You've seen it at open play: one player drives hard from the baseline over and over, while another player just patiently dinks until their opponent makes an error. The dink player wins almost every time.
The dink is the shot that defines pickleball at the intermediate and advanced level. Here's everything you need to know.
What Is a Dink?
A dink is a soft, arcing shot hit from near the kitchen line that lands in the opponent's non-volley zone. The goal isn't power — it's placement, consistency, and patience. You're trying to force your opponent into an uncomfortable position or an error, not blow the ball past them.
At high levels, dinking battles can last 20+ shots before one player creates an opening.
Why the Dink Wins Matches
When you're at the kitchen line exchanging dinks, neither player can attack easily — the ball is low, bouncing inside the NVZ, and volleying it aggressively from that angle produces errors or weak shots. The player who breaks first by popping the ball up is the one who gets punished.
Patience wins dinking battles. The player who can sustain soft, low, accurate dinks the longest forces the error.
The Technique
Grip: Loosen your grip. Most beginners death-grip the paddle on dinks, which creates tense, stiff shots that fly long. Aim for a 3–4 on a 1–10 grip pressure scale.
Stance: Bend your knees and stay low. The dink is hit from below the net height — you need your body low to control the arc.
Contact point: Hit the ball in front of your body, making contact when the ball is between knee and hip height for best control.
Follow through: A short, controlled follow-through. This isn't a full swing — think of it as a push with arc, not a hit.
Reset when you pop it up: If your dink rises above net height, reset mentally and be ready — your opponent will attack it.
Drills to Build Your Dink Game
Cross-court dink rally: With a partner at the opposite kitchen corner, simply sustain a cross-court dink rally as long as possible. The cross-court angle gives you the most net clearance and is the highest-percentage dink.
Target practice: Place a cone or water bottle near the kitchen line and practice placing your dinks on or near it consistently.
Pressure dinking: Have your partner move around and mix up their dinks — speed, angle, depth — while you focus purely on returning each one softly and accurately.
Paddles for Dink-Heavy Play
If you play a touch-heavy, control-oriented game, you want a lighter paddle with a softer feel. The Selkirk SLK Halo and the Joola Ben Johns Hyperion are both excellent for players who dink a lot — both offer excellent touch and feedback through the paddle face.
Heavy, stiff paddles designed for power drives can actually work against you in the soft game — they transmit too much energy into a shot you want to deaden.
Master the dink. It's the shot that separates the players who just hit hard from the players who actually win.