The ATP and the Erne: pickleball's two famous trick shots
If you watch professional pickleball, two shots keep coming up on highlight reels: the ATP (Around the Post) and the Erne. They look impossible, they’re completely legal, and they’re not just tricks — they’re situational tools you can add to your own game once you understand when they’re available. Most recreational players never hit either, not because they’re hard, but because they’ve never been shown the setups that make them possible.
The ATP (Around the Post)
What it is
When a cross-court dink lands so wide that the ball is traveling outside the sideline, your return path doesn’t have to go over the net — it can go around the post. You hit the ball back into the opponent’s court through the space between the post and the sideline. As long as the ball lands in, the shot is legal, even if it never crossed the net plane.
This surprises a lot of new players. There’s no rule that a pickleball shot has to go over the net. It just has to land in the right place. And the ATP is one of the most satisfying shots in the sport because it looks impossible but follows directly from the rules as written.
When it’s available
The ATP is only possible when:
- Your opponent’s dink goes wide enough that the ball’s path is clearly outside the sideline before it gets to your side.
- You’re positioned to hit it from well outside the court — your contact point is outside the sideline.
- The ball is low enough and far enough wide that hitting it over the net isn’t actually possible (or isn’t your best option).
This is a rare combination. You’ll see it maybe once every few games at the rec level. The most common setup: you’re dinking cross-court, your opponent hits one that pulls you wide, and instead of reaching back over the sideline and dinking over the net, you drive it directly around the post into their open court.
How to hit one
- Move early. Don’t wait to see if the ball is ATP-worthy. As soon as you see it pulling you wide, shuffle out past the sideline so your contact point is outside the court.
- Drive it. An ATP should be hit with pace, not softly. A soft ATP gives the opponent time to recover; a hard one is unreturnable.
- Aim cross-court. The natural angle of an ATP takes the ball back across the court. Don’t try to go down the line — the geometry doesn’t work.
- Don’t clip the post. This is the one way an ATP can fail on you: the paddle or ball hits the post. Commit to the shot and swing through it.
The Erne
What it is
The Erne (named after a pro player, Erne Perry) is a shot where you hit a volley from outside the Kitchen — either by jumping over the Kitchen or by running around the outside of it, finishing with your feet outside the Kitchen’s side boundary. Because you’re technically not in the Kitchen at the moment of contact, the Non-Volley Zone rule doesn’t apply, and you can volley a ball that would normally be off-limits.
When it’s available
An Erne works when:
- Your opponent hits a dink that travels close to the sideline of their Kitchen (straight-ahead, not cross-court).
- You’re at the Kitchen line and your opponent is not expecting you to jump.
- You have the athleticism to either jump or run around the Kitchen without losing balance.
The setup is usually a predictable down-the-line dink from an opponent who isn’t watching your movement. Savvy players will hit their dinks cross-court specifically to prevent Ernes.
How to hit one (the jumping version)
- Start at the Kitchen line, directly across from where the opponent is about to hit.
- Read the shot early. If you see them setting up for a down-the-line dink, commit.
- Jump sideways, pushing off with the foot closest to the sideline. Land with both feet outside the Kitchen’s side line.
- Make contact in the air, punching the ball down into the opponent’s court. You are volleying, so the ball must not bounce first.
- Land balanced. This is where most Ernes go wrong — players land off balance, drift into the Kitchen, and commit a fault anyway.
How to hit one (the running version)
- Instead of jumping, you start moving sideways as the opponent sets up, running around the outside of the Kitchen.
- Your feet stay on the ground the entire time, but they’re outside the Kitchen’s side line at the moment of contact.
- This is less athletic but has a better success rate for players who can’t jump reliably.
Should you actually learn these?
At the 3.0–3.5 level, both the ATP and the Erne are closer to fun challenges than core skills. You should know what they are so you can recognize one when your opponent hits one, and you should know the setups so you can prevent them (mainly: don’t dink too wide cross-court, and don’t dink straight down the sideline if an Erne-happy opponent is across from you).
At 4.0+, both shots become situational tools. The ATP is the more useful of the two because the setup is more common and the risk-reward is better. The Erne is mostly about intimidation — one successful Erne early in a match changes how the opponent dinks for the rest of the game.
At any level, they’re a reminder that pickleball is a game of geometry and rules exploits as much as it’s a game of shot-making. And they’re a lot of fun when you finally hit one.