When you are locked in a crosscourt dink rally, and your opponent pushes you wide, staying in the point becomes a challenge. Being pulled off the court makes it difficult to recover, leaving your team vulnerable to aggressive attacks.
At intermediate levels, players are often taught to reset the ball straight down the line when under pressure. At an advanced level, that habit can get you punished.
Here is how to handle pressure during a dink rally and how to neutralize your opponents to stay in control of the point.
Understanding the dinking reset strategy
Dinking, a soft, controlled shot in pickleball, is crucial in shifting the momentum of the game. While many players use dinks to set up a point, they can also be used to reset a point, allowing you and your teammate to regain control.
When you are pulled wide during a dink battle, your initial instinct might be to dink it back crosscourt or send a flat shot down the sideline. Both of these choices carry significant risks:
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The danger of the crosscourt return: Trying to hit a crosscourt dink while running off the court is a low-percentage shot. Even if you make a decent first shot, you leave a massive gap in the middle of the court for your opponents to exploit while you try to recover.
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The danger of a flat line reset: Traditional coaching often advised hitting flat down the sideline to buy time. However, smart opponents anticipate this shot. The player straight ahead will step around the kitchen corner and execute an Ernie,, opens in a new tab smashing your return before you can recover.
The solution: Target the inside foot
Instead of giving your opponents an easy opportunity to attack, your objective under pressure should be to reset the ball toward the middle of the court, specifically targeting the inside foot of the player straight ahead of you.
This strategic adjustment works for several key reasons:
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Denies the Ernie: Hitting toward the inside foot pulls the ball away from the sideline, making it virtually impossible for your opponent to jump around the kitchen line for an attack.
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Buys time to recover: A soft reset to the inside foot neutralizes the opponent's momentum, giving you the necessary time to step back into position and regain court balance.
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Forces awkward footwork: Placing the ball near an opponent's inside foot forces them into a tight space, making it difficult for them to create an aggressive angle on their next shot.
How to practice the inside foot dink reset
To build this reaction into your muscle memory, set up a drill with three other players at the kitchen line:
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Initiate the crosscourt dink: Begin a standard crosscourt dink exchange with the player diagonal from you.
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Apply wide pressure: Have your crosscourt opponent hit an aggressive, wide dink that forces you off balance.
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Execute the reset: Rather than hitting back crosscourt, softly dink the ball to the inside foot of the player directly across from you.
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Anticipate the jump: Have the player directly across from you actively look for an Ernie attempt. Your goal is to consistently place the ball far enough toward their inside foot that they cannot step around and hit it.
