Just like any other sport out there, the way to get good at Pickleball is to practice, practice, and practice some more, however, it can be difficult to do this if you don’t always have the time to practice, or if you don’t have anyone that you can practice with, otherwise we’re sure that you’d be playing Pickleball all of the time.
However, even if you don’t have enough people to play a doubles or even a singles game of Pickleball, there are still ways in which you can get your practice done, and these solo drills are going to be sure to help you improve your Pickleball skills.
These drills can be done anywhere, such as at home, or on a court, no matter whether it’s indoor or outdoor, which means that you can hone your Pickleball ability whenever you would like, and you’ll definitely improve when it comes to playing your next tournament!
So, for more details on what drills you can do to practice your Pickleball skills alone, then read on, and find out more!
The Best Solo Pickleball Drills
If you’re going to be practicing your Pickleball skills all by yourself, then you’re going to need some drills, thankfully, we’ve got a bunch of super helpful drills right here that will help you to improve without having to have a partner present!
Having a Pickleball machine will make solo drills much easier, as will a Pickleball court, although you can use a tennis court if you don’t have one nearby.
So, let’s take a look at some of these drills:
Practice Serving
Pickleball teams can only score when serving, which is exactly why honing your serving ability is so important to becoming a valued player.
Thankfully, practicing this doesn’t require you to have anybody else around, in fact, doing it solo is probably much easier, as you won’t have anyone judging your serve if it goes wrong.
If you’re new to Pickleball entirely, then you’ll want to try and focus on hitting the ball accurately with your serve for now, as that’s the first step to achieving consistent serves.
In order to try and help your serve accuracy, all you have to do is to try and aim for a certain spot on the line. Alternatively, you could place something on the line instead, and attempt to hit it with each serve.
If you’re someone who’s been Pickleball for some time now, then you probably already have a decent serve, bet this drill will allow you to focus on putting more speed onto the ball.
This drill isn’t the most enjoyable, but will definitely benefit your game!
Comfortable On Court
Although not a specific drill in itself, having some solo practice time can be hugely beneficial if you’re new to the sport, as there’s usually a lot going on during a game of Pickleball, so removing some of the more stressful factors is a great way to feel your way around a Pickleball court, which will certainly have an impact on your ability in the long run.
You’ll very quickly learn where you should be standing, when to use the right shot, where your partner is, etc. And the more confident you are, the more confident your partner is likely to be too.
Also use this time to learn the distances from the kitchen, as well as how to avoid stepping into the non-volley zone as well!
Dinking Practice
If you’re a fairly advanced Pickleball player, then you’ll know that one of the most important skills in the entire game is to be able to practice dinking, but many people often get mistaken into thinking that they need a partner present in order to practice dinking.
This isn’t actually true, as you can definitely practice your dinking all by yourself, just follow our drill tutorial!
Firstly, stand right at the end of the net, and then dink the ball over it, and then run around to try and dink the ball back over. As well as practicing your dinking, this drill is sure to give you a thorough workout too.
Volley Accuracy
Finding that your volleys just aren’t going where you want them too? Then this drill is for you, and you only need a large wall to do it successfully too!
Simply pick a spot on your wall, and use tape to mark off a small square shape, which is where you’re going to be aiming for when you hit your ball.
Then you’ll want to place yourself just outside of where the kitchen would usually be, and begin volleying the ball at the wall, aiming for the square.
If your accuracy has been poor in the past, then it might take you some time to begin getting it on target, but if you spend an hour or two adjusting your aim and volley, it’ll be surprising how often you’ll be able to hit your target.
It’s also worth trying out different angles of shots too, and then when it comes time to play competitively, you’ll be able to volley with pinpoint accuracy from anywhere on the court!
Forehand And Backhand
The final drill on our list is this simple drill designed to help you become more comfortable with forehand and backhand shots.
Standing around several feet away from the wall, serve with a forehand shot, and then when the ball bounces back towards you, try to return using a backhand shot, and then repeat it until you miss.
This is a fast-paced drill and will help you become more comfortable with both strokes, as well as helping to increase your speed and accuracy too.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve enjoyed our guide to the 5 most helpful Pickleball drills that will be able to help you practice alone, so don’t worry if you ever find yourself without a partner to practice with!
Hello, I’m Damien Dansel and I have been playing pickleball for almost six years now. It all began in my first year of college when I was drowning in coursework and finals. I needed a stress reliever, but none of the usual suspects were working.
That’s when I saw that the pickleball court was free. I had a paddle, a ball, and a dream, and plenty of stress to unload. I encouraged some of my friends to come and play with me, and eventually, we even started a pickleball club at our college.
I started this site to get more people clued in and excited about pickleball. Please, take a look around and get as excited about this underrated sport as we are!
