Mastering Two-Handed Backhand Dinks Pickleball Perfection
Learn the essential techniques and strategies for executing effective two-handed backhand dinks, including proper footwork patterns and expert tips for speeding up the ball. This guide breaks down advanced concepts like open stance positioning and anticipation methods to elevate your pickleball game.
TL;DR
Master the two-handed backhand dink with proper footwork, paddle grip, and anticipation. Open stance allows better court coverage. When speeding up off the bounce, visualize opponent as a wall to anticipate ball trajectory. Speed up heavy then recover to center ready for the next shot. For line speedups, slide middle with backhand. For cross-court speedups, open with forehand anticipating a triangle effect.
Key Points on Two-Handed Backhand Dink
Footwork and Body Position
- Adopt an open stance with feet at a 45° angle, rather than closing feet. This allows better movement and preparation for the next shot.
You want your feet to make a line where you… you agree with that? Yeah, cuz I see like uh Ignat… he kind of hits it like this sometimes [closed stance ]. Yep, so you do agree being completely sideways, that’s kind of vital, right? Yeah, yeah, like a 45° angle, right, is way better than closing your feet.
- Keep your chest facing the net as much as possible. A closed stance with chest facing the sideline is inefficient.
Grip and Paddle
- Use two fingers on the back of the paddle grip for more control (personal preference). One finger is more common.
- Extended paddles allow more “pronation” by pulling the paddle back further.
- With two fingers on a standard paddle, you can still pronate sufficiently without losing much compared to an extended paddle.
Speeding Up off the Bounce
Reading Bounce Height
- Look at the bounce height relative to your knee/hip to determine if it’s a speed-up opportunity.
If it’s obviously like upper thigh and off the bounce, then that’s a ball that I need to speed up.
Line vs Crosscourt
- Test the waters by speeding up down the middle first.
- Observe opponent’s sliding pattern to determine if the line or crosscourt is more open.
If I hit that ball and they slide middle with the backhand, right, then that’s going to tell me a little bit different of a sign than if they open with a forehand.
After Speed-Up
- Hit the speed-up shot heavy, pushing back to center and preparing for the next ball.
- Don’t expect the speed-up to be an outright winner. View it as a setup shot.
You’re on the next ball like heavy and hard. You’re not speeding up and like expecting a winner.
Triangle Effect
- Visualize your opponent as a wall - the ball will rebound off at the same angle it came from.
- If speeding up down the line, the ball will likely come straight back.
- If speeding up crosscourt, slide to cover the “triangle” area where the ball will rebound.
If I speed up line, the ball is going to come back straight back line like that… If you speed up cross like that, where is the ball going to come? Here, to here, is that correct? Yep, spot on.
The key actionable takeaways are: 1) For the two-handed backhand dink, have an open stance with shoulders square to the net and feet staggered, not closed off. 2) Hold the paddle with 1-2 fingers on the bottom for maximum control and pronation. 3) After speeding up a dink, get immediately ready for the next shot by anticipating where it will likely come based on angles and using the “wall” concept. 4) When speeding up down the line, be ready to cover the line with your forehand or pivot to the middle. When speeding up cross-court, cover the middle area with your forehand. Proper positioning and anticipation after the speed up are crucial.