How to Master Pickleball Kitchens Like Gabriel Tardio: Gabriel Tardio is rising fast in pickleball sport, dominating with his masterful kitchen control. In just the past two months, he’s claimed three PPA gold medals, even defeating the legendary Johns brothers in three out of their last four encounters. Here’s a breakdown of how Tardio’s offensive dinking strategies can help the players take control of the kitchen and their game.
1. Recover and Hover
Tardio’s ability to control the pickleball court starts with his recovery technique. After every dink, he recovers toward the center and hovers over the kitchen line. This makes the court feel smaller for his opponents and allows him to take balls out of the air more frequently, turning defense into offense.
For right-side players like Tardio, the focus is on quick recovery toward the center, keeping the body low with bent knees for extra reach. A crucial tip: bending the knees can add up to six extra inches of reach, an essential advantage for staying offensive in the kitchen.
2. Take Balls Out of the Air
Pros, like Tardio, know when to take balls out of the air. The key is to take them only when it’s comfortable and within reach. Reaching too far results in mistakes. Instead, Tardio assesses each shot, staying within a range that allows for effective, consistent strokes.
To master this, drill with a partner or ball machine to find a comfortable range for taking balls out of the air without sacrificing precision.
3. Bait Opponents Into Speeding Up
Tardio masterfully baits his opponents into speeding up balls in awkward positions. He does this by dinking to strategic spots, like just past the kitchen line. This makes opponents feel they can speed up the ball, but often they’re out of position, allowing Tardio to counter-attack easily.
By hitting 1-2 feet past the kitchen line, the players can set up their opponents for a mistake, allowing them to win the hands battle.
4. Disguise Dinks and Speed Ups
Tardio’s dinks and speed-ups look identical, confusing opponents who can’t predict his next move. At the last moment, he either speeds up the ball or executes a standard dink, keeping his opponents on edge.
The secret here is minimizing the backswing, keeping the paddle face open for dinks, and quickly closing it for a speed-up. The smaller the difference in the shot preparation, the more unpredictable and effective the game will be.
5. Turn Defense Into Offense With Underspin
When pulled wide, Tardio turns defensive situations into offensive opportunities with underspin. By slicing his dinks, he keeps the ball low and unpredictable, forcing his opponents to return awkward, defenseless shots.
A simple technique to achieve this is by scooping under the ball with the paddle, just like scooping ice cream, pointing the paddle where the players want the ball to land.
6. Control the Point From the Middle
Unlike most right-side players, Tardio actively controls the middle of the court, often opting for forehands instead of backhands. By taking forehands in the middle, he can create better angles and keep his opponents off balance.
Hitting forehands in the middle offers more control and angles to move opponents around, keeping the pressure on throughout the rally.
7. Place Dinks in a Consistent Spot
Tardio consistently places his dinks in the same spot, usually just past the kitchen line, forcing opponents to pop the ball up. By hitting this same location repeatedly, his opponents eventually give him opportunities to speed up the ball and finish the point.
News in Brief: How to Master Pickleball Kitchens Like Gabriel Tardio
Gabriel Tardio is making waves in pickleball with his exceptional kitchen control, recently winning three PPA gold medals and defeating the Johns brothers in three of their last four matches. Key to his success is his offensive dinking strategies: recovering quickly to the center, taking balls out of the air when within reach, baiting opponents into mistakes, and disguising dinks and speed-ups.
Tardio also turns defensive plays into offense with underspin and controls the middle of the court using forehands. By consistently placing dinks just past the kitchen line, he forces opponents into errors and capitalizes on scoring opportunities.
