You meant to hit a soft dink. The ball floated up to chest height instead, and your opponent put it away.
That's a pop-up, and it's one of the most common ways to lose a point at every level below advanced.
Most players assume they hit it too hard. Usually that's not it. A pop-up happens when you add height or energy to the ball without meaning to, and there are six habits that do it. Here's how to spot yours and fix it.
The Short Answer
The ball goes up because of one or more of these:
- Your grip is too tight
- Your wrist is flicking
- Your paddle face is too open
- Your backswing is too big
- You're hitting the ball late
- You're standing up as you hit
They often show up together. Fix one at a time, starting with grip, because it's the easiest to change and it affects the rest.
1. Your Grip Is Too Tight
A tight hand turns the paddle into a wall. The ball hits it and bounces off with nearly all its speed.
A loose hand lets the paddle give a little at contact. That soaks up pace, a bit like catching an egg with soft hands instead of stiff ones.
The fix: on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is squeezing as hard as you can, hold the paddle at about a 3 or 4 for dinks and resets. It should feel like you could have the paddle pulled out of your hand without much effort.
One equipment note here. If your grip is worn smooth or slick with sweat, you'll squeeze harder without noticing, just to keep hold of the paddle. Fresh grip tape is a cheap fix for that.
2. Your Wrist Is Flicking
When your wrist snaps upward at contact, it adds lift and speed in the last instant, right when you have the least control over it.
The fix: keep your wrist quiet and move from the shoulder. Think of your arm and paddle as one piece that swings like a pendulum. The shot should feel like a push, not a poke.
3. Your Paddle Face Is Too Open
"Open" means the face is tilted up toward the sky. The more it tilts, the higher the ball goes.
You do need some tilt to clear the net. The mistake is using too much, usually because you're scooping under a low ball.
The fix: set the angle before the ball arrives, then hold it. If your dinks keep sailing, close the face a few degrees and let your legs, not your wrist, provide the lift.
4. Your Backswing Is Too Big
At the kitchen line, the ball only needs to travel about 14 feet. A big backswing builds far more speed than that, so you end up braking mid-swing or sending the ball long and high.
The fix: keep the paddle in front of your body where you can see it. If your paddle disappears behind your hip, the backswing is too long. This shows up most on the backhand side.
5. You're Hitting the Ball Late
Contact should happen out in front of you. When the ball gets beside or behind your body, the only way to get it over the net is to open the face and lift. That's a pop-up waiting to happen.
The fix: move your feet first. Step to the ball so you can meet it in front, instead of reaching with your arm.
6. You're Standing Up as You Hit
You bend down for a low ball, then straighten up through the shot. Your whole body rises, and the ball rises with it.
Looking up early to see where the ball is going does the same thing. When your head comes up, your shoulders follow.
The fix: bend your knees to get low, then stay low until the ball has left your paddle. Keep your eyes on the contact point for a beat longer than feels natural.
Does Your Paddle Have Anything to Do With It?
A little. Technique is the main cause, and no paddle fixes a tight grip or a flicking wrist.
But paddles do differ in how lively they are. A thin, poppy paddle sends the ball back faster, so a dink that's hit slightly too firm is more likely to float. A thicker or softer core absorbs more pace and gives you a bit more margin. We covered the reasons in Do Thicker Pickleball Paddles Play Better?
Where you hit the ball on the face matters too. Off-center contact twists the paddle and changes the angle, which is why mishits often pop up. There's more on that in The Pickleball Sweet Spot, Explained.
If you've worked on the six habits and still feel your paddle is too jumpy for your soft game, that's the time to look at a control paddle. Our guide on how to choose a control pickleball paddle walks through what to look for, and the Carbon Flow Foam is the softest-playing paddle in our Unleash™ Series.
I'd fix the habits first, though. They're free.
A Simple Drill to Practice
Stand at the kitchen line across from a partner and dink cross-court. Count how many you can hit in a row with every ball landing in the kitchen.
Work on one cue per round:
- Round 1: grip at a 3 out of 10
- Round 2: quiet wrist, swing from the shoulder
- Round 3: stay low until the ball is gone
When a ball pops up, stop and ask which of the six habits caused it. Naming the cause is half the fix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my dinks keep popping up?
Most often because of a tight grip, a wrist flick or a paddle face that's tilted too far open. Start by loosening your grip to about a 3 or 4 out of 10.
How tight should I hold a pickleball paddle?
For soft shots like dinks and resets, about a 3 or 4 out of 10. You can firm up for drives and put-aways.
Why do I pop the ball up on my backhand more than my forehand?
Usually the backswing. It's easy to take the paddle too far back on the backhand side, and many players also lead with the wrist there.
Why do I pop up balls hit hard at my feet?
Because you're reaching down with just your arm and scooping. Bend your knees, get the paddle low before the ball arrives, keep your grip soft and let the paddle angle do the lifting.
Can a different paddle stop pop-ups?
It can reduce them. A thicker or softer core is more forgiving on shots hit slightly too firm. It won't replace good technique.
Final Thoughts
Pop-ups feel random, but they aren't. Nearly every one traces back to a tight hand, a busy wrist, an open face, a big backswing, late contact or standing up early.
Pick the one that sounds most like you and work on it for a week. Loosening your grip is the best place to start, because it costs nothing and helps with most of the others.
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