet as the target.
Defending hard shots: reset, drop and buy time
Sometimes your job is simply to keep the rally alive.
Better Pickleball describes the reset as a shot used when transitioning toward the non-volley zone, and says a good reset can make a smoother transition to the net, in The Pickleball Reset Shot. Reset here means a softer reply, not trying to win from a stretched position.
If that soft reply is your third shot, see the third shot drop. After it, step forward together.
Common gaps and how teams fix them
- Ball lands between you: no shared default. Use Respect the X and call it.
- One player up, one back: you moved at different times. Return deep, then move together.
- Both paddles chase one ball: reach was treated as ownership. Stay on your diagonal unless you called early.
A simple practice game for positioning and calls
This is a simple Mint practice suggestion, with no performance claim attached.
Middle call game: play normal doubles, but call "mine", "yours" or "switch" on every ball not clearly to one side. If a middle ball lands with no call, that team loses the point. Play to 11, then swap partners.
With only two players, Better Pickleball's Skinny Singles uses one diagonal half of the court to practice deep serves and returns, punch volleys and middle dink resets.
The Cannonballz 40 Hole Outdoor Balls 10-Pack lists rotation molded, single piece seamless balls in fluorescent optic-ember. The Pro Portable Pickleball Net is listed at 22 ft wide, 36 inches at the posts and 34 inches at the center, with an alloy steel frame and carry bag.
Gear for team practice
The Movemint I and Movemint II 4-Pack is a four paddle set, listed with a 16 mm core for Movemint I, a 13 mm core for Movemint II and T300 carbon faces on both.
By listing fact only, Sigma Super, Blue is Gen4, 16 mm core, swing weight 115.8, and Sender Pro X, Blue is Gen4, 14 mm core, swing weight 124.31. That is not a doubles recommendation. For paddle choice, see doubles vs singles.
Quick checklist and FAQ
Before the first serve, agree who takes middle balls on each diagonal, whether the forehand player takes straight middle balls, that you will say "switch" when you cross, and that you will move forward together after a soft third shot or reset.
Is forehand takes the middle a rule? No. It is a common team default. Better Pickleball sets out cases where Respect the X or a strong backhand is the better team choice.
Who takes a ball exactly between us? Use the diagonal first, then the call. If it is on your diagonal, call "mine" and take it.
What should we practise first? Start with calls. A loud "mine" and "yours" removes the most common gap without changing anyone's swing.
Sources
- USA Pickleball, Official Rulebook (2026): Section 5, Player Positions and Serving Sequence.
- CJ Johnson, Better Pickleball, Top 6 Pickleball Doubles Strategies to Win More Games.
- CJ Johnson, Better Pickleball, Covering the Middle in Pickleball Doubles: Who Takes the Ball?.
- CJ Johnson, Better Pickleball, Forehand Takes The Middle: Fact or Fiction?.
- Better Pickleball, Playing Tip: Silent Partners are for Business.
- CJ Johnson, Better Pickleball, Move Around the Pickleball Court by Learning to Cha Cha with Your Partner.
- Better Pickleball, The Pickleball Reset Shot: How to Control the Ball.
- CJ Johnson, Better Pickleball, Skinny Singles: The Pickleball Drill to Boost Your Doubles Strategy.
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