Pickleball Drills

Warming Up With A Partner

  1. Dink straight ahead with ball landing in the kitchen.

  2. Dink cross court (backhands) with ball landing in the kitchen.

  3. Switch sides of court  and Dink cross court (forehands) with ball landing in the kitchen.

  4. Volley-to-volley (speed up as you go…).

  5. Dink from kitchen back to baseline drops.

  6. 3rd shot drops from baseline.

  7. Forehand and backhand drives.

  8. Repeat steps 5, 6 and 7 for partner.

  9. Serves (partner returns serves).

  10. Repeat step 9 with partner serving.

Cross Court Dinking

This drill requires two people and simply involves dinking diagonally from one side of the court to the other. The dink is an essential pickleball shot, and this drill will help to refine footwork, body movement, and consistency. See how many times you and your partner can go back and forth before the ball goes out, and then switch sides.

Cooperative Volleys

Two players stand in opposite kitchens and volley back and forth. Each player will occasionally step back and “reset” their volley into the kitchen, then going back to volleying. Rallies can continue with both players taking turns hitting into the kitchen. This drill can also be done with players hitting diagonally.

This drill works on:

  1. Using touch and control

  2. Keeping your volleys short and out in front

  3. Resetting the ball

Groundstroke Movement Drill

One player is stationed at the kitchen line on one side of the court, while the other stays at the opposite baseline and hits groundstroke drives. The kitchen player will move the other player around with their volleys. The kitchen player can switch sides, and both players can switch parts.

This drill works on:

  1. Movement when hitting groundstrokes

  2. Using volleys to move players around

2 Ball Dink Drill

Two players stand on opposite kitchen lines across from each other. Both players feed a ball in at the same time, and try to keep up a dink rally with both balls for as long as possible. Normally, after doing this drill, dinking with one ball will feel much slower and easier. This drill will do a lot for your drinks, reaction time, and hand-eye coordination on the court.

Skinny Singles

Skinny Singles is a pickleball format where two people play points using only half of the court. The shot selections and strategies used are very similar to those used in doubles game rather than the singles. It can be played down the line, cross-court, or a combination of both (the most common way). Skinny Singles can improve your skills, strategy, and accuracy.