Mastering the Dink in Pickleball: Tips and Techniques

Being a master in pickleball is hard. Learning the essential pickleball shots and being an expert doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a lot of patience and practice. Dink is one of the hard shots to master. It requires precision and control. Professional pickleball players like Ben Johns, Lucy Kovalova, and Kyle Yates effectively use dinks in their games to gain more advantage.

For a paddle that focuses on precision and control, check out 101 Pickleball’s Zen Control.

What is a Dink Shot?

A dink is a “must-have” soft shot intended to neutralize your opponent. It goes just over the net and lands in your opponent’s kitchen or non-volley zone (NVZ). With a dink shot, you control your opponent and force them to play the soft game with you, preventing them from hitting the ball hard. 

Cross-Court Dink

A cross-court dink is when you hit the ball diagonally towards your opponent’s kitchen. A cross-court dink gives you a wider range. When you do it across, you have limited space to hit it to and would likely land just in front of your opponent. If you hit it diagonally, the ball has more space to land nearer to the net and your opponent has to move and catch it.

With cross-court dink, you also get more advantage when it comes to height. If you do it across, you need to hit it low to be able to hit the kitchen. If you hit it diagonally, there is more room for mistakes in case you hit it a little high and it will still land on the kitchen.

Either you do it directly across your opponent or diagonally, your goal is to prevent your opponent from smashing the ball to you. It would be tough to hit the ball hard from the NVZ, anyway. The ball may end up hitting the net or out of the court.

How to Do a Dink?

1. Get in your ready position. Bend your knees, not your waist or back.
2. Hold your paddle in a continental grip.
3. Swing from your shoulder.
4. Hit the ball softly or “push” it upwards toward your opponent’s kitchen or NVZ.
5. Return to your ready position to anticipate any shots from your opponent.

Tips on Making the Dink

1. Make sure your wrist and elbow are stiff.
2. Don’t bend your wrist because it will change the direction of the paddle, which will change the direction of the ball from where you intend it to be.
3. While in the ready position, put your feet slightly apart. Stay at the ball of your feet with heels slightly up to let you reach and hit near your sides easily.
4. Practice. Practice. Practice to improve your skills. You can do it at home or in pickleball courts near you. Just search for “outdoor pickleball court near me” or “indoor pickleball court near me”. Most pickleball courts offer lessons and clinics, which are helpful especially if you’re a beginner.
5. Patience is very important with dinking. You might end up dinking a couple of times before catching your opponent off guard.
6. Choose the best control pickleball paddle like the Selkirk Invikta LUXX Control Air paddle, or the Volair pickleball paddle Mach 2. You can also use lightweight pickleball paddles like the Selkirk Vanguard Control series. You can also try 101 Pickleball’s Zen Control, a lightweight and control paddle.

Hopefully, you learned a lot about the dink shot. Now, you’re ready to try it and improve your game. Don’t forget that a dink is a soft shot so you don’t need to hit it hard or else you’ll hit the net. Hit it softly with controlled shots, and use your shoulder. A dink is difficult to master and if you don’t get it right immediately, it’s ok. It takes a lot of practice to become an expert dinker.

Don’t forget to wear proper pickleball attire to help you move around freely. Never skip warm-up before playing pickleball to avoid pickleball-related injuries like a pickleball elbow.