Dinking Technique and Strategy

Key Points

• Continental or Eastern grip on the dinks
• Tightness on the grip should be a 3 out of 10, with your hand nice & loose on the grip
• A common mistake is using too much wrist on your shot, rather than the bigger lever of your arm
• Athletic stance with a wide base and bent knees
• Try and keep your body open to stop from crossing over with your feet and leaving yourself exposed on the other side
• Keep the paddle up and out in front, so you’re ready for attacks and firefights
• Try and keep the same grip for both the forehand and backhand dinks
• Dinks should be aimed low so your opponent can’t take it out of the air and attack you
• Catch the ball out in front and push it forward, “keeping it nice and light”
• Move the ball around using your forehand and backhand
• Stay open with your legs and feet like you’re doing mini squats
• Grip should be nice and light with the contact point out in front
• Hold your ground on the kitchen line, making your opponent feel the pressure of you squeezing their line and making your kitchen smaller
• Aim the balls a few inches over the net and keep it short inside the kitchen zone so you’re not at risk of being attacked
• If you want to push your opponent back, aim low and to their feet
• When shuffling side to side, keep the hips forward and don’t use the crossover step
• Try and take deep dinks out of the air when possible, rather than moving back
• If you have to move back, try and absorb and pivot letting the ball bounce but moving straight back to the kitchen line