Dinking is considered one of the most important shots in pickleball. Let’s understand what a dink is. A “dink” is a shot used at the kitchen line that is intended to hit the ball just over the net. The goal is to keep the ball short enough that your opponent can’t smash it at you. The dink is also a great strategy to slow the point down and wait for your opponent to leave the ball too high so you can take advantage and win the point.
Many feel the best dink shots are made cross court. People feel this way for 2 reasons. First, dinking cross court allows you to hit your shot with more angle which will keep the ball closer to the net, preventing your competitor from returning it aggressively. The second is that you have a greater margin for error. If you hit it a little high or long, the chances are good that your opponent can’t be aggressive with their return compared to if you tried a dink straight ahead and miss a little high, YIKES.