The dink is a soft shot, usually hit from just behind the kitchen line, that drops into your opponent's non-volley zone (the kitchen). Opponents can't volley while standing in the kitchen, so a low dink that lands there makes them let it bounce and hit up, which keeps them from attacking. It's a touch shot: a light grip, a quiet wrist and a small lift from the shoulder and legs. From the side, the app reads your body and motion (stroke size, contact out front, knee bend and footwork), not the ball.
Set up at the line
Stand with your toes just behind the kitchen line. The lines count as part of the kitchen, and every volley must start outside it, so staying just behind the line keeps you ready to volley a ball that floats up.
close to the line, but not on it.
Take an open stance with your knees bent. Get low by bending your knees, not by folding at the waist. Bending at the waist tips your head and eyes forward and makes it harder to move side to side.
low through your legs, chest fairly upright.
Use a continental grip and hold it lightly, about 2 on a 1 to 10 scale (10 = as tight as you can squeeze). A continental grip makes it easy to open the paddle face for net clearance.
the paddle held, not squeezed.
Keep the paddle in front of your body at all times. Don't let it drift off to the side or behind you between shots.
paddle out front, where you can see it.
Short motion from the shoulder
Keep your wrist still and make the stroke by lifting from your shoulder. Flicking the wrist is a common cause of popped-up dinks on both the forehand and the backhand.
the arm and paddle move as one piece from the shoulder.
Keep the swing small and compact, with your arm fairly straight through the stroke. Less is more: don't bend the elbow mid-stroke to add a swing.
a short, gentle push, not a hit.
Contact out front, lift
Make contact out in front of your body, with the paddle face angled up so the ball lifts over the net.
you meet the ball in front, face open.
Use your knee bend to get under the ball and push up gently with your legs, keeping the wrist firm. The softer the dink, the more likely it lands in the kitchen and the harder it is to attack.
the legs do the lifting, the hands stay quiet.
Aim to land the ball in your opponent's kitchen, and vary where. Mix forehand and backhand, middle and wide, so your opponent can't settle into a rhythm.
every dink has a target.
Move your feet, stay balanced
Move your feet to get behind the ball. Stay on your toes. Reaching wide, or letting the ball get behind you, forces you to use your wrist.
the body arrives first, then the paddle.
Side-step along the line and keep contact out in front. Don't cross your feet on the forehand side: it pulls your dominant shoulder back and costs reach. A crossover step is only for very wide backhand dinks.
small side steps, shoulders still facing the net.
If you step into the kitchen to dink a ball that bounced there, get both feet back out before you volley. Volleying before both feet are fully outside the kitchen is a fault.
step in, hit, step back out.
Feel it
A light grip, a quiet wrist and a small lift from the shoulder and legs. The ball leaves the paddle softly, clears the net and drops into the kitchen. You stay low through your knees and move your feet so every dink is hit out in front. Falls are the most common way pickleball injuries happen, so side-step to the ball; don't lunge or dive for a dink.
Fix-its
- Your dinks pop up Stop flicking the wrist. Lock it and make the stroke by lifting from the shoulder.
- You hit too hard and the ball lands past the kitchen Loosen your grip to about 2 out of 10 and keep the swing small. Less is more.
- You reach wide or let the ball get behind you Move your feet earlier and get behind the ball, so you can hit it out in front with a compact shoulder stroke.
- You get low by bending at the waist Bend your knees instead and keep your chest up. You'll see the ball better and move sideways faster.
- Your elbow bends or the paddle drifts away from your body Keep the arm fairly straight through the stroke and the paddle in front of you.
Drill
- Dinking targets: stand opposite a partner, both just behind the kitchen line, and rally softly so every ball lands in the kitchen. Put markers just inside the kitchen to aim at. Keep a continental grip, a still wrist and use your knee bend.
- Dink doubles game: each player starts just behind the kitchen line and plays points using only dinks, which must bounce before the line. First to 10 points.
- Dink on the move: start on the sideline opposite your partner and dink while you both side-step to the other sideline and back. Count how many crossings you make without a miss; if someone has to volley, start the count over.
- Film from the side: check that you get low by bending your knees more than your waist, that your hand travels only a short distance on each dink, and that contact is in front of your body.
Sources
- USA Pickleball — How to Dink and Why It's Important For Your Success in Pickleball (2024)
- USA Pickleball — Tips on How to Not Pop Up Your Dinks (2024)
- USA Pickleball — 2026 Official Rulebook (3.A.4.c, 11.A)
- Pickleball Global — Drill Eight: The Dink (2021)
- Pickleball Global — Drill Fourteen: Dink Control (2021)
- The Dink — Stop Getting Jammed by Shots at Your Feet in Pickleball (2026)
- Weiss, Dougherty & DiMaggio — Non-fatal senior pickleball and tennis-related injuries treated in US emergency departments, 2010–2019, Injury Epidemiology (2021)
Last checked 2026-10-26.