10 Pickleball Drills for Beginners You Can Do Alone or With a Partner
Updated October 25, 2026 · About 8 min read
Focused practice can help you work on a skill between games. Below are 10 beginner drills: five you can do on your own and five with a partner. None of them need special equipment, and each one ties back to a real situation in a game.
What you need
- Your paddle and a few balls (more balls means less walking)
- A flat wall or practice board for the solo drills
- Optional: a few cones or water bottles as targets
- Court shoes and water
Solo drills (no partner needed)
Drill 1: Wall rally
How: Stand about 7–10 feet from a smooth wall. Hit the ball softly against the wall and keep the rally going, letting it bounce once each time. Do one set with forehands only, then backhands only.
Goal: 3 sets of 20 hits in a row on each side. Why it helps: it builds a steady, repeatable swing and teaches you to keep the paddle face under control.
Drill 2: Serve to targets
How: Put two targets in the service court across the net: one near the baseline, one near the sideline. Serve 10 balls from the right side, then 10 from the left, aiming for the targets. Use either the drop serve or the volley serve.
Goal: 7 of 10 serves land in the correct service court. Rules to remember: serve diagonally, and a serve that lands in the kitchen or on the kitchen line is a fault (Rules 7.E, 8.C). For the volley serve, contact the ball below your waist with an upward swing (7.C).
Drill 3: Paddle bounce control
How: Bounce the ball straight up on your paddle face, about head height. Then try alternating forehand face and backhand face.
Goal: 30 bounces in a row without the ball touching the ground. Why it helps: it trains soft hands and the feel you need for dinks and resets.
Drill 4: Drop and hit to a spot
How: On a court, stand at the baseline. Drop a ball, let it bounce and hit it to a target zone near the opponent’s kitchen. Then move halfway to the net and repeat.
Goal: 10 balls from each spot, aiming for a soft, low arc that would land in the kitchen. Why it helps: it is the solo version of the third-shot drop (Drill 8).
Drill 5: Footwork and shadow swings
How: Without a ball, move from the baseline toward the kitchen line, stopping with a small split-step (a light hop onto both feet) as an imaginary opponent hits. Take a short shadow swing. Shuffle side to side along the kitchen line.
Goal: 5 rounds of 30 seconds. Rule to remember: practice stopping behind the kitchen line; when you volley, your feet must not touch the kitchen or its line (11.A).
Partner drills
Drill 6: Cross-court dinking
How: Both players stand just behind the kitchen line, diagonally across from each other. Hit soft shots (dinks) that bounce in the other player’s kitchen. Then switch to the other diagonal, and then straight ahead.
Goal: 20 dinks in a row without a miss. Rule to remember: you can step into the kitchen to play a ball that has bounced, but get both feet back out before you volley (11.A, 11.A.3).
Drill 7: Volley exchange
How: Both players stand a step behind the kitchen line and volley the ball back and forth without letting it bounce. Keep it soft and at the partner’s paddle.
Goal: 3 rallies of 15 volleys. Why it helps: quick hands at the net win a lot of points in doubles. Watch your feet: no touching the kitchen line while volleying (11.A.1).
Drill 8: Third-shot drop
How: One player stands at the kitchen line and feeds a deep ball to the partner at the baseline. The baseline player hits a soft shot that lands in the kitchen, then takes a few steps forward. Swap after 10 balls.
Goal: 6 of 10 drops land in the kitchen. Why it helps: because of the two-bounce rule, the serving team must let the return bounce (10.A). A soft third shot buys time to move up to the net.
Drill 9: Serve and deep return
How: One player serves, the other lets it bounce and returns it deep toward the baseline. Play just these two shots, then reset. Swap roles after 10.
Goal: 8 of 10 serves in, and 8 of 10 returns landing in the back half of the court. Rule to remember: the receiver must let the serve bounce (10.A.1).
Drill 10: Half-court game
How: Play points using only one half of the court (one side of the centerline, extended through the kitchen). This is close to the official “mini-singles” format (14.B), which uses the right or left half based on each player’s score. For practice, simply pick one half and play to 11.
Goal: one or two games. Why it helps: it puts all the skills together without the running of full singles.
A simple 30-minute practice plan
| Time | What to do |
|---|---|
| 0–5 min | Warm-up: footwork and shadow swings (Drill 5) |
| 5–10 min | Wall rally, forehand then backhand (Drill 1) |
| 10–18 min | Cross-court dinking (Drill 6) |
| 18–25 min | Third-shot drops (Drill 8) |
| 25–30 min | Serve and return, deep (Drill 9) |
You can start with two or three short sessions a week if that fits your schedule. Track one number per drill (for example, your best wall rally) so you can see progress.
Gear that makes practice easier
You do not need much. These are optional extras that save time:
Frequently asked questions
Can I practice pickleball without a partner?
Yes. A wall rally, serve targets, paddle bounces and footwork all work alone (Drills 1–5).
What should a beginner practice first?
Serves and returns. Every rally starts with them, and in standard scoring you can only win points when you serve (Rule 4.A).
How often should beginners practice?
There is no official number. A short, focused session two or three times a week is a good place to start.
Is it okay to stand in the kitchen during drills?
Yes, but only when you are not volleying. For volley drills, stay behind the line (Rule 11.A).
Sources
- USA Pickleball, 2026 Official Rulebook (PDF) — https://usapickleball.org/docs/rules/USAP-Official-Rulebook.pdf
Last checked: October 25, 2026. Rules, prices and specs change; always confirm on the official pages linked above.
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