Why Targeting the Middle Wins More Pickleball Doubles Points

• Targeting the middle means aiming at the seam between your two opponents, not the painted centerline, and the seam moves as they move.
• The net sits at 34 inches in the center and 36 inches at the sidelines, so middle balls clear more easily and leave opponents fewer angles.
• The strategy comes with four drills and a short list of situations where you should send the ball somewhere else.

The Gap Between Two Opponents Is Where Doubles Points Get Won

A strategy piece published October 9 by The Dink Media Team argues that the best target in doubles is also the least flashy one. In the article’s words: “There’s no highlight clip in a ball that lands between two people. No one films it.”

The idea is simple to state. Instead of hunting for a corner or a sideline, send the ball to the space between the player on the left and the player on the right. The article calls this targeting the middle, and it treats the middle as a placement choice rather than a single shot. Drops, drives, returns, dinks, and speed-ups can all be aimed there.

The article is careful about what the word means. The middle is not the painted centerline on the court. It is the seam between the two opponents, and that seam moves as they move. If both players slide to one side, the gap slides with them, and your target slides too. The piece credits the YouTube channel Mari Humberg Pickleball for the idea.

Below is a breakdown of why the article says the middle works, which shots to send there, and the drills it recommends to build the habit. It also covers the situations where the article says to leave the middle alone.

Four Reasons the Middle Works

The article gives four reasons, and each one is a plain feature of the court or the game.

The first is net height. The USA Pickleball rulebook sets the net at 34 inches in the center and 36 inches at the sidelines. A ball that crosses the middle travels over the lowest part of the net, which gives you a little more room to clear it.

The second is margin. A miss in the middle often stays in play. A miss near a sideline can sail wide and end the point on the spot. Aiming at the seam gives your shot space on both sides before it becomes an error.

The third is angles. A ball in the middle limits the crosscourt, behind-you, and short-angle options your opponents have. When you send the ball to a sideline, you hand the other team a wide target to attack. When you send it down the middle, the angled replies mostly disappear.

The fourth is decision pressure. Two players have to decide who takes the ball, and that choice can cause hesitation. The article puts the whole concept in one line: “The middle doesn’t beat your opponents with a better shot. It beats them with a worse decision.” The ball does not need to be hard or tricky. It needs to arrive where two people each have a reason to think the other one should hit it.

Five Shots to Aim at the Seam

The article walks through five places in a rally where the middle is a good target.

• Third shot drop: The article cites USA Pickleball guidance that the middle offers the lowest net, the longest landing area, and a chance for opponents to hesitate.
• Drive: A drive aimed at a hip near the middle can jam opponents.
• Deep return: Deep returns cut off the receiving team’s angles and can strand a team that is stacking.
• Middle dink: Dinks to the middle pull both opponents toward the center, which opens both sidelines.
• Speed-up: After two or three middle dinks, speed up through the seam those dinks created. The article calls this the 1-2 trap.

The last two work as a pair. The middle dinks move your opponents toward each other, and the speed-up uses the space between them. The sequence is a good example of how the article wants the middle to function: as a pattern you build over several shots rather than a single lucky ball.

Aim at the Backhand Side of the Middle

The article adds one refinement. Within the middle, aim at the backhand side. In a righty-righty matchup, that is the left player’s backhand. The reasoning is that the target combines a seam with a likely weakness, so the player who has to take the ball is also the player more likely to struggle with it.

A related note on coverage: the most common convention is that the forehand player in the middle takes the ball while the partner covers the line. The article says teams can also use the X-rule or another system. Whichever system a team picks, the piece says to decide it before the match so that nobody hesitates when the ball arrives.

Four Drills to Build the Habit

The article closes its instruction with four drills. Each one gives a simple way to count results.

• Cone the seam: Place a cone two feet left of the centerline at the kitchen line. Hit 30 third shot drops at it and count how many you make.
• Middle-only dink games: Play to 11, and treat crosscourt dinks as dead balls. The rule forces both players to keep the ball in the middle.
• Two-and-go: Hit two middle dinks, then speed up middle. Your partner watches whether the opponents’ paddles drift inward.
• Return targets: Hit 10 deep returns to the middle third, then 10 to the sideline. Compare how many weak returns each target produces.

The two-and-go drill gives your partner a job, which is useful when you practice with someone. Their task is to watch the opposing paddles. If the paddles drift inward after two middle dinks, the pattern is working. The return drill is a direct test of the article’s claim, as it lets you compare the middle against the sideline with your own numbers.

When Not to Target the Middle

The article does not treat the middle as an automatic answer. It lists three situations where you should look elsewhere.

• Against a team with a dominant center forehand, so you would feed their best shot.
• Against lefty-righty pairings, where the middle can be two forehands, which changes the premise of the strategy.
• Against opponents at the kitchen with their hands up, where a floaty middle ball is an easy attack. In that case the article says to go wide or behind them instead.

The article also names a warning sign. If the opponents’ paddles are already touching in the center, stop sending the ball there. The suggested fix is to go wide twice so the two players separate.

What This Means for Your Next Session

The article’s key takeaways fit in a few lines. Middle means the seam between opponents, not the centerline. The net is 34 inches in the center and 36 inches at the sidelines. Middle balls reduce angles and force a decision. The best targets are third shot drops, deep returns, kitchen dinks, and speed-ups. Aim at the backhand side, and avoid the middle against lefty-righty teams or a strong center forehand.

For a recreational player, the practical step is to pick one drill and run it. The cone drill needs only a cone, a basket of balls, and a count of 30. The dink game to 11 needs a partner and one rule. Both give you a number you can track from one session to the next.

The article is also a reminder to read the court before choosing a target. The seam is not fixed, so the player who checks where the opponents stand before each shot has a better target than the player who aims at a spot on the court. If the paddles are far apart, the middle is open. If they are touching, go wide.

Placement does not require a faster swing or a new paddle. It requires a choice about where the ball should land, and the article says the middle is a choice that gives you a lower net, more margin, fewer angles for your opponents, and a decision they have to make in a hurry. Try the cone drill at your next practice, count your makes, and see whether the seam works for you.

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