Anyone who has played pickleball for a length of time knows the importance of good dinking — it can help you set up an attack or slow down the game when you’re on the defense.
There are two types of dinking that every good pickleball player should be able to execute: aggressive and defensive dinking.
Aggressive vs. defensive dinks
Aggressive dinks tend to be those that are sent with pace crosscourt, while defensive dinks are sent gently straight forward or down the line.
Dinks cross-court are considered more aggressive because they allow you more time, and you have a larger margin for error when attacking. Crosscourt dinks allow you to build the point by moving your opponent around to force an error.
If you feel uncomfortable or on the defensive while dinking, hit the ball straight ahead. When you do so, make sure it’s a little higher above the net and shallow toward the net because it slows the game down and gives you enough time to get comfortably back into position.
Where are offensive dinks placed on the pickleball court?
Imagine the kitchen is cut in half horizontally. The half closest to the net is the defensive zone, while the half closest to the kitchen line is the aggressive zone.
When an opponent is putting pressure on you, whether through volleys or aggressive dinks, you want to return your dinks to the defensive zone. This will force your opponent to back off the attack. If your opponent tries to hit a ball sent to their defensive zone hard, it will likely go into the net or off the court.
When you successfully place a ball into your opponent’s defensive zone, you have officially reset the point, making it possible for you to be more aggressive.
As you begin to hit your next shots, aim for the aggressive zone. You can take the ball out of the air or hit aggressive dinks off the bounce.
The goal here is to cause your opponents to make an error. By pushing the ball deep to the kitchen line, you often force your opponent to break their normal ready stance or bend low to reach the ball. As you pull them out of position, you cause them to pop the ball up or create openings on the court to attack.
Transforming a defensive shot into an offensive weapon
Although the dink is often thought of as a defensive shot, it can be used as an offensive weapon to apply pressure to your opponents.
This is achieved by one simple trick: Aiming at your opponent's feet. This forces your opponent into awkward defensive positions, such as backpedaling, short hops, or reaching to take the ball out of the air.
Practice aggressive and defensive dinks with the figure eight drill
To effectively practice aggressive and defensive dinks, it’s best to drill in a group of four with the figure eight drill.
To start, have two people on each side of the court at the kitchen line. One side should only hit straight-forward dinks, while the other side will only hit crosscourt dinks. So the pattern should be the following:
- Player 1 dinks the ball crosscourt to the person there (Player 2)
- Player 2 dinks straight at the person in front of them (Player 3)
- Player 3 dinks crosscourt to the person there (Player 4)
- Player 4 dinks straight at the person in front of them (Player 1)
The goal of the drill is to maintain consistency, but you can play the ball off the bounce or out of the air. Aim for as high a rally as possible before switching roles, either by moving to different court positions or trading which teams are hitting aggressive dinks.
Make sure you are holding each other accountable. The aggressive dinks should challenge the defensive players, and the defensive dinks should allow the defensive players time to reset.
