Dink Drills

Quick Look

• Five drills that build from cooperative to competitive, in the order I like to run them.
• Everything starts from a neutral continental grip, knees bent, on the toes, off hand on the paddle.
• The two target spots I aim at are both backhands of a right handed opponent: the far outside corner of the kitchen and the spot just inside the center line.
• Start cooperative. Count dinks in a row and build consistency before you make it hard.
• Drill 1 is cross court dinks. Drill 2 is straight on dinks and the figure 8. Drill 3 is the speed up off a high ball. Drill 4 is targeting the front foot.
• Finish with the kitchen game, which is the only competitive piece.
• You do not need a bucket of balls, but a feeder with a bucket makes the speed up drill much better.
• Two people is enough for all of it.

Before You Start

Grip and posture. Dinking runs off a neutral continental grip with the off hand on the paddle. Knees bent, weight on the toes, ready position the whole time. The dink is a soft shot but it is not a lazy one, and the posture you hold between balls is what lets you handle the one that comes back low or fast.

Where I aim. My targets are the backhand side of a right handed opponent. Looking at the court, that is the far right edge of the kitchen for one target, and the spot just left of the center line inside the kitchen for the other. From the opponent's point of view standing on the left side of the court, that second spot is on their right, but from where you are looking it sits toward the middle. Both spots are pulling a right hander to their backhand. Mirror all of this for a left handed opponent.

Cooperative first. In the beginning I want a bunch in a row with my partner. Consistency is the point. The competitive stuff comes at the end once the hands are warm and the pattern is grooved.

Drill 1: Cross Court Dinks

Setup. Both players start cross court from each other at the kitchen line.

How it runs. Straightforward cooperative dinking cross court, aiming at the backhand targets described above. Count them. Try to string together a long run before you start reaching for anything fancy.

Focus. Consistency and target discipline. The cross court dink is the safest dink in the game because you are hitting over the lowest part of the net and into the longest part of the court, which is exactly why it is the one you should be able to hit fifty times in a row.

Drill 2: Straight On Dinks and the Figure 8

Setup. Move so you are directly in front of each other at the kitchen line.

How it runs. Start with plain straight on dinks. Then move into the figure 8, which works the same way as the volley version of the drill. One person hits everything up the line while the other hits everything cross court. After a run, switch roles so both players get both patterns.

Focus. The figure 8 is what makes this drill worth doing. Because the two players are hitting different directions, you end up cycling through every combination: up the line forehand, up the line backhand, cross court backhand, cross court forehand. That is the full menu of dinks in one continuous pattern, and switching roles doubles it.

Drill 3: Speed Up Off the High Ball

Setup. One person holds a bucket of balls and feeds. If you do not have a bucket, no problem, you can still run this with the feeder just hitting the ball up.

How it runs. The feeder deliberately feeds a high forehand that bounces in the kitchen. The hitter's job is to speed the ball up with topspin, either to the other player's backhand or straight down the middle.

Focus. The real skill here is recognizing the ball, not hitting it. In a live dink rally you take what you get, but when the ball comes up high, especially on my forehand, that is when I can add pace. This drill trains the recognition so the speed up is a decision instead of an accident. Feed a lot of them so the pattern gets automatic.

Drill 4: Target the Front Foot

Setup. Back to dinking with a partner in front of you.

How it runs. Now the target is the left foot of the player across from you. Hit a bunch of them cooperatively and see how many you can land on or around it.

Focus. The dink can be flat, sliced, or topspin. The shot shape is up to you and worth varying. What matters is the precision. A ball at the feet is uncomfortable to answer no matter how good a player is, and this drill turns dinking from a rally into an attack with a specific address on it.

Drill 5: The Kitchen Game

Setup. Two players, either straight on or cross court. You are not using the full court.

How it runs. This is the competitive finisher. It plays like a regular pickleball point with one change: the ball has to land in the kitchen. Play out the point.

Focus. Everything from the first four drills under pressure, with a score attached. Cooperative dinking teaches you the shot. The kitchen game teaches you whether you actually own it when a point is on the line.

Key Takeaways

• Run them in order. Cooperative first, competitive last.
• Hold the neutral continental grip and stay in an athletic position between every ball.
• Aim at the backhand: the far outside kitchen corner and the spot just inside the center line.
• Cross court is the foundation. Build a long streak before you move on.
• The figure 8 is the highest value drill on this list because it covers every dink direction in one pattern.
• Train the speed up as a recognition skill. High ball on the forehand is the trigger.
• Target the front foot to turn dinking from a rally into an attack.
• Finish with the kitchen game so you find out what holds up under pressure.