Level Up Your Dink: Mastering the Soft Game in PickleballI in the fast-paced world of pickleball, the dink shot is often overlooked in favour of flashy drives and powerful volleys. But seasoned players know: mastering the dink is key to controlling the non-volley zone (NVZ), dictating the pace of play, and winning more points. This seemingly simple, soft shot can become one of your most dangerous weapons when executed with precision. Ready to sharpen your touch and dominate the kitchen? Let’s dive in.
1. Build Your Foundation: Grip and Stance
Before you even think about swinging, make sure your foundation is solid.
- Grip: Use a continental grip — like you’re shaking hands with the paddle. It gives you flexibility for both underspin (essential for dinks) and topspin.
- Pressure: Keep a light grip. Squeezing too tightly reduces your touch and feel.
- Stance: Stay athletic — knees bent, weight slightly forward on the balls of your feet.
A slightly open stance towards the net improves your court vision and reaction time.
2. The Gentle Swing: Less is More
A dink isn’t about power — it’s about finesse.
- Keep your swing short and compact, mainly using your shoulder and forearm.
- Avoid big backswings or exaggerated follow-throughs that add unnecessary force.
- Think of brushing the back of the ball to create underspin. That soft backspin will help the ball dip over the net and stay low, making it tougher for opponents to attack.
3. Contact Point: Find Your Sweet Spot
Where you make contact with the ball is crucial.
- Aim to strike the ball slightly in front of your body for maximum control and precision.
- Experiment:
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- Hitting lower on the paddle face can naturally create more lift and spin.
- Hitting near the sweet spot offers a firmer, cleaner feel.
The right contact can make the difference between a floating sitter and a perfectly placed dink.
4. Height and Depth: Master the Dance
Dinking isn’t just about keeping the ball soft — it’s about keeping your opponent guessing.
- Low Dinks: The bread and butter. Keep them just over the net to force opponents into awkward, defensive shots.
- Deep Dinks: Occasionally push dinks deeper into the NVZ. It moves opponents back and opens the court — but don’t make them so deep that they can smash them.
Mixing your height and depth will make your dink game unpredictable and deadly.
5. Develop Feel: Touch Is Everything
Mastering the dink is about developing an intuitive “feel” for the ball — and it takes practice.
- Focus on how the ball reacts to different paddle pressures and swing speeds.
- Practice drills (see below) that isolate and fine-tune your touch.
The better your feel, the more confident and consistent your dinking will become.
6. Strategic Dink Placement: Play Smart, Not Hard
Once your consistency improves, start aiming your dinks with purpose:
- Cross-Court Dinks: Travel over the lowest part of the net, give you a bigger margin for error, and can pull opponents wide.
- Down-the-Line Dinks: Effective at exposing gaps or attacking a weaker side, but riskier — precision matters.
- Angle Dinks: Use a slightly open paddle face to push dinks towards the side-lines and make opponents cover more ground.
Control the court with smart placement, and you’ll control the point.
7. Patience and Consistency: Embrace the Long Game
The dink game is a test of patience and discipline.
- Stay consistent: Force your opponents to make mistakes rather than rushing to finish points.
- Resist temptation: Don’t go for a put-away too soon. A well-placed dink rally often sets up an easy winning shot.
Stay calm, stay steady — and let your opponents crack under the pressure.
Drills to Elevate Your Dink Game
- Dink Rally: Warm up by simply dinking back and forth inside the NVZ.
- Target Practice: Place cones or targets in the NVZ and aim your dinks at them.
- Third Shot Drop + Dink: Practice transitioning from a third shot drop into a dink battle — a real match scenario.
- Cross-Court vs Down-the-Line: Alternate your dinks to develop directional control and court awareness.