I play padel tennis occasionally and a coach introduced us to a good drill and warm-up game called Dingle. There is a pickleball version called Dinkle which, in my opinion, is better. You start with 4 players on court dinking in pairs in their half of the court. As soon as one of the pairs makes and error (hits the net or plays a dink that doesn’t land in the kitchen) they shout “dinkle”. Immediately the pairs each side of the net play as a doubles pair with the ball still in play. The rally is played out until one pair has won the rally and a point. The process is repeated until one pair has won an agreed number of points, for instance 11 points. That’s it!

We introduced a couple of modification to the game to suit what we are trying to achieve with it and get longer rallies.

Change number 1 is no lobbing. More dinking is allowed along with speed-ups, passing shots, body shots etc.  After dinkle is called it’s a full on rally.

Change number 2 addresses a problem with the original game. When dinkle is called one or more players may be out of position. If dinkle is called when a player has been pulled wide then an immediate push through the gap will win the point. This can easily happen as up to then the players on each side of the net have not been playing as a doubles pair. However, if on the call of dinkle 2 more dinks have to be played with the remaining in-play ball, then both pairs have an opportunity to get into position to play out the rally, and battle can commence!

A previous post linked to a video of a conditioned game called Game of 10s Pickleball Drill. After trying it out with players at different levels we modified the game slightly to accomodate a wider range of skills and mobility. A summary of the original game is as follows. The video link above will give full details and a played example with useful coaching tips along the way.

It’s a game of 3 players, 1 player versus 2.
Only the individual player can score points.
Points are scored by winning a rally or playing 10 shots that land in the kitchen. These drop shots don’t have to be played consecutively in one rally but have to be played in one turn as the individual player.
When the individual loses a rally the 3 players rotate anticlockwise but the single player takes there score in points with them. They don’t carry over any drop shots.
When each player becomes the individual player they carry with them their previous score.
The first individual to win 10 points is the winner.

The thing to bear in mind is that this is a competitive game. The individual initiates each point with a serve that lands in the kitchen. This counts as 1 towards the 10 to get a point. From the serve onwards a normal game is played but the pair can only play into the half court the individual served from. Weak dinks can be attacked with a speedup. Lobs and passing shots can be played. The individual player gets a point for every rally they win and a point for every completed 10 drops into the kitchen. They can win a point by playing a winner or the pair making an error which would include not returning the ball into the individual’s half court.

The modification we made is that a minimum number of dinks must be played before any other type of shot can be. We chose 4. If any of these first 4 shots does not land in the kitchen the ball is out and either the individual has scored a point or the player rotation takes place.

Other modifications could be getting a point for fewer accumulated dinks, say 7. Or, if playing with less mobile players, prohibiting lobs.

We found the game was very good for tightening up our dinks and thinking more about placement. Just doing dinking rallies does not show up how your weak dinks can be attacked. It also helped us to recognise attacking opportunities from weak drop shots. In addition it helped us to think about how we worked as a pair, as a unit, particularly covering the middle.

At my first pickleball tournament last weekend I discovered that when I get into dinking rallies (very rarely, as it happens) the better players, rather than dinking them back, attack them and drive them straight at me. Clearly my dinks are not very good! This video talks through a conditioned game for 3 players that is designed to develop controlled consistent dinks that are not attackable but also, conversely, how to punish weak dinks from your opponents. The fact that it’s a scored game and competitive makes it more interesting and more fun. If you watch the full 19 minute video there are some useful coaching tips along the way. The scoring system used is a little confusing at first but could easily be amended.

Although the fashion for 3rd shot drives is on the increase (partly because the 3rd shot drop is difficult to master) the drop is still and will remain the default shot for the serving side’s 2nd shot (the 3rd shot in the rally of course). This conditioned game is designed to improve 3rd shot drops and to play points out after a game is neutralised and both pairs are dinking at the kitchen.

Normal prefered scoring (trad of rally), games to 11.

1. The service receiver returns long and immediately advances to the kitchen to join their partner.

2. The serving side plays a third shot drop into their opponent’s kitchen and advances to the kitchen. They should endeavour to get the ball over the net even if the drop is not a good one The idea is to get the rally going.

At this point all four players are at the kitchen

3.  The receiving side will not attack a weak 3rd shot drop but play a dink. This starts a dinking exchange.

4. The point is played out with winners coming either from a dink or a speed up

Scoring and server rotation continues as for a normal game.

There are a number of possible variations For instance, specify that the dinking battle must consist of at least 3 dinks per pair before a speedup or attack. Or, if a 3rd shot drop successfully lands in the kitchen the serving side get a bonus point regardless of who eventually wins the rally.

