How to Have Fun with a Threesome (Pickleball-Style)

Why three-person pickleball might be the most fun you’ll have on court

Joyce and I are early-birds. We are often the first people at the courts, and sometimes, one other person shows up and we have to wait for a fourth. Once the three of us are warmed up, we’ll get creative and get some play in before everyone else shows up. Here’s how we have fun as a threesome.

Rotation Game:

This game is pretty simple. We play singles and whoever loses the point sits, and the third person comes in. Or you can play it where you rotate and take turns, so you’ll play two points, sit one point.

Cutthroat Style:

Play two against one with the one being the server. And the server only plays half the court, skinny style. You can only win points when you are serving, if you lose the rally as the server, you rotate to the other side, and the next player becomes the server. You can keep your own score and make this very competitive if you like. 

Dink Wars:

Similar to the above, two vs one with the one playing half the court. However the goal is to make the rally last as long as possible. Whoever misses the dink, gets a point and in this game, the least points wins.

7-11 Drill:

No, not going out for Slurpies, but a drill to work on getting to the kitchen. Here’s how it goes.

• For three players, set up with two at the non-volley zone (kitchen) line and one at the baseline, with this player playing half the court. One of the players at the kitchen feeds the ball to the baseline player, initiating the rally.

• The baseline player must allow the ball to bounce, then work on their third-shot drops, drives, or transition shots to move forward toward the kitchen line.

• The player at the kitchen’s goal is to prevent the baseline player from reaching the kitchen by hitting deep shots, keeping them back and controlling the point.

• The rally continues with both players focusing on smart shot placement and positioning.

The baseline player aims to reach 7 points before the kitchen players reach 11. 

The drill emphasizes the transition from baseline to kitchen, improving third-shot drops, defensive skills, and court awareness, keys to better play in a fun, low-pressure way.

In my experience, turning a tricky situation into an opportunity for creative play makes pickleball even more enjoyable. Next time you find yourself with just three players, see it as a chance to shake things up. Sometimes, the best games are the ones you didn’t plan for, and with a little imagination, a threesome can be unexpectedly fun and rewarding.