Do you ever feel frustrated when nobody can play with you and you must practice alone? Or maybe you’re on vacation with no courts around but still want to feed your pickleball obsession?
We feel you!
That’s why we’ve compiled this handy guide containing plenty of solo drills to help you sharpen your skills. This article will explore five effective drills you can practice alone to enhance your pickleball game. And, if you want to teach pickleball drills to your kids, I wrote an article covering my 8 favorite ones.
Whether you’re on a court or using a wall, these drills will help you master key techniques and boost your confidence on the court.
PRACTICING ON A COURT
Practicing your skills on a court allows you to simulate real-game conditions and focus on key techniques. These drills will help perfect your groundstrokes, serves, and overall gameplay.
Court Drill #1: Static Drop Feed
Performing the static drop feed is an effective way to develop your hitting technique and it’s super easy!
All you need to do is drop the ball in front of your feet, let it bounce, and then hit it over the net. The static drop feed is best for practicing groundstrokes and working on your technique. You can practice all kinds of shots, including drives and drops. For this drill it would be best to have plenty of balls on hand, otherwise, you’re going to be walking back and forth after every shot to fetch your ball! Our call of choice is the Franklin X-40.
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Pro Tips:
- Use cones to create ‘target zones’ for your shots.
- Use the drill to try out different grips and see how the ball reacts with each one. Click here to read more about ways to hold your paddle.
Court Drill #2: Perfecting Your Serve
The serve is considered one of the most important points – a solid, consistent serve will help you win tons more points! This drill doesn’t require much explaining; you’re simply practicing your serves! Take this opportunity to practice a variety of different serves, including top-spin and side-spin serve. We strongly suggest using cones to create ‘target zones’ for your serve and working on getting your serves deep and consistent! You can also practice varying your starting position (i.e. further toward the middle or the side of the court).
Check out this great video from PlayPickleball.com on practicing serving:
Pro Tips:
- Use cones to create ‘target zones’ for your serves.
- Aim for consistency and accuracy in your serves.
PRACTICING USING A WALL
A wall can be a great practice partner, offering plenty of opportunities to improve your shot accuracy and reflexes. These wall drills enhance your dinks, volleys, and drop shots.
Wall Drill #1: Dinking
Step 1: Find yourself a flat wall (this should be easy, they’re quite common nowadays!)
Step 2: On your wall, draw a chalk line exactly 34 inches from the ground. This is the standard height for the center of a pickleball net. The new is 36 inches high at the sides.
Step 3: Measure out 7 feet from the wall, and on the ground draw another chalk line – that’s your kitchen line (non-volley zone)!
Now your setup is complete you can stand just outside of the non-volley zone and work on hitting dinks slightly above your net line. Work on your foot movement by hitting the ball left and right and side-stepping just as you would in a real dinking rally. Work on hitting both forehand and backhand dinks.
Pro Tips:
- Imagine you’re playing a real game, hit the ball to all parts of the wall, and focus on keeping the ball close to the net line so you don’t give your ‘opponent’ an easy pop-up!
- Struggling to hit the sweet spot of the paddle consistently? We recommend the Franklin Sweet Spot Training Pickleball Paddle. This mini paddle is the same size as the typical paddle sweet spot to help you practice making solid contact. It also features an elongated handle for practicing your two-handed backhand! Grab yours here at Just Paddles. Use our code BePickleBaller for 10% off at checkout!
Wall Drill #2: Volleying Against The Wall
Using the same setup as the previous dinking drill, you can now practice volleying off the wall which will be slightly more challenging. Remember, the harder you hit the ball, the faster the wall will return it! This is a fantastic drill for practicing paddle positioning and hand speed.
Here is a great explainer video by PickleballCentral.
Pro Tips:
- Focus on paddle positioning to ensure you are in the best position to return hard shots.
- Work on both forehand and backhand volleys.
Wall Drill #3: Dropshots
The next thing you’ll want to do it draw another chalk line 15 feet away from your non-volley zone line. This emulates the distance from the baseline to the net. Now you can practice your drop shots from the back of the court! If you don’t have enough space, you can always practice your drops/resets from a closer distance.
Here is a great video from The Pickleball Clinic showing how to execute the drop shot.
Summary
Practicing pickleball alone can be both productive and enjoyable with the right drills. By using these drills, you can improve your technique and increase consistency. Remember, dedication and regular practice are key to becoming a better player.
So grab your paddle, head to the court, or find a wall, and start practicing today!