How to Train for Pickleball

Pickleball is a racquet game played with a perforated plastic ball on a badminton-sized hard surfaced court. The net of pickleball is also lowered to 34 inches and after the ball bounces once on each side, players may hit the pickleball off the bounce or on the fly. Training for pickleball is similar to training for other racquet games such as tennis. Players should hone their skills on their backhand, forehand, cross-court shots and dinking in order to become effective pickleball players.

Things You'll Need

• Pickleball court
• Pickleball racquet
• Pickleball

Instructions

Groundstrokes Drill

1. Stand on the opposite side of the court from your partner near the right end lines.

2. Hit the pickleball back and forth using both forehand and backhand swings.

3. Focus on keeping the pickle bouncing deep into the back court. When you return the shot, strive to keep the pickleball close to the right edge. During game play, this will make your shots harder for the opponent to return.

4. Repeat this drill while moving to the left side of the court. Next, repeat the drill again by standing diagonally from your partner and practice cross-court shots.

Lob / Overhead Drills

1. Stand on opposite ends of the court from your partner. Also, this drill can be performed with two players on each side as a "doubles" practice drill.

2. Lob the pickleball to an opposing player or team.

3. Strike the pickleball with an overhead motion. As the lob comes down, the opposing player or team will strike the pickleball with the focus of lobbing it back to you or your team member.

4. Return the shot with an overhead strike back to the other team. This drill focuses on both striking and defending the lob shot.

Dinking Drills

1. Stand on the opposite side of the pickleball court from your opponent. This drill can also be practiced by a doubles team.

2. Hit the pickleball lightly over the net into the non-volley zone. (A dink is when a ball is barely hit over the net, making it tough for the other team to defend.)

3. Wait for your partner or other team to strike the ball back in the same manner. Remember that a pickleball must first bounce in the non-volley zone. This is what makes defending the dink so tough.

4. Continue to dink the ball back and forth. Work on dinking to the left, right and center to effectively improve skill levels.

References

• USA Pickleball Association: This is Pickleball
• Arizona Pickleball Fun: Drills, Groundstroke
• Arizona Pickleball Fun: Drills, Overhead
• Arizona Pickleball Fun: Drills, Dinking Drills