The Case For the Middle Dink

You're in a dink war. The temptation to up the ante on each shot is great. You push yourself to the brink of the dink (pace, spin, angles), hoping your opponent will fold.

It's a matter of pride. A battle of ego. The message: 'I can out-dink you all - day - long buddy.' But every time you up the ante, you up the risk. Your pride left the back door open, and in comes unforced errors.

Don't let your pride get the best of you (ok, sometimes it's just more fun that way) and play it safe. The middle dink ain't flashy and it won't land you on any highlight reels, but it's almost always a smart play.

Often overlooked and underutilized, the middle dink comes with many benefits:

• It forces the other team to communicate and can cause confusion. Who's got middle?
• It limits their options for attack; any attack will likely be down the middle
• It's safe: you're hitting over the lowest part of the net, and it's almost impossible to hit it out or push it too wide for an ATP
• It simply switches it up and adds another variable for your opponent to consider

Broken record time: Be patient. Let them make the mistake. Utilize the middle dink to bait your opponent into a bad shot or unforced error of their own.

If you want to be offensive with the middle dink, aim for the left foot of the right-side player (assuming they're right-handed). If you can get them to step off the line, you've just shifted the point from neutral to your advantage.

Want to see it in action? Watch a few successful middle dinks in action here.