Strategy Course Day seven

Dominate the Dinking Battle

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Good drops often lead to dinking battles. A dink is a neutralizing shot. The primary goal is to avoid trouble. The dink should be low and slow. To stay out of trouble, you need to force your opponent into an upward hit. A short backswing with a forward impact point and stable paddle face make for a good dink. 
But it is time to get beyond the basics. As pickleball advances, the dink is quickly becoming more than a neutralizing shot. Use spin, speed, and direction to hit offensive dinks. The goal of offensive dinks are to strategically move the other team around in order to set yourself up for a winning shot. By moving a team around, it becomes more difficult for them to hit with control, setting you up for a downward hit. 

Dinking Strategy:

Hit on the rise or volley - You will give your opponents less time to recover, forcing them to hit low quality shots. 
Hit with spin - You can add pace and unpredictability to the bounce, making it tougher for the opposing team to handle. Top spin dinks, most common on the forehand, cause the ball to bounce toward the opponent faster. Create topspin with a low-to-high swing path and neutral paddle face. Backspin can cause the ball to skid on landing, making it harder for your opponent to read the ball. Create backspin by opening the paddle face and coming under the ball. 

Key Technical Skills:

The skills vary based on what your opponents give you. Be flexible and ready to move them around the court.

The priority of the dink is to avoid trouble, but by adding speed, spin, and direction, you can make it more likely that your opponents will hand you a ball that you can put away.