Elevate your soft game with advanced dinking techniques that create opportunities, force errors, and win points through patience and precision.

Pickleball Dinking Mastery: Soft Game Techniques

I used to think dinking was boring.

Seriously. When I first started playing pickleball, I thought the soft game was for people who couldn't hit hard. I wanted to drive the ball, smash winners, play power pickleball. Dinking seemed like this passive, defensive thing that old people did.

Then I started playing against people who actually knew how to dink. And I got absolutely destroyed.

They weren't hitting winners. They weren't crushing the ball. They were just... waiting me out. I'd get impatient, try to hit a winner from a terrible position, and make an error. Over and over. I was beating myself, and they were just watching.

That's when I realized: dinking isn't passive. It's not defensive. It's a weapon. And if you want to play competitive pickleball, you have to master it.

So I swallowed my pride and learned to love the dink. And honestly? It's now one of my favorite parts of the game.

The Mental Shift: From Passive to Proactive

Here's what changed for me. I used to think of dinking as "keeping the ball in play and hoping my opponent messes up." That's beginner thinking.

Advanced dinking is proactive. You're not waiting for mistakes—you're creating situations where mistakes are inevitable. You're moving the ball around, changing angles, varying pace, until your opponent is uncomfortable and makes an error.

It's like chess. You're thinking three shots ahead, setting traps, forcing them into difficult positions.

Once I started thinking this way, dinking became way more interesting. It wasn't boring anymore—it was strategic.

Cross-Court Dinking: Your Bread and Butter

If you're not dinking cross-court at least seventy percent of the time, you're doing it wrong. I know, because I used to dink straight ahead all the time, and I couldn't figure out why I was losing.

Here's why cross-court is better:

The net is lower in the middle—like two inches lower. That matters. Plus, the diagonal distance gives you way more margin for error. And you're usually forcing their backhand, which for most people is weaker.

How to Actually Do It:

Aim for the opposite corner of the kitchen. Not just vaguely cross-court—aim for the corner. Make them reach.

Use angles. If they're standing in the middle, hit to their left corner (if they're right-handed). Make them move.

Disguise your shots. Prepare the same way whether you're going cross-court or straight. Decide at the last second. If they can read you, they'll cheat.

The Down-the-Line Surprise

Okay, so you're dinking cross-court seventy to eighty percent of the time. Good. Now here's the secret weapon: occasionally go down the line.

Not often. Maybe ten to twenty percent of your dinks. But when you do it, it should be a surprise.

The key is setting it up. Establish that cross-court pattern. Get them leaning toward the middle, expecting another cross-court dink. Then—bam—down the line.

It's riskier. The net is higher, the distance is shorter, there's less margin for error. But when it works, it really works. They'll be out of position, giving you an opening for your next shot.

Don't overuse it. If you go down the line too often, they'll start expecting it and you'll just make errors.

The Attack Dink: When Patience Pays Off

Sometimes you get a dink that's just sitting there. Maybe they hit it a little high. Maybe they're off-balance. That's when you attack.

An attack dink isn't a full volley. It's still soft enough to land in the kitchen. But it has maybe ten to twenty percent more pace than a regular dink. Enough to force a weak response.

When to Use It:

When they hit a weak dink. When you have excellent position and balance. When you're ahead in the dink battle and they're starting to struggle.

The Key:

Don't overdo it. If you attack every dink, they start anticipating it and you're back to making errors. Use it as a surprise, not your default.

Creating Extreme Angles

This is where dinking gets fun. You're not just hitting back and forth—you're pulling them off the court.

Aim for the extreme corners of the kitchen. Make them reach wide. Force them to hit from awkward positions.

You can add sidespin by brushing across the ball. The ball will curve away from them, making it even harder.

When you pull them wide, you open up the court. Now your next shot has more options. Maybe you go behind them. Maybe you hit to the open court. Maybe you just keep pulling them side to side until they break.

The Reset Dink: Playing Defense Smart

Sometimes you're under pressure. Maybe you hit a bad third shot drop and you're scrambling. Maybe they attacked you and you're on your heels.

That's when you hit a reset dink.

It's softer than normal. Higher trajectory. You're just trying to get the ball over and buy yourself time to recover.

Aim for the middle if you're not sure where to go. The middle is safe. It doesn't give them an angle.

There's no shame in hitting a reset dink. Smart players reset when they need to. Dumb players try to do too much and make errors.

Reading Your Opponent While You Dink

This is the advanced stuff. While you're dinking, you should be watching them.

Are they reaching? Stretching? Off-balance? That's a sign they're struggling.

Is their paddle dropping? Are they preparing for a big swing? They might be getting impatient.

Are they flat-footed? Not split-stepping? You might be able to attack.

When you see two or three of these signs, that's your cue. Time to attack.

The Dinking Patterns

The Grind: Just exchange cross-court dinks back and forth. Be patient. Wait for them to make a mistake. This is boring but effective.

The Setup: Dink cross-court three or four times, then go down the line. Force them to move. Attack the response.

The Angle Game: Dink to one corner, then the other. Make them run side to side. Tire them out. Create openings.

The Rhythm Change: Slow, soft dinks. Then suddenly an attack dink. Then back to soft. Keep them guessing.

What I Used to Do Wrong

Telegraphing: I used to prepare differently for cross-court vs. straight dinks. My body language gave it away. Now I use the same preparation regardless of where I'm going.

Predictability: I used to always dink cross-court. Always. Never changed it up. Now I mix in down-the-line shots just often enough to keep them honest.

Impatience: I'd try to end points too early from dinking exchanges. I'd attack balls that weren't attackable. Now I wait for the right opportunity.

Not Watching the Ball: I'd look at my target or my opponent instead of the ball. Now I watch the ball until it hits my paddle. Every time.

The Drill That Changed Everything

Find a partner and just dink cross-court. That's it. No winners, no attacks, just cross-court dinks.

Count how many you can do in a row. When I started, I could barely get to twenty. Now I can do fifty, sixty, seventy.

It's not exciting. It's not sexy. But it builds the consistency you need.

Once you can dink cross-court fifty times without missing, then you can start adding the fancy stuff. But master the basics first.

The Mindset of a Dinker

You have to embrace the grind. Dinking can be repetitive. It can be boring. But it's how high-level pickleball is played.

Be willing to exchange thirty dinks before you see an opportunity. That's normal. That's good pickleball.

Trust your dink. Know that you can outlast your opponent. Doubt leads to errors.

Every dink sets up the next one. Think three shots ahead. Set traps. Be patient.

Why I Love Dinking Now

I don't think dinking is boring anymore. I think it's beautiful.

When you're in a good dinking exchange, there's this rhythm to it. This back-and-forth. You're both probing, waiting, setting up.

And then someone makes a mistake or creates an opening, and the point explodes into action.

That's pickleball. That's the game.

So if you're like I was—impatient, wanting to hit winners, thinking dinking is for beginners—trust me. Swallow your pride. Learn to love the soft game.

It'll make you a better player. It'll make you appreciate the game more. And honestly? You'll win more points.

Now get out there and start dinking.