Hey there, it’s your coach Jordan Briones.
One of the most frustrating positions to be in during a pickleball match is feeling like you’re always the one getting attacked. You’re playing solid defense. Your dinks are consistent. But you never feel like you’re initiating offense. You’re always reacting instead of dictating.
I was working with Grayson recently on exactly this issue. His dink game is super solid. We’ve talked about that before. But he’s never really initiating, particularly off the bounce. And from my side of the net, I don’t feel a ton of pressure. I feel like I could kind of just speed up to him any time I want.
That’s a problem.
You want to make sure that you’re applying pressure on your opponents. If you feel like you’re always being attacked in matches, it’s time to flip the script. You need to start dictating the point instead of just reacting. This isn’t about swinging harder; it’s about targeting, timing, and positioning. Understanding pickleball backhand dink targets is key to making your attacks more effective and controlling the pace of the game. Here’s how to make your attacks actually work.
How to Learn to Attack First and Stop Always Reacting in Your Pickleball Rally
1. Understand Why You’re Hesitant to Speed Up
Before we jump into technique, I asked Grayson a simple question. Why don’t you speed up more?
His answer was honest. He’s not confident in his counters.
But here’s the interesting part. When I asked him what usually happens when he does a speed up, he said that his opponents counter well and then win the point. He’s not missing into the net or hitting long. He’s actually getting the ball in play. The problem is what happens after — and knowing the right pickleball backhand dink targets can make all the difference in turning those speed-ups into winning points.
This is a critical distinction. If you’re making errors on your speedups, that’s a technique issue. But if your speedups are going in and you’re losing the point on the counter, that’s a different problem entirely. And it starts with where you’re targeting and how you’re reloading after the attack.
2. Targets Are Everything — Pick Your Spots Wisely
If you’re working on speedups, know that targets are everything. Where you place the ball is actually way more important than how fast you hit it.
When I gave Grayson some dead dinks to attack, I asked him where he was aiming. He said either the shoulder or crosscourt to the back hip. Those are decent targets, and at least he wasn’t saying body, which means he knows I’m covering the middle.
But the two balls he actually won on were not at the shoulder. The first one was at the right hip low. The second one was low left side. These are two great spots to go for because your opponents are going to be stretching and reaching — perfect examples of effective pickleball backhand dink targets.
Low zone one and low zone two. These are your best targets when you’re attacking down the line to a right handed player. And here’s why. When you’re attacking that right hip zone, you’re going to the middle of the court. It’s very hard to miss. If you’re going to miss, it’s going to sail out, and that’s the only way you can miss it.
3. Slow Down, Mirror Your Setup, and Be Ready for the Return
The biggest key thing I want to talk about technique wise and swing path is this. You need to slow it down.
Most players think they need to swing harder to be more effective. But the opposite is actually true. When you slow down your swing and focus on your spot, your accuracy improves dramatically.
I had Grayson work on going to low zone one or mid zone one. Just picking his spot and committing to it without trying to blast the ball. And you know what? Focusing on these pickleball backhand dink targets made his shots way more effective.
He took a little bit of pace off, but it was still a really good spot and a really good ball. The placement did more damage than the speed ever could.
4. Create Pressure Through Threat, Not Just Action
One of the most important things you can do when working on your speedups is to mirror the setup of your topspin dink.
What I mean by that is set up the same exact way. Your footwork should be the same. The way you load into your dominant leg should be the same. Your paddle drop should be the same.
This is critical because you want to disguise your intention. If you wind up differently for a speedup versus a topspin dink, your opponent is going to read it and be ready. Focusing on proper pickleball backhand dink targets helps you commit to your spots while keeping your actions deceptive.
I had Grayson do an exercise where he would hit a topspin dink and then immediately hit a speedup. This forces you to make sure your footwork is consistent and your setup is identical. When he did this, I couldn’t tell the difference between his dink setup and his speedup setup. That’s exactly what you want.
