Strategy
Pickleball Doubles Strategy for Beginners: Where to Stand
By the TennisCourtFinder team · Updated June 29, 2026 · 5 min read
Pickleball is mostly a doubles game, and doubles is a positioning game. You can have clean strokes and still lose to a team that simply stands in the right place and hits smart, boring shots. The good news is that the positioning is simple to learn and it does not take an athlete to get right.
Move as a pair
Picture an invisible rope about eight feet long connecting you and your partner. When one of you slides left to cover a ball, the other slides left too. Teams that stay connected close off the gaps. Teams that drift apart get picked apart down the middle and up the sidelines.
Get to the line and stay side by side
Both players want to reach the kitchen line and hold it together, shoulder to shoulder. Avoid the staggered look where one player is up at the net and the other is stuck back at the baseline. That shape opens easy angles for your opponents and leaves a huge hole between you.
Aim down the middle
When you are not sure where to hit, go down the middle between the two opponents. It creates a split-second of confusion about who takes the ball, and it takes away the sharp cross-court angles they could hit back. Middle balls cause more trouble than most beginners realize.
Communicate and let deep balls bounce
Call the ball. A quick mine or yours prevents the two of you from both going for it or both leaving it. And resist the urge to reach for deep balls near the baseline out of the air, since that often pops the ball straight up for an easy putaway. Let those bounce and reset.
Return deep, then charge the net
When your team is returning serve, hit the return deep and move straight up to the kitchen line behind it. The return is the one shot where you have time to advance, so use it. Getting both returners to the line early puts your team in control of the point.
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Frequently asked questions
- Get to the kitchen line and stand side by side with your partner. Move as a connected pair, sliding together to cover the court and keep the gap between you small.
- Often, yes. Balls hit down the middle between two opponents create confusion about who takes them and take away sharp return angles, so the middle is a high-percentage target when in doubt.
- Stacking is an advanced positioning tactic where partners line up on the same side so they can keep their stronger sides in the middle. Beginners do not need it. Master basic side-by-side positioning first.