Description:
Steve Dawson
Mid-court technique is about hitting long dinks. You want to have a very short backswing, next to no follow-through, and do your best from mid-court to get the ball in the kitchen because getting to the kitchen is your ultimate goal.
Even if the ball is out of the air, you’re still going to try for the kitchen. Whether it’s hard or soft, you’re going to look for the kitchen to get yourself up there. One of the techniques you can think of if you’re in midcourt, you’re aiming for the kitchen. Whether your opponent is hitting the ball hard or soft, when the ball gets to you, you’re aiming for the kitchen. That’s a technique you want to perfect. The kitchen is the golden line you want to get to.
There’s one more technique to master from mid-court, which is one of the best places to be on the pickleball court. The technique is to kill the ball out of the air and go soft if it bounces in front of you. What this technique does is it forces your opponent into choosing. Do they want to get it to you out of the air or off the bounce? Most people don’t like the ball slammed at them. So if I hit attack shots out of the air a few times, my opponent will try to drop the ball in front of me, which is an easier shot for me to hit and dictate my next shot.