The thing about pressure and creating pressure is that it’s not only about actually speeding up. It’s the threat of your ability to speed up that applies pressure.
If you’re watching this and you think that adding topspin dinks isn’t that important, it actually is when it comes to speedups at high levels.
When you’re hitting topspin dinks consistently, your opponent has to respect the fact that you might attack at any moment. They can’t lean in as aggressively. They can’t take as many risks. They have to stay more neutral and defensive.
That threat alone creates space and opportunities for you to either attack or control the rally with placement.
Those topspin dinks are three, four, or five times more aggressive than slice dinks. I would only try to hit a slice if I’m out of position or if the ball is behind me. If you can get your feet behind the ball, you should be rolling as many dinks as you can.
5. Anticipate Where the Ball Will Come Back
The second most important thing after your target is to reload and figure out where the ball could be coming back.
High level players and high level pros have fast hands and anticipate counters well. They anticipate it because they see these patterns all the time and understand how to exploit pickleball backhand dink targets effectively.
If you’re attacking down the line to a right handed player’s zone one, where is that ball going to come back? It’s probably going to come back to your zone one or zone two. Right near your body or slightly to your backhand side.
The reason why is that when your opponent is defending their zone one, for them to get the ball to your right shoulder or further out, they have to be really early. They have to contact the ball way out in front. Most of the time, if they’re hitting a forehand counter, their paddle face is going to be facing straight down the line or toward your body.
For them to get it toward your right side, they have to contact it extremely early or they have to adjust their paddle face in a way that’s very difficult under pressure.
That being said, you need to speed up and then immediately expect the ball to come to your zone one or zone two. I would actually recommend that you sit on your one handed backhand. You’re either going to counter with a backhand block or you’re going to sit on it right there. Very rarely are you going to attack and then have to use your two hander.
Right after your speedup, make sure you come right back to center neutral. You don’t know for sure where it’s coming, so you need to be ready to cover both sides. But the odds are heavily in favor of it coming back to your zone one or two.
6. Identify the Right Balls to Attack
Now that we know where we should attack, let’s talk about when.
The worst thing you can do is speed up on bad balls. So what kind of balls are you looking for?
A dead dink that bounces a little high. That’s the general answer. A bounce that’s typically at knee level or above — exactly the spots you want to be aware of when considering pickleball backhand dink targets.
But here’s something else to get you thinking. A ball that you have enough space for. You want the ball to rise to the apex. You want enough space to get behind it and load properly.
If your opponent hits an aggressive penetrating dink that’s staying low and pushing you back, you’re not going to be speeding that up. But if there’s a ball that sits up and you can get behind, that’s a great ball to attack.
One tendency I noticed with Grayson is that he would go right to that shovel or slice dink when he got a manageable ball. When he does that, there’s nothing for me to worry about. I know he’s not speeding up. So I’m leaning in. I’m looking to be aggressive and looking to attack.
If you can make the topspin dink, especially on balls that you can get behind, your number one option, then it becomes very difficult for your opponent to read. They don’t know if you’re rolling or attacking.
I would like to see players work harder, move their feet, and instead of going for that shovel or slice, go for something with topspin. That sets you up to attack on the next ball if it comes back weak.
Why This Matters
If you’re always the one getting attacked, it’s time to flip the script.
Start by slowing down your swing and focusing on your targets. Low zone one and low zone two are your best friends when attacking down the line.
Mirror your topspin dink setup so your opponent can’t read your intentions. Reload immediately after you attack and expect the ball to come back to your zone one or two.
Identify the right balls to attack. Dead dinks at knee level or above where you have space to get behind the ball. And use your topspin dink to create the threat of attack even when you’re not actually attacking.
Once you start doing these things, you’ll notice a shift. You’ll feel more confident initiating. Your opponents will feel more pressure. And you’ll start winning more rallies because you’re dictating instead of reacting.
See you on the courts,
Coach Jordan Briones
