Pickleball Wall Drills

The Benefits of Pickleball Wall Drills

The wall can be your perfect partner. Here’s why:

Flexibility – It’s easier to fit into a busy schedule, especially if you have a wall at home you can use. It’s a fast way to pack in some extra pickleball reps.

Control – The wall never misses but it’s very easy for you to miss. Learning to control the ball to keep the rally going, along with changing up the tempo and direction are skills you will quickly develop.

Consistency – The ball will always come back, forcing you to improve your consistency to keep the rallies going!

Technique – Without a partner, wall practice allows you to focus on yourself. This is an excellent opportunity to refine your technique. It also builds your stamina, as keeping up long rallies is a great cardio workout!

Hand Speed and Reaction Time – The ball comes back faster than when you are on the court waiting for it to travel across the net to your opponent. So you have no choice but to be quick. Practicing drills where you are closer to the wall, such as volleys, really helps improve your hand speed.

Pickleball Wall Drills

Here’s how to set up your wall ready for drills:

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Warm Ups

Using the wall is a great way to warm up before a match or on-court training session.

Here’s an example warm-up you can use:

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Dinks

As pickleball players, we know how important it is to practice our dinks in different scenarios. Here’s some example drills:

Dink Target Drill

Try this drill for improved dink placement:

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One Touch Dink Drill

This is a great drill for increasing your overall dink control:

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Volleys

Try standing close to the wall and hitting volley to volley. Start further away and with only forehands to start with. Once you build up your reflexes, you can add in backhand and then mix up from shot to shot. As you improve, test yourself by standing as close as possible.

Here’s how to improve your hand speed:

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Groundstrokes

To practice groundstrokes, you can either isolate one shot or mix around. You can even create specific sequences such as 3 x forehands and then a backhand and repeat.

Here are some tips for how to get solid groundstrokes:

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Serves and Returns

Try serving the wall to yourself and recovering fast enough to return it. This is excellent practice for your reflexes.

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Slice

The wall is great practice for both forehand and backhand slice. If you find it hard to continuously hit slice, try mixing in slice with your regular groundstrokes.

Here’s a backhand slice example video:

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Touch And Control

Touch and control are crucial to being a successful pickleball player at all levels. Here are two simple drills you can practice to build up your paddle and ball control:

Touch Drill

Try the Slinky Drill for an increased level of touch:

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Control Drill

Try this drill to help with controlling the ball into an area:

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Tips for Effective Wall Practice

Plan

Before you start plan your practice. It could be a certain number of consistent hits, a duration of time, or practicing a particular stroke.

Mark the Net

If you are not using a proper tennis wall, mark out the net height using painter’s tape etc. This gives you a more realistic practice and a solid visual. You can even add in the tape where the baseline and service line would be so you can gauge the distance correctly.

Vary Your Pace

Don’t just hit at one speed. Mix it up, from slow-paced shots to faster, more aggressive ones.

Footwork

Move your feet as you would in an actual match. Try to stay active the whole time.

Conclusion

The wall, which players often overlook, remains an incredible tool for technique refinement and physical conditioning. It’s always ready to rally and never tires. Add a wall session or two per week and watch your game improve!