Dinks: Keep 'em Low and Slow

The dink is a soft defensive shot that tightly hugs the net cord as it floats to the other side and consistently lands inside or near the kitchen. If done well, this tactic neutralizes the other team’s attempts to go on the offensive. Dinks are hit in a series to coax a mistake from the opposing team, so having the ability and the resilience to hit as many as it takes to turn the tide is key.

• If the shot is hit off the bounce close to the NVZ and aimed short in or near the kitchen, it’s a dink.
• If the ball is struck softly near the kitchen line before the bounce, it is also considered a dink.

The main priority is to keep the exchanges low over the net. You want to prevent the pickleball from popping up off your paddle and flying high over the net, all while waiting for the opposing team to exactly what you are trying to avoid: errantly popping one up.

Whether it takes two or 20 dinks, the strategy is deployed until someone produces a ball sits up high enough to be put away. This does require patience and skill to be effective.

• Mindset: Once you get to the kitchen line, try to think of it as the being the start of the point and not the end.
• Swing type and paddle position: Minimal backswing and follow through, keep the paddle in front of the body and eyes, with the handle held around the waist height.
• Grip pressure: Maybe a 3 or 4 out of 10 in terms of a light squeeze on the handle. Soft hands are ideal for absorbing ball pace and changing the direction of the rally.
• Footwork and positioning: It’s ideal to get close to the kitchen and use the universal athletic position (a slight bend at the knees and hips with the feet being slightly wider than the shoulders).
• Shoulder, arm and wrist: Think of a diving board with your shoulder being the solid foundation end, the arm mimicking the board and the wrist being like the flexible tip. The shoulder initiates and steadies the process. Next the arm is raised up and through contact of the ball. Lastly, the wrist is used to cushion the impact of the ball and for pace and directional control.

Many players warm up with some dink shots, which are typically hit in down the line. However, during point play lots of dinks are aimed cross court, so don’t forget to practice dinks on the diagonal.

Start with both players located on opposite sides of the net at the kitchen line. Each player occupies the left service area for one cross-court drill then switches to the right side service areas for the second.

You can shoot for 50 (25 each) cross-court dinks before switching to the other diagonal. The aim is to make it through the entire 50-shot dink rally without a miss, but when a shot is missed you simply go from the number of the last shot hit. Once that is mastered, you can always up the goal and aim for even 100 dinks in a row!

If you want to make a competitive game out of the drill, you can introduce some scoring. For this variation, the idea is to keep your score low instead to win. Every time you miss a dink you get a point, which is what you are trying to avoid. At the end of the 50-shot game, the player with the lowest score wins.

If you want to get surgical with your dinks, you can use tape or rubber court lines to mark off a smaller section of the kitchen for dink targeting. Set two lines parallel to the sideline of the kitchen, (maybe 3 feet inside) and play to 50 or 100.

Good pickleball players all have the ability to stay on point hitting multiple dinks until an offensive opportunity presents itself.

In closing remember to:

• Think of the dink as the beginning and not the end of a point. Be patient and diligent.
• Keep it simple and dink with purpose (not just to get it over the net)
• Position your body and both feet close to the kitchen line.
• Maintain the athletic stance during movement and avoid crossing your feet as much as possible.
• Keep the paddle in front of your body and eyes.
• Soft hands (3 to 4 out of 10) in terms of how tightly you squeeze the handle.
• Minimize your backswing and follow through (more arm raise, less wrist flick)
• Share the information to help others improve.
• Have fun!