Around-the-Post Shot in Pickleball: ATP Rules Explained

An around-the-post shot — usually shortened to ATP — is legal. The ball can travel outside the net post into the opponent’s court instead of crossing above the net.

What makes an ATP legal?

An ATP normally develops when an opponent hits a sharp cross-court dink or angle that pulls the ball beyond the sideline. Instead of trying to send the ball back over the net, the player runs outside the court and sends the return around the net post into the opponent’s court.

The ball does not have to go over the net

This is the defining feature of the shot. A normal return crosses above the net between the posts. An ATP goes around the outside of a post. Because it is not crossing the net itself, the ball can arrive in the opponent’s court from below the height of the net.

The shot still has to become a legal return. Going around the post does not excuse a ball that lands out or a separate player-contact violation.

You may leave the court to hit it

Players often assume both feet must remain inside the painted court. They do not. On an ATP chase, a player can run well outside the sideline and strike the ball from beyond the court boundary.

This is one reason ATPs are possible: the ball’s angle has pulled the rally outside the rectangle, and the player uses the surrounding playing surface to create a return path around the post.

Do not confuse ATP rules with crossing the plane of the net

An ATP and the plane-of-net rule answer different questions. The ATP rule governs the ball’s path around the net post. Plane-of-net rules govern when a player or paddle may cross the imaginary vertical plane of the net.

After legal contact, a follow-through can cross the plane subject to the rules against touching the net system, the opponent or the opponent’s court while the ball remains live.

See the full paddle and plane-of-net ruling →

The backspin exception is also different

A rare rule applies when a ball first bounces in your court and then, because of spin or wind, returns to the opponent’s side without being hit. In that situation a player can cross the plane — over, under or around the net post where the rules permit — to play the ball after it has crossed back.

That is not the ordinary ATP pattern. In a standard ATP, you are returning an angled shot around the post. In the backspin exception, the ball has already bounced on your side and then returned across the net plane on its own.

USA Pickleball has deliberately kept the ATP

Past proposals have asked USA Pickleball to eliminate around-the-post shots. The Rules Committee rejected that approach and described ATPs, including their defense, as part of the game. The 2026 rulebook reorganization gives “Ball Around Net Post” a dedicated place in Section 13.

Quick answers

Does an ATP have to go over the net?

No. It travels around the net post.

Can an ATP be below net height?

Yes. The ball does not have to clear the top tape when it travels legally around the post.

Can I run outside the court to hit an ATP?

Yes. Players can use the surrounding playing surface; the important restrictions concern the return itself and prohibited contact with the net system or opponent’s court.

Is an Erne the same as an ATP?

No. An Erne is primarily about the player’s position when volleying near the non-volley zone. An ATP describes the ball traveling around the net post.