Dinking Depth at the Kitchen 💪

Dinking in the kitchen is one of the most important skills in pickleball. You do not want to be popping up dinks and giving your opponent opportunities to attack. Having said that, there are some situations where dinking a foot or two behind the kitchen line can be beneficial.

If you opponent is standing off of the kitchen line, it can be a smart play to hit sharper and deeper dinks. Your goal should be to hit the ball at the feet of your opponent. This gives them a harder shot to deal with, while also keeping them back behind the line. If you are giving them a dead dink in the kitchen, it is easy for them to get back into the kitchen.

This means that you also need to be looking at where your opponent is on the court. As you are hitting the ball, try to see where their positioning is. If they are leaning in and on the kitchen line, now is the time to hit shorter in the kitchen. If they are a few feet off of the line, it a more aggressive and topspin dink.

ATP Defense😎

Defending an ATP might be one of the hardest shots to execute at a high level in pickleball. Having said that, it may be one of the simplest shots when it comes to the actual motion. It is important to keep the motion extremely small. An ATP usually comes at a very fast speed. This means that you can use the power that your opponent is giving you in order to get the ball back over the net. Keep the paddle in front of your body and have a firm arm and wrist.

Placement is also key for this shot. The safest place to put this ball is right back in the middle of the court. The person who hit the shot will not be able to get back in time to hit the ball. You also want to make sure that you are keeping the ball low. The higher you hit this shot, the more likely the other team will be able to put the ball away.

The last key is to recognize early that there is a possibility of an ATP. It is important to get as far back as you can before the shot is hit. This will give you more time to defend.

Backhand Slice Dinks 🔥

When looking at the footwork for hitting slice dinks, notice how the outside foot is always the first to move. We are never crossing our feet over one another. This is because we want our chest to be open to the court in case of an attack. If we are constantly crossing our feet over one another, it will take more time to get back to the ready position.

The actual motion of the slice itself is also not very big. You can see we are keeping the paddle in front the entire time; there is no big backswing. We also lean down with our dominant shoulder as we hit the ball. At the same time, as we hit, it is important to be smooth as you swing through the ball. Players below the 5.0 level often jerk up as they hit the ball. You want to imagine you are hitting the ball at a constant speed and consistently every single time.

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