Dinking in pickleball is a soft shot or a short drop shot from the non-volley line hit with an upward trajectory that lands in your opponent’s non-volley zone either straight across or diagonally crosscourt. Effective dink arcs downward and lands close to the net making it a difficult shot to return because of the steep angle required to get the ball over the net.

One of the reasons to dink in pickleball is to take your opponent away from his/her high-powered game and force him/her to play at a slower pace. Dink slows down the game and can force your opponent to move out of position. Dinking is an excellent tactic that can go a long way toward making you a high-level player when you use it correctly.