Avoid These Three Deadly Mistakes to Master Aggressive Dinking
October 12 2025
Most recreational players think aggressive dinking means hitting hard, but James Ignatowich insists it's actually about placement and timing.
After coaching hundreds of players, and competing in countless pro tournaments, Ignatowich has identified the most common mistakes that hold players back from taking control at the kitchen line.
Not using enough legs. You can't hit a quality aggressive dink standing upright. You have to bend your knees and get low, especially on the backhand side. No negotiation here.
Letting the ball come to you. When taking dinks out of the air aggressively, lean forward. Follow the ball with your outside leg so you stay behind it. Contact the ball at its apex, not after it's already dropping.
The windshield-wiper. There are different ways to misuse your wrist, but the worst is crossing from right to left (for righties) when attempting a flick. A little wrist action upward to generate topspin is fine, but that windshield-wiper motion? That's a recipe for inconsistency.
The aggressive dink isn't about overpowering your opponent. It's about creating pressure through placement, using deception to keep them guessing, and understanding when to attack versus when to reset.
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Every paddle with few exceptions has a honeycomb core. The different companies in the industry use one of three different materials for the core- aluminum, polymer and Nomex. We use all three. The core provides 75% of the way a paddle performs.
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The three different core materials combined with the three different surface materials make 9 different combinations of materials. Each plays differently. We make two (soon to be three) different shapes for our paddles. The Chaos has a large square sweet spot- at 8 1/2”, it is the widest paddle on the market. The Kratos has an equally large rectangular shaped sweet spot. Each combination of cores and surfaces is available in both the Chaos and Kratos shape.
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