What Is an Erne in Pickleball? The Shot, the Rules and How to Hit One
By José Cabrera · October 6, 2026 · 7 min read
An Erne is a volley hit by a player standing outside the sideline next to the kitchen, having jumped over the kitchen corner or stepped around it. It is legal as long as the player does not touch the kitchen or its line before or while hitting the ball. It is named after Erne Perry, who made the shot famous, and it punishes dinks hit down the line.
The Erne is the shot that makes new players ask whether something is even legal. A player standing next to the net, outside the court, reaches in and puts away a dink you thought was safe. It looks like a kitchen violation. It is not.
Here is what an Erne is, where the name comes from, the exact rules that make it legal, how to hit one and how to defend against it.
What an Erne is
An Erne is a volley hit by a player who has moved outside the sideline, next to the kitchen, usually by jumping over the corner of the kitchen or by stepping around it. From there, the player is right beside the net but not in the non-volley zone, so they can volley the ball close to the net.
The typical scenario: the opponents are dinking down the line, near the sideline. The Erne player reads it, moves out wide around the kitchen corner and volleys the ball before it bounces, often straight down at the opponent's feet or into the open court.
Where the name comes from
The shot is named after Erne Perry, a player known for using it in competitive play in the early days of the modern game. It is one of the few shots in any sport named after an individual recreational-level innovator. The rest of the sport's strange vocabulary is in pickleball terms and slang.
Why the Erne is legal
The kitchen rule says you cannot volley while touching the non-volley zone, including its lines, and your momentum after a volley cannot carry you into it.
The key word is zone. The kitchen is the area inside the court between the net and the kitchen line. It does not extend outside the sidelines. So a player standing outside the sideline, next to the net, is not in the kitchen, and can volley legally.
The rules that make an Erne legal or illegal:
- You cannot touch the kitchen or its lines while volleying. That includes the sideline where it borders the kitchen.
- Your momentum cannot carry you into the kitchen after the volley. If you land in the kitchen after hitting, it is a fault.
- If you jump from outside the court, you may land outside the court and it is legal.
- If you walked through the kitchen to get there, you must establish both feet on the ground outside the kitchen before you volley.
The kitchen rule in full, including what counts as momentum, is in the kitchen rule explained.
The two ways to get there
The jump Erne. The player jumps diagonally over the corner of the kitchen, from inside the court to outside the sideline, and volleys in the air or right after landing outside. The most spectacular version and the hardest to time.
The walk-around Erne. The player moves out wide, around the corner of the kitchen, and plants both feet outside the court near the net before the ball arrives. Less dramatic, easier to execute and just as effective. Players who move early often set up this way.
How to hit an Erne
1. Read the down-the-line dink
The Erne works against dinks hit straight, near the sideline, on your side. If the opponent in front of you keeps dinking down the line, the Erne is available.
2. Move early, but not too early
Start moving as the opponent prepares to hit. Move too early and they will see it and hit behind you. Too late and you will not get there.
3. Keep your feet out of the kitchen
Jump over the corner or step around it. Watch the sideline: touching the kitchen part of it is a fault.
4. Volley down
Contact the ball early and hit it down, at the opponent's feet or into the open space behind them. An Erne is a putaway, not a rally shot.
5. Recover
After the shot, get back into the court quickly. If the ball comes back, you are out of position.
How to defend against an Erne
Stop dinking predictably down the line. The Erne needs a target. Mix crosscourt and middle dinks.
Watch the opponent's feet. Players setting up an Erne drift toward the sideline. When you see it, dink crosscourt or behind them.
Keep dinks low and short. A dink that sits up near the net is exactly what the Erne player wants.
Punish the early move. If they commit to the sideline early, the middle and crosscourt are wide open.
Erne vs ATP
The two flashy shots get confused.
An Erne is a volley hit from outside the sideline near the net, usually against a dink down the line.
An ATP, around the post, is a shot hit around the net post instead of over the net, usually off a bounce after being pulled wide by a sharp angle. It does not have to clear the net height. It is covered in around the post in pickleball.
Both are legal, both are rare at rec level, and both get a reaction from everyone on the next court.
Should you try the Erne?
At 3.0 and below, not often. Your time is better spent on dinks, drops and staying out of the kitchen. At 3.5 and above, it is worth learning, because even the threat of an Erne makes opponents stop dinking down the line, which opens up the rest of the court.
Practice it slowly in drills first, with a partner feeding down-the-line dinks. Then try it in casual games, where a missed Erne costs nothing but a little pride.
A drill to learn it safely
Set up with a partner at the kitchen line. They dink down your sideline, slowly, every time. You practice only the footwork first: step around the kitchen corner, plant both feet outside the court, and catch the ball with your paddle instead of hitting it. Then add a soft volley. Only when the footwork is automatic, add the jump version. Most players who try the jump Erne cold, in a real game, land on the kitchen line.
Common mistakes
Touching the kitchen line with a toe. The most common way an Erne becomes a fault.
Landing in the kitchen after the volley. Momentum counts.
Going for it on a crosscourt dink. The geometry does not work; the ball is too far away.
Moving so early that the opponent simply hits behind you.
The short version
An Erne is a legal volley hit from outside the sideline next to the kitchen, reached by jumping over the kitchen corner or walking around it. You cannot touch the kitchen or its line, and your momentum cannot carry you into it. Named after Erne Perry, it punishes down-the-line dinks. Defend it by mixing your dinks and watching for players drifting wide.
If you are the player at your court who argues about whether it was legal, you now know it was. The Rules Lawyer collection has a shirt or two for people who enjoy that argument, including a t-shirt for anyone who has ever called a ball from two courts away.
Common questions
- What is an Erne in pickleball?
- A volley hit from outside the court, next to the kitchen, by a player who jumped over the corner of the kitchen or walked around it. It lets the player hit the ball very close to the net without breaking the kitchen rule.
- Is the Erne legal?
- Yes, as long as the player never touches the kitchen or its line during the volley. Jumping over the corner and landing outside the court is legal, and so is walking through the kitchen beforehand if both feet are re-established outside it before the volley.
- Who is the Erne named after?
- Erne Perry, a player known for using the shot in the early days of competitive pickleball.
- What is the difference between an Erne and an ATP?
- An Erne is a volley hit from outside the sideline near the net. An around the post, or ATP, is a shot hit around the net post instead of over the net, usually off a bounce from a wide angle.
- How do you stop an Erne?
- Avoid predictable dinks down the line to the player on that side, dink crosscourt or to the middle, and watch for the player drifting toward the sideline. If they commit early, hit behind them.
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