The Best Pickleball Wall Drills that Actually Work 2024

Pickleball is an excellent pick-up-and-play sport that requires minimal equipment and remarkably little space to practice. It’s also a great way to get your family outdoors and active during the long, hot summer months. But, as with any new sport, it can be challenging to find a court and learn the basics on you own.

That’s where pickleball wall drills come in handy. These drills are used by players of all skill levels to practice their serves, volleys, overhead smashes, and more. They’re also a great way to work on your form and technique without having to travel to a dedicated pickleball court. After all, who has time for that?

Related – Need a NEW Pickleball Paddle? See the TOP picks here!

Contents

Top 3 Best Pickleball Wall Drills
What is a Pickleball Wall Drill?
Why is a Pickleball Wall Drill Important?
Pickleball drills that help perfect serves
Best places to practice pickleball drills
Equipment needed for pickleball drills
Create you own pickleball drills
Conclusion
Need a Pickleball Paddle or Complete Set?

Top 3 Best Pickleball Wall Drills

These are the best pickleball wall drills for working on your game. They’re all easy to set up and will have you hitting winners in no time.

1. The “Backup” Drill

When you’re first learning how to play pickleball, it can be hard to get the ball over the net. As a result, you may find yourself hitting ground balls and lobs instead of powerful shots. The backup drill is a great way to build up your confidence and get some good shots off over the net.

For this drill, set up your wall/backboard in front of you so that it’s about two feet away from your body. Then, make five serves into the wall using only your backhand. You can place a cone or ball marker on the floor at one end of the court to mark where you should stand for each serve (use a different cone for each serve). This will help ensure that you are standing in an optimal position for each shot. After five backhands have been served into the wall, switch sides and use only your forehand for five more.

2. The “Better Than” Drill

The better than drill is a great way to build up your skills and confidence in the court. To start, stand on one side of the court and hit a forehand serve into the wall. Then, stand on the opposite side of the court and hit a backhand serve into the wall. Mark the spots where you will be taking shots with cones to make repeating it easier.

Continue this process until you have hit serves from both sides of the court (use a different cone for each serve). After you have done that, switch to hitting overhead shots instead of serves. You can also work on different types of overhead shots like jump serves, drop shots, and cross-court shots.

3. The “Backboard” Drill

The backboard drill is about as simple as it gets when it comes to pickleball drills for beginners. Just set your ball machine up in front of you (or just throw balls by hand if you don’t have access to a machine) and have it send pickleballs at you at a desired speed.

Simply work on returning serves, volleys, overhand shots, and more. The best pickleball players practice with repetition and this technique capitalizes on that. Vary the distance from the machine or wherever you’re fed balls so you can get comfortable with shots at all distances.

The Sports Tutor Multi-Twist pickleball tosser is a great beginner level practice machine that can help toss you balls during practice sessions.

Here’s a great video showing popular pickleball wall drills

What is a Pickleball Wall Drill?

A pickleball wall drill is a series of practice techniques that allow you to practice your serves, overhead smashes, and volleys without having to travel to a dedicated pickleball court. They can be done against a wall, with a lob machine, or on a pickleball court.

Most pickleball wall drills are portable, so you can easily take them to the park, your neighbor’s house, or the beach. You can also use them at your local pool or beach club. Wall drills are meant to hone in your pickleball skills without having to play a full game of pickleball or track down other players to help out.

Why is a Pickleball Wall Drill Important?

Playing on a pickleball court is a lot different than playing on any other surface. You need to be aware of how the ball bounces and rolls, what type of shots will work on different types of courts, and how you can adjust your game accordingly.

This is where pickleball wall drills come in handy.

You can use them to work on your serves, overhead smashes, and volleys while staying at home and saving on gas money. They can also be used to keep your game sharp during the off-season.

Pickleball drills that help perfect serves

One of the most important aspects of playing any sport is how you prepare for the games. If you don’t prepare correctly, then your performance will be negatively affected.

This is true for both practice and games. One of the best pickleball drills for developing a strong serve is to simply hit a pickleball ball against the wall.

Related – Need a NEW Pickleball Paddle? See the TOP picks here!

Having a large bag of practice pickleballs ready to go is the best way to practice your serves. Pickleball courts are the ideal place to practice volleying continuously until you get the hang of it. Start slow and work your way to faster serves.

Best places to practice pickleball drills

The pickleball court is always the best place to practice since the lines and measurements are already laid out, but if you can make it to a court, use these areas instead. Driveways, walls, garages, and backyards can all make good places to practice pickleball drills.

Keeping your game fresh and your strokes getting better is important. That’s why it’s important to vary the type of strokes you use while practicing your serve, overhead smash, and volley. The best place to practice drills is always the place where you can and will practice the most. If that means it’s at home, then so be it.

Equipment needed for pickleball drills

To get the most out of your pickleball wall drills, you’ll need some equipment.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A pickleball ball to play with (more is better)
A pickleball paddle (you can use a tennis racket in a pinch if you don’t have a paddle)
A wall to hit the ball against
A pickleball tosser to make lobs easier

Create you own pickleball drills

Pickleball drills can be used for all skill levels. They’re all easy to set up and can be customized to fit just about any practice area. Creating your own pickleball drills should look to combine practical skill sets and a fun playing environment.

Related – Need a NEW Pickleball Paddle? See the TOP picks here!

If a drill isn’t fun, then you will likely give it up quickly. Likewise, if it doesn’t help you refine your skills in a practical way, what good is it? Combining practical skills and fun practice drills together is the perfect grouping. Mix up your practice areas and always think of fresh ideas for new types of drills.

Conclusion

Pickleball wall drills are great way to practice your skills just about anywhere. They don’t require a pickleball court or other players. Most of the time a wall will work fine or any open space where you can simulate a court.

The backup drill is practice for getting the ball over the net. The drill centers on shots of various distances all focusing on developing technical return shots. The better than drill focuses on serving from different positions.

Drills for pickleball can be modified based on physical and space limitations. Find drills that are fun and don’t require a lot of effort to pull off. You’ll find that you will practice more when there’s fewer distractions to divert your attention.

About Me

Hi! I’m Marie Spentel. I’ve been an avid Pickleball player for over 2 decades. I worked in several Pickleball leagues and climbed my way up to a 4.5 level rating. These days, I can usually be found practicing court techniques, consulting with others in the industry, and blogging about Pickleball! Read More

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