Coaching the Dink – Domenika Turković Style
See the ball. Stay low. Push with purpose.
Staying Low
When dinking, players should focus on maintaining a low, athletic stance with the knees bent and the chest upright. Staying grounded creates balance and allows quick movement in any direction, while keeping the hands light helps absorb pace effectively. Coaches should remind players to bend from the knees rather than the waist, ensuring that posture remains stable throughout the rally. It is also important to reset the stance after every shot instead of gradually standing taller. A helpful way to practice this is through the Shadow Squat Drill, where players mimic dink movements without the ball, pausing briefly after each shot to check their posture. This develops muscle memory and reinforces the habit of staying low from start to finish.
Seeing the ball early and clearly
One of the most important habits in dinking is watching the opponent’s paddle make contact with the ball before reacting. By keeping the eyes forward and the paddle quiet, players reduce unnecessary movement and improve their ability to read the shot. Coaches should encourage athletes to track the ball with their eyes all the way to the paddle instead of anticipating or guessing, and to slow down reaction time in practice to build patience. Using slow-motion feeds or cooperative rally drills can help develop early visual recognition skills. A simple exercise for this is the Eye Lock Drill, where players call out “yes” only when they clearly see the opponent’s paddle strike the ball. This trains both visual tracking and patience, sharpening anticipation during real play.
Contact Point in Front of the Body
A consistent and controlled dink begins with meeting the ball out in front of the body. Extending slightly forward allows players to guide the ball with accuracy while keeping their paddle in a ready position between shots. Coaches should emphasize that a forward contact point improves touch and consistency, while allowing for better angle creation and shot placement. When the ball is contacted too close to the body, players often lose control and increase their error rate. To reinforce this skill, the Cone Contact Drill is highly effective: by placing a small marker just in front of the player’s body, they are encouraged to make contact in that exact zone every time. This builds awareness of spacing and engrains the habit of letting the paddle lead while the body follows.
“If you see the ball clearly, stay grounded, and push with control—you can win a point before the opponent even swings. Dinks aren’t just soft shots—they’re thoughtful ones.”
Bonus Drill: 5-Dink Challenge
In this game, partners are required to complete five consecutive dinks in a row to the same third of the kitchen, such as the forehand crosscourt. Once the five successful dinks are achieved, players have the freedom to speed up the rally in an attempt to win the point. This drill develops both discipline and patience by forcing players to maintain control through repeated placement. It also builds consistency in shot execution while sharpening tactical awareness, since players must target specific areas before transitioning into offense. Once the players feel comfortable with making five consecutive dinks they can increase that number to make the drill harder.