Ever feel like you’re trapped in a dink rally with no way out? This week’s Drop In shows you how to corner the ball and open up your shot options at the kitchen line.
The Concept
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Cornering means getting your outside leg past the ball so your body is squared to the court.
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If you only move laterally, you stay pinned and your shot options shrink.
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By cornering, you unlock the ability to go down the line, crosscourt, or middle—keeping your opponent guessing.
Why It Works
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Backhand: Get your outside leg wide, and suddenly you can dink, roll, or attack with more options.
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Forehand: Same principle—by straddling the corner, you can push down the line or flick crosscourt.
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Recovery: Planting and pushing off your outside leg helps you return to the middle faster.
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Bonus: It’s a great drill for conditioning—corner, hit, recover, repeat.
Pro Example
Riley Newman does this better than almost anyone—always getting that outside leg planted and giving himself three choices instead of one.
Drill It
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Start in the middle.
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Have a partner feed balls toward the sideline.
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Sprint, plant your outside leg past the ball, hit your shot, then recover quickly.
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Repeat on both forehand and backhand sides.
Takeaway
If you can consistently get your outside leg outside the ball, you’ll:
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Escape being pinned down in dink rallies.
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Create more attacking options.
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Recover to the middle quicker.
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Make your dinking game way more dangerous.