NEUTRALIZE aggressive opponents in 1 minute ⏰

Learn where to place dinks when on defense!

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Hot Take 🔥

Rec players dink too aggressively

The average player at my clinics hits their dinks too hard. It’s often tough for me to critique, especially because a lot of these dinks generate errors from the opponent, but as you get better you’ll start paying the price. As you start playing against players who are more comfortable dinking out of the air, they are going to use that power against you to start taking control. Not to mention if you hit the dink a little too high with that sort of pace, you’re in immediate trouble. 

I see dinks being hit too hard particularly when hit out of the air. I think part of it is a recognization problem, where a player realizes too late that they need to volley it and they jolt their paddle to it too quickly. Here’s two tips that will help with this. First, remember that the ball has more energy, because it hasn’t bounced yet. It wants to go quicker, so it doesn’t require any back swing on your end. Second, extend the follow through a little bit. When you do this, you extend the point of contact ever so slightly, giving you more control. Hitting a dink out of the air should always be your first option rather than letting it bounce and retreating back.

Don’t take this the wrong way, you DEFINITELY want to be looking to take control of the kitchen. But don’t forget that the best dink is always LOW, it’s not always that HARD. You can generate errors and pop ups by consistently penetrating the kitchen line, you don’t need to kick it up to fifth gear until you sense a legitimate opportunity.

DOMINATE at the kitchen in 1 minute ⏰

Control the kitchen line! 💪

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Featured Pro Tip: Ava Ignatowich

Drops or Drives by Ava ⬇️

Hey guys! For this tip I’m going to talk about the decision between 3rd shot drops and drives. The first point I’ll make is: everyone is different, and you should play to your own strengths. As a tennis player, I feel more comfortable driving from the back, so you’ll see a higher percentage of 3rd shot drives, which is fine! The only goal is to get to the kitchen - it will look different for everyone. That being said, there are some general guidelines worth following to make it easier on yourself.

First, if the ball is high enough, I’m going to drive it every single time. For me it’s a little above the waist. This height allows me to hit through the ball linearly so it never really has to travel upwards.

If the return is hard and deep, I will also likely hit a drive. Especially if I’m on my back foot, it’s too difficult to hit the perfect drop consistently. It’s easier to hit a drive in this situation for almost everyone.

Now if the ball is below my waist level and not too deep, this is the tough decision. A lot of times it will depend on how I’m feeling personally, the situation of a match (maybe I won’t go for the perfect drop after my partner just missed a serve), or the quality of the person returning. If you’re confident in your drop, then go for it. If you think you can get an easier drop on the 5th shot by hitting a drive, then go for it. It really doesn’t matter as long as you’re committed to your shot early enough.

Last note: if the return is really short and low, drop it every time. You don’t have enough room to hit a drive hard, low, and in. A lot of people think this is an opportunity to attack, but you’re going to be initiating speed from a low position in the mid court, which is not ideal. Your already close to the kitchen at this point, so just drop it and look to win the point from there

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