Pickleball Dinking Guide for Beginners

A dink is a soft shot hit from near the kitchen line that arcs just over the net and lands in the opponent's non-volley zone. Its purpose is to give the other team a ball they cannot attack, and to keep doing so until someone leaves one high enough to put away.

Dinking can look passive to new players, especially those coming from tennis. In practice it is the main way points are built once all four players reach the net.

The Purpose of the Dink

Three facts about the court explain why the dink exists:

• The net is 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches at the center.
• The non-volley zone (the kitchen) extends 7 feet from the net on each side.
• A player may not volley while touching the kitchen or its line.

Put those together and a ball that lands softly in the kitchen forces the opponent to let it bounce. A low bounce means contact happens below the top of the net, so the opponent has to hit upward. A ball hit hard and upward from that close either sails out or rises into a volley for your team. The opponent's sensible reply is another soft shot, and the dink rally begins.

You can read the exact restrictions in the kitchen rules guide. One point is worth stressing: stepping into the kitchen to hit a ball that has bounced is completely legal. You only need to be out of the zone when you volley.

Dink Mechanics

The dink is a small, quiet motion. Standard coaching points include:

Ready position

• Stand just behind the kitchen line with your feet about shoulder width apart.
• Bend your knees and keep your weight forward on the balls of your feet.
• Hold the paddle up and in front of your body, not down at your side.

Grip

Use a neutral grip, such as a continental grip, so you can hit forehands and backhands without changing your hand position. Keep the grip pressure light. Coaching sources commonly describe it as about a 3 or 4 on a scale of 10. A tight grip makes the ball jump off the paddle and fly high.

Swing

• Keep the backswing short. The paddle barely goes behind your body.
• Swing from the shoulder with a firm wrist and a stable elbow. Wrist flicks are the most common cause of pop-ups.
• Move the paddle low to high with a slightly open face, lifting the ball gently.
• Make contact in front of your body.

Footwork

• Shuffle sideways to get behind the ball instead of reaching or lunging.
• Avoid crossing your feet when you move along the line.
• After a wide ball, recover to your ready position before the next shot.
• If a dink lands short, step into the kitchen with one foot, hit it, and step back out right away.

Height

Aim for a ball that clears the net by a small margin and is dropping as it crosses. A dink does not have to skim the tape. A safe arc that lands in the kitchen is better than a risky one that clips the net.

Cross-Court vs Straight Dinks

Where you send the dink changes both the risk and the effect.

Standard advice is to learn the cross-court dink first and treat it as the default. Once it is reliable, add the straight dink and a dink to the middle so the opponents cannot settle into one pattern.

Useful targets

• The feet. A ball landing at the feet is awkward to lift.
• The backhand side. Many players have less control on a low backhand.
• Wide, then middle. A cross-court dink that pulls one opponent toward the sideline often opens a gap between the two partners for the next ball.
• Deeper in the kitchen. A dink that lands near the opponent's feet at the kitchen line is harder to handle than one that lands close to the net and bounces up.

Only go for a tighter target when you are balanced and the ball in front of you is easy. Under pressure, choose the safe cross-court dink.

Patience

The most repeated advice about dinking is to be patient. Many points at the net are lost by a player who attacks a ball that was too low. The speed-up goes into the net, flies out or gets countered.

Patience does not mean hitting the same shot forever. A purposeful dink rally has a plan:

1. Hit unattackable dinks until the opponents are forced to move.
2. Vary direction and depth to make them reach or step back.
3. Wait for the error: a ball that floats up above net height.
4. Attack that ball, usually at the feet or through the middle.

Be willing to dink for as long as the other team wants to. The side that forces the issue first is usually the side that gives up the point.

Attackable Balls: When to Speed Up

A dink rally ends when someone gets a ball they can hit down on. A simple way to judge it:

• Ball below the net at contact: not attackable. Dink again.
• Ball around net height: borderline. Attack only if you are balanced and have a clear target, such as an opponent's hip or shoulder on the paddle side.
• Ball clearly above the net: attackable. Hit down, aiming at the feet or the gap between opponents.

Your own balance matters as much as the ball's height. If you are stretched wide, leaning back or moving, the percentage play is a soft reset into the kitchen.

Dinking Drills

These standard drills need one partner and half a court.

Cross-court dinks

Both players stand at the kitchen line on diagonal corners and dink cross-court only. Aim for a rally of 10 to 20 shots without an error, then switch to the other diagonal so both forehand and backhand get work.

Straight-ahead dinks

Stand directly across from each other and dink straight. The shorter distance demands softer hands. Count consecutive shots and try to beat your best streak.

Triangle or figure eight

One player dinks only cross-court while the other dinks only straight ahead, so the ball travels in a figure eight and both players have to move. Switch roles after a few minutes.

Dink game to the kitchen

Play points using only the kitchen as the court. Any ball that lands beyond the kitchen line is out. This rewards control and placement, and it makes patience a habit.

Attack on green light

Dink cooperatively, but either player may speed up any ball that is above the net. The other player tries to block it back softly. This trains both recognizing an attackable ball and resetting after an attack.

How Dinking Fits the Bigger Picture

Dinking is what happens after both teams reach the kitchen line. Getting there is covered in the doubles strategy guide, and the shot most often used to get there from the baseline is the third shot drop, which uses the same soft lifting motion over a longer distance. If any of the vocabulary here is unfamiliar, the pickleball terms glossary defines it.