Kitchen Control: Three Spaces, Tier List, Ones & Twos
Summary
Jordan Briones teaches a kitchen framework: dinks set up attackable balls — keep them low and move opponents before speeding into strong counters. Use the three spaces (sideline gaps + middle between players); highest-percentage targets are usually cross-court and the moving middle, not the tight down-the-line gap.
Dinking tier list: volley first (take time away), apex second, short-hop third. Ones-and-twos: when balanced, the “one” is the cross-court corner dink to pull them wide; the “two” attacks the middle once they’re stretched. Slide with your partner to cover middle vs line.
Key takeaways
- Dink to set up — don’t speed into elite counters early
- Prefer cross-court + moving middle over skinny down-the-line
- Tier: volley dink → apex → short-hop; ones = corner, twos = middle
Action items
- Play one game using only cross-court and middle dink targets
- Call “one” or “two” before each attackable ball