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Run to the non-volley line — YES — but where should you stand?

1/17/2015

If you've played much pickleball, you know it's important to move up to the non-volley zone (NVZ) line as soon as it's safe to do so--that is, when you believe you'll have enough time to get to the NVZ line and not be caught in midcourt with a ball aimed at your feet or a drive headed to the backcourt that you won't be able to reach.

If you don't know why you should move up (other than everyone says so), here's a quick explanation. (The rest of you may skip ahead.) In the picture on the left, the diagonal lines leading from John's paddle to the outer extremes of the backcourt show the maximum possible trajectory of a hard drive John might make.

In the example above, John served to Mary, who returned a deep shot down the middle. John is about to return the ball. As shown by the lines with arrowheads, if John hits a hard drive to Mary at the baseline, she must guard all 10 feet on her side of the court. If John tries to send a long drive past Sue at the NVZ line, she must only guard 7-1/2 feet on the inside of her court. Why? Because John can't aim any wider on a drive shot and keep the ball in bounds. (We'll talk about what happens if John hits a soft shot later on.)

What this means is that you shouldn't necessarily stand in the center of your court at the non-volley zone line. Let's concentrate on Sue in the picture above. She's standing where she can reach the drive shots most easily: smack in the center of that 7-1/2 feet. (If Sue were right-handed instead of left and her backhand was weaker, she might move a little to the left.)

Now, what happens if John hits a drop shot — a softer shot that lands just over the net — to Sue and it lands way over on the right inside the NVZ? It's not a problem, because the shot is much slower and Sue will have plenty of time to get to it from her position.

Now let's say Sue returns the ball to the far outside corner of John's court before he can move up. As shown on the left, the possible trajectory of a drive shot from John has changed. Consequently, both Mary and Sue move to the right, still covering about 7-1/2 feet each. If John returns a soft shot to Mary's left, she'll have time to move and get it.

When you're playing a soft game — dinking back and forth across the net — the best position is shown by Sue, above. Because she's left-handed, she's standing slightly to the right of center. This allows her to move left to cover the center and also reach more easily with her backhand a diagonal dink toward the outside.

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When and How to Dink

1/10/2015

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One thing you see a lot when watching high-level players that is often missing from other games is the soft game--all that crosscourt dinking at the net. Beginning players tend to avoid the dink, preferring to hit more hard shots, and that's one of the reasons their balls end up in the net or out of bounds more often.

The difficulty is knowing when and how to dink.

If you need to hit a low ball, try a dink, drop shot, or lob. What to do depends on where you are on the court. If you’re close to the non-volley zone line, dink the ball. From further back, try a drop shot that flies low and lands just over the net. If you can’t do either of those, lob the ball high, over your opponent’s head near the baseline.

If you can’t make a good offensive shot, a dink may be a good alternative, especially if your opponents are already in the forecourt. If one or both of your opponents are in the backcourt, however, especially if they are good at dinking, refrain from the dink, since this will only cause them to rush up to the net to play the ball. If your opponents are not good at dinking, or you don’t think they will be able to get to the ball from the backcourt, a dink can be a good play.

The key to good dinking is patience. You must continue to dink until a proper moment appears to execute a different, offensive shot. The best dink shots arc just over the net, landing close to the net on the other side. In doubles, it can be wise to send the dink cross-court because the ball can travel further, reducing the risk that it will travel out of the non-volley zone. Try to maneuver your opponents around the court until one of them makes a mistake, either hitting the ball into the net or high enough that you can make an offensive shot. When this occurs, volley the ball back quickly.

While dinking, it helps to let the ball travel higher before hitting it. Some people say you should hit the ball closer to the ground, citing that its faster motion assists in getting the ball over the net. However, the dink is a soft shot and doesn’t require much energy. Let the ball approach the top of its arc. At that point, you have the option of either hitting another dink or making a fast slap shot if it bounces high enough.

Dink shots have no real speed behind them, so breaking out of dinking requires that you add a little more energy to the hard swing you would normally make (when it’s time).

Don’t back up to play the dink off the bounce when it could be taken in the air. Dinking is done for two reasons: to change the pace of the game and to keep the ball in play until you can end the rally with a put-away shot. When you’re given the opportunity to make the put away, seize it.

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Run to the non-volley line — YES — but where should you stand?

When and How to Dink

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﻿Run to the non-volley line — YES — but where should you stand?

When and How to Dink

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Run to the non-volley line — YES — but where should you stand?