Cornering the Ball: The Secret to More Options at the Kitchen Line

If you’ve ever felt pinned at the kitchen line during those long, grinding dink rallies — this one’s for you. Let’s talk about a simple, powerful technique that can totally transform your soft game: cornering the ball.

Whether you're battling it out in a competitive match or just working on consistency with a partner, knowing how to properly position your body can give you limitless options during dink exchanges.

What Is "Cornering the Ball"?

Cornering the ball means getting your feet outside of the ball, almost straddling the corner of the kitchen, so your entire body is facing toward the court. This allows you to stay aggressive and deceptive while maintaining balance and control.

If you just move laterally and stay square to the kitchen, your shot options become limited — especially if you're pulled out wide. It becomes harder to hit crosscourt or recover effectively. But when you get around the outside of the ball, magic happens.

Why It Works

Here’s what happens when you corner correctly:

You gain the ability to flick the ball crosscourt, dink down the line, or push it to the middle.
You set yourself up to attack if your opponent gives you something to pounce on.
You can recover faster because you can push off your outside leg.
You make your movement more intentional, not reactive — a huge mental and physical edge.

As one player in the video put it:

“When I get my leg outside the ball, I can dink crosscourt, dink down the line, and I can also attack.”

Footwork Breakdown

On the backhand side, it’s often easier to cross over and corner.
On the forehand side, it takes more awareness. Don’t just move laterally — get around the outside of the ball.
Key tip: Make sure your outer leg is wider than the ball at contact. That’s your power base.

This technique works whether you’re slicing from the backhand or flicking from the forehand. Bonus? Players like Riley Newman do this to perfection — and we all know how effective his net game is.

Drill It In

To train this movement:

Start in the middle of the court.
Have a partner or coach feed balls to the sideline.
Your job? Get outside the ball, plant, hit, recover.
Repeat. Yes, it's a gut-buster, but worth it.

“This drill works very well on both sides... and it’ll get you sweating.”

Energy Tip (With a Wink)

One hilarious moment in the video:

“Dude, we’ve been playing for 4 hours — how do you have so much energy?”
“Uptime Energy, baby!”

Sometimes the best performances come with a little boost. (Also, shoutout to the Uptime Energy plug — it brought some laughs and flavor.)

Own the Kitchen

So next time you're in a dink battle and feeling pinned down, remember this: get your outside leg outside the ball and corner it. You’ll unlock a new world of shot-making possibilities — and you’ll recover like a pro.

Want more tips like this?

Subscribe to Zane Navratil Pickleball on YouTube and check out their other training videos. Got a specific question? Hit them up on Cameo for a custom response.