Dinking is a very important part of the game, especially at the intermediate level and above. At the highest level it is not unusual to see dinking rallies of 10 or more, often many more, These are very tactical, The idea is that your opponent has to be hit the ball below net height, making it difficult to attack. Ideally your opponent will need to step into the kitchen to play the ball after the bounce. If they are able to reach in and volley, the lower the ball and closer to their feet the better.

Variation 1. The drill requires two players, the ‘coach’ and the ‘student’ The coach initiates the drill by dinking to the feet of the student. The student dinks the ball back to the coach. After playing the dink the student should stay in the same position. The coach will then play a dink to on to the student’s backhand. The student dinks back to the coach who has not moved. The coach then dinks to the student’s back hand for the second time.. Assuming a right-handed student this requires the student to move further to their left who then dinks back to the coach who has remained in their initial position. The coach then dinks again to the student’s backhand who, for the third time dinks back to the still unmoved coach.

At this point the coach is in their starting position and the student is 3 steps to their left. The coach’s next dink, their fourth, is played to the student’s forehand. The student dinks back to the coach.The coach’s fifth and sixth dink is again to the student’s forehand. The student continues to dink back to the coach. After the coach’s sixth dink  the student is back at the starting position directly opposite the coach who has not moved throughout the drill.

The drill can be repeated as often as required. It can be made competitive by a point being scored every time the rally breaks down. Note: the coach stays in the original position throughout. The student,after playing a return dink to the coach, should stay in that position in anticipation of where they know the next dink will be played to.

Variation 2. This drill is the same as above but this time the coach moves along the net to mirror the position of the student. Instead of staying in the same position as above, the coach will move along the net to be directly opposite the student as they return the dinks. The student plays a dink back to the coach who is now directly opposite them. This means the drill is comprised of the coach and student moving up and down the net together, 3 dinks to the student’s backhand and 3 dinks to the student’s forehands.

Video. How to dink consistently

The drop shot, where the ball dips over the net and lands in the kitchen or near the kitchen line, is one of the most important and powerful shots in pickleball. Your opponent has to play the ball below net height and lift the ball rather than try to attack it. The drop shot can be played from anywhere in the court and for a variety of purposes. It can be played against pairs that are slow to get to their kitchen. It can be used to reset a rally when you are being attacked and driven back. And, of course, a dink from your kitchen line is a drop shot. It is also a common shot played by experienced players when they are the serving team. Having served, they have to stay back to allow the bounce of the return of serve before they can play their second shot (which is the third shot of the rally). The so-called third shot drop.

This drill practices drop shots from different positions on court, specifically in order to advance from the back of the court, through the transition zone and up to the NVZ line. This requires 2 players. Player number 1 stands at their kitchen line and acts as the feeder. They feed player number 2, the ‘student’ who starts at their baseline.  These roles are reversed at some point, after so many feeds or so many minutes. This drill can be played down one half of a court so 2 pairs can drill on the court at the same time. It could make part of a good warmup for instance.

To start the drill the player 1 stands near their kitchen line and hits a friendly shot to player 2 who is at the back of the court. Player 2 plays the ball after the bounce and lifts the ball to fall short in or near player 1’s kitchen. The ball doesn’t have to land in the kitchen but ideally should be short enough to make player1 play the next feed from below net height. Player 2 should advance up the transition area to play the second feed that should be another friendly shot back to them. Player 2 then plays a second drop shot (which should be easier as they are closer to the net) and continues to move up to their kitchen line. Having arrived at the kitchen line the rally is completed with a dinking dual. It may take more than 2 drops to get to the kitchen line. Playing 2 drops is quite usual.

A couple of things to remember. When you have to play a shot in the transition zone, pause your forward movement so you are stable when you hit your shot. This is likely to be below knee height and around you feet. It is hard to control shots from there if you are moving. You should also keep your paddle low. Ideally you play a lifted shot that reaches its apex before the net so that it is dropping as it goes over. (See the diagram at the end of this post on controlling the apex of your shot).

Both player 1 (the feed) and player 2 (the drop shot) can volley if the opportunity arises but should keep to the pattern of the drill. Depending on your position on the court and the shot you are receiving you should be able to play drop shots from anywhere on the court. None of this is easy to begin with. That’s why drills like this are useful. Repartition and grooving are the key.

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Notice that the further back in the court you aret, the higher the apex and the further from the net it has to be. It’s all about pace and height. For instance, playing drop shots from near your baseline, you need more height and the apex will be around your own kitchen line. When you are at your kitchen line, the apex is low and just above the net.

Note on the 3rd shot drop. The drop shot is the favoured 3rd shot in a rally, i.e. the serving team’s 2nd shot that is typically played from at or near their baseline while the opposing pair are already at their kitchen line. A good 3rd shot drop allows the serving team to get to their kitchen line or at least make progress towards it. However, it is a difficult shot to play reliably and can go very wrong! This is why it is rarely seen in beginner games and relatively infrequently in intermediate play where it is more usual to drive the 3rd shot.