15 Essential Pickleball Drills to Rapidly Improve Your Game

Solo Practice Drills

These drills can be practiced alone with just a wall or fence:

1. Wall Volleys

• Stand 5-7 feet from wall
• Hit continuous volleys
• Focus on control and consistency
• Aim for 20+ consecutive hits

2. Dinking Practice

• Draw a line 7 feet from wall
• Practice soft dinks above line
• Alternate forehand/backhand
• Use targets for precision

3. Serve Practice

• Set up targets on wall
• Practice placement serves
• Focus on consistency
• Track success rate

Partner Drills

4. Dinking Games

• Cross-court dinking
• Straight-line dinking
• Random pattern dinking
• Points only from dinks

5. Volley Challenges

• Rapid-fire volleys
• Distance control
• Moving volleys
• Alternate power levels

6. Serve and Return

• Target practice
• Deep serve drill
• Return placement
• Third shot practice

Group Drills (3-4 Players)

7. King/Queen of the Court

• Winners stay on court
• Rapid rotation
• Point-based challenges
• Skill-specific variations

8. Around the World

• Continuous movement
• Shot variety
• Quick reactions
• Team coordination

Skill-Specific Drills

9. Third Shot Drop

• Progressive distance
• Target zones
• Consistency focus
• Game situation practice

10. Transition Zone

• Forward movement drills
• Split-step practice
• Reset shots
• Position awareness

Advanced Training Drills

11. Speed and Agility

• Quick direction changes
• Reaction drills
• Sprint and recover
• Lateral movement

12. Shot Combination Drills

• Serve-return-drive
• Dink-lob-overhead
• Volley-drop-drive
• Complex patterns

13. Pressure Drills

• Point deficit scenarios
• Time pressure situations
• Competitive games
• Tournament simulation