5 Drills to Improve Your Dink Game
August 22, 2025
If there's one shot that separates beginner pickleball players from intermediate ones, it's the dink. That soft, controlled shot that barely clears the net and lands in the kitchen. It looks easy. It's not.
The good news? Dinking is a skill, and skills can be practiced. Here are five drills that will level up your dink game fast.
1. The 100-Dink Warm-Up
Before every session, stand at the kitchen line with a partner and dink back and forth. The goal: 100 consecutive dinks without a miss.
Why it works: It builds muscle memory and touch. Most recreational players never practice dinking in isolation — they just play games. This drill forces you to focus on consistency before anything else.
Tips:
- Keep your paddle face open and use a pushing motion, not a swinging one
- Aim for the middle of the kitchen, not the lines
- Soft grip — death-gripping the paddle kills touch
2. Cross-Court Dink Rally
Stand at the kitchen line and dink only cross-court with your partner. Switch sides after 50 shots.
Why it works: Cross-court dinks are the safest and most common shot in competitive pickleball. The net is lowest in the middle and you have more court to work with diagonally. This drill builds the shot you'll use the most.
3. Target Practice
Place targets (cones, towels, or water bottles) in different spots in the kitchen. Practice dinking to specific targets.
Why it works: Placement beats power in the dink game. If you can consistently land the ball exactly where you want, you can move your opponents around and create openings. This drill turns your dink from a defensive shot into a weapon.
4. The Reset Drill
Have your partner hit drives and speed-ups at you while you stand at the kitchen line. Your job: absorb the pace and reset the ball softly into the kitchen.
Why it works: The reset is the hardest dink in pickleball. Taking a fast ball and turning it into a slow one requires incredible paddle control. This drill simulates real game pressure and teaches you to stay calm when things speed up.
Key: Absorb with soft hands — let the ball come to you instead of reaching for it.
5. Skinny Singles Dinking
Play a singles game using only half the court (one side of the centerline). The only rule: every shot must be a dink.
Why it works: It combines all the skills — placement, consistency, patience, and strategy — into a competitive format. You'll learn to move your opponent around with just soft shots, which translates directly to doubles play.
The Bottom Line
Nobody gets excited about dink drills. They're not flashy. But the players who spend time at the kitchen line are the ones who win the most games. Commit to 15 minutes of focused dinking before every session and you'll see results within weeks.
Now go dink. And look good doing it — check out our pickleball shirts.