When dinking, try to keep your body parallel to the Non-Volley Zone or Kitchen Line. If you need to reach for a dink, take a lateral step with your foot closest to the pickleball, rather than a crossover step. A crossover step will take you out of the important Pickleball Ready position, so that you will not be prepared for the next shot, and you will likely hit your dink with too much force. Again, if you need to reach for a dink, take a lateral step with your foot closest to the pickleball, strike the pickleball, and then immediately step back and get back in the Pickleball Ready position.

Also, try to keep your feet at the Non-Volley Zone or Kitchen Line. If you step back, you will expose your feet, give your opponents more court space to place dinks, and make your dinks more difficult because you will be farther from the net. You will also have a tendency to pop-up your dink too high—in other words, you will more likely hit an undesirable attackable dink. If you cannot protect your feet, take a small drop step, stay compressed, and quickly get back to Pickleball Ready at the Non-Volley Zone or Kitchen Line. Do not retreat; hold the line!

Key Takeaways:

1. Avoid crossover steps at the Non-Volley Zone or Kitchen Line. Rather, take lateral steps and quickly get back to Pickleball Ready.
2. Hold the line! Avoid taking steps back off of the Non-Volley Zone or Kitchen Line.