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Dink drills

Playing a soft shot from your kitchen area into the opponent’s kitchen, either after a bounce or out of the air.

Drills in this collection

Choose a drill to practise

23 reviewed drills include this focus.See this theme in the glossary.

Battleships

Make dink placement measurable by scoring when a crosscourt dink strikes an inside- or outside-foot cone.

Level 3.0–4.5 · 2, 4 players

Catch and Move

Teach kitchen-line positioning by removing the swing before adding a live dink.

Level 2.0–3.0 · 2, 4 players

Consecutive Dink Count

Give developing players a concrete streak target while keeping the block time-capped.

Level 2.0–3.0 · 2, 4 players

Constrained Doubles

Use one clear tactical constraint to narrow choices inside realistic doubles points.

Level 4.0–5.0+ · 4 players

Dink and Lob

Keep the lob as a genuine unannounced option inside a live dink rally.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Dink, Speed Up, and Reset

Accelerate from a soft wall pattern, recover the paddle, and absorb the fast rebound back under control.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 1 players

Dink to Feet

Add purposeful foot targets to a stable crosscourt dink rally.

Level 3.0–4.0 · 2, 4 players

Figure 8

Move one ball around four kitchen-line players in a continuous down-the-line and crosscourt figure-eight circuit.

Level 2.5–4.0 · 4 players

Five-Dink to Attack

Create patience by requiring a stable dink exchange before attacking becomes legal.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Full Skinny Singles

Play a complete serve-to-finish point inside one half-court lane so isolated skills occur in sequence.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Kitchen Dink Game

Use rally scoring and kitchen-only boundaries to turn controlled dinking into a clear game.

Level 2.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Protect the Line

Play a dink-only scoring game that rewards deep placement and teaches each player to defend the kitchen line by taking deep dinks out of the air.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Push Volley Dink

Pair the decision to volley a deep dink with a compact forward push and active feet.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Random Green Light

Read an unannounced attackable ball instead of pre-planning the speed-up.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Self-Fed Dink Contact

Isolate a clean forehand and backhand dink over a real net without the timing demands of an incoming ball.

Level 2.5–4.0 · 1 players

Setups

Move crosscourt dinks to create an off-balance reply that can be attacked.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Soft Wall Dinks

Warm up touch at kitchen distance by keeping a cooperative, realistic one-bounce dink rally alive on both sides.

Level 2.5–3.0 · 1 players

One-Sided Speed-Up Game

Give one player repeated chances to construct a well-timed speed-up while the other reads each attack and chooses whether to counter or reset.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Tight Spaces

Use narrow down-the-line lanes to train precise dinks and faster reactions without crosscourt margin.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Wall Dinks

Begin with a cooperative touch rally at kitchen distance, then keep realistic dink exchanges alive while changing between attacking topspin and defensive slice.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 1 players