After a few months of padel, most players hit a wall. They’re not getting worse, but they’re not getting better either. Court bookings feel fun but formulaic – arrive, warm up, play points, go home. The problem is that playing points is not the same as practising. Points reward what you already know. Drills force you to build what you don’t.
This guide is for players who are 3–18 months in and want to use their court time more deliberately. Every drill here can be run in a standard 90-minute booking with one to three other players, using nothing more than rackets and a basket of balls. No coaching required. No ball machine needed.
Why just rallying stops working
In your first two or three months, playing points is almost pure learning. Every situation is new, every error teaches you something. Progress feels fast.
Then it slows. The reason is simple: points repeat your existing patterns and never challenge them. You hit the shots you’re already comfortable with. You avoid the ones you’re not. The game solidifies around your habits – good and bad.
Structured drilling breaks that cycle. You isolate a single skill, repeat it until your body learns the movement, and then test it under game pressure. That’s how improvement compounds.
For a deeper look at off-court work that complements on-court drilling, see our guide to padel fitness.
How to structure a practice session
A useful 90-minute session has three phases:
- Warm-up rallying (10–15 min) – slow, deliberate cross-court and down-the-line groundstrokes. Get the hands warm and the footwork loose. This is not yet drilling.
- Skill drilling (50–60 min) – two or three drills with purpose. Spend at least 15 minutes on each before switching.
- Conditioned game (20 min) – play points, but with a constraint that makes you use what you’ve been practising. More on this below.
Don’t cram five drills into one session. Two done properly beat five done half-heartedly.
Five drills for club players
1. The back-glass drill
What it builds: controlled defensive play, clean lob technique, repositioning habits.
Setup (2–4 players): Two players start at the back of the court, one pair per side. The point is played only from the back half – no one attacks. All shots must come back off the glass.
How to run it: Feed the ball in gently and keep the rally alive. Focus on hitting your groundstrokes so they bounce and carry to the glass at a controlled pace, letting the bounce do the work. The moment you find yourself rushing or muscling the ball, slow down. The drill is about finding rhythm off the back wall, not winning the point.
Common mistake: Trying to hit too hard. The back-glass drill rewards patience, not power. If the rally keeps breaking down quickly, both players are going too fast.
2. The net approach drill
What it builds: the serve-and-advance habit, approach shot selection, first volley at the net.
Setup (2 players): Player A serves from behind the service line. Player B stands in the diagonally opposite half, ready to receive.
How to run it: Player A serves, immediately moves forward to the net. Player B returns the serve, and A plays the first volley. After five repetitions, swap roles.
The goal is not to win the point but to make the approach automatic. Serve → move → volley. Most casual players are still standing at the baseline when the ball comes back. This drill rewires that habit. For more on why getting to the net matters, see our guide on playing to the net.
Common mistake: Stopping to see where the serve lands. Commit to the approach before you know the result.
3. Cross-court volley exchange
What it builds: low volley control, net positioning under pressure, hand speed.
Setup (4 players, or 2 pairs): All four players start at the net, two on each side. The ball is fed in and the point is played in a constrained cross-court channel – all shots must go cross-court.
How to run it: One pair feeds a soft volley to start. The exchange continues until the ball drops or goes wide. The aim is to keep the ball low and maintain the exchange for as long as possible, not to finish the point.
Common mistake: Hitting too hard and losing control. At the net, placement beats pace. This drill trains you to absorb pace and redirect it with placement.
4. Lob-and-smash cycle
What it builds: lob timing and trajectory, smash placement, overhead movement.
Setup (2–4 players): Player A stands at the back of the court. Player B stands at the net. Player A lobs. Player B smashes. Rotate every 10 shots.
How to run it: Player A’s job is to lob high and deep, aiming to bounce deep and carry to the back glass. Player B’s job is to position early under the ball and choose a target before striking – down the line or across the court. Alternate until each player has completed a full rotation.
Common mistake: Player A lobbing too low (giving Player B an easy smash) or too short (landing in the service box, not behind the service line). The lob must reach the back of the court to recreate real match conditions.
5. The golden ball conditioned game
What it builds: applying drilled skills under competitive pressure.
Setup (4 players): Play normal points. Before each point, nominate one shot as the “golden ball” – for example, “this point’s golden ball is the first volley.” The team that plays the golden ball best wins a bonus point, regardless of who wins the rally.
How to run it: Play a set to 6. Keep the golden ball rotating. Common choices: the first volley, the lob under pressure, the net approach after the serve, the return of serve.
This is where drilling becomes competing. You’re playing points but your attention is actively directed to one part of your game at a time. Most improvement sessions fall apart because players revert to their habits the moment points start. The golden ball constraint keeps the practice focus alive.
Drilling with two players
Four players is ideal, but most of these drills work fine with two. The back-glass drill, net approach drill, and lob-and-smash cycle are all designed for pairs.
With two players, you’ll get more repetitions per person – which is often more useful than a four-player session where everyone rests between feeds. The trade-off is that you can’t simulate cross-court exchanges as naturally.
One practical option with two players: alternate between drilling and playing conditioned points with a handicap (for example, the less experienced player gets a point automatically if they land a clean lob). If you’re struggling to find a consistent practice partner, how to find people to play padel with covers the quickest routes into a regular group.
No ball machine? No problem
Ball machines are useful but rare in UK clubs. Most don’t have them, and hiring one where available can double the session cost.
The alternative is a feeding basket. One player self-feeds while the other drills a specific shot – a drop feed from chest height simulates a mid-court ball, a high toss simulates a lob to smash. If you have three people, a dedicated feeder frees the other two to drill together continuously.
Wall practice is also underused in UK padel. Hitting against the glass at the back of a court – solo, with a basket of balls – builds ball-striking consistency without needing a partner.
How often to practise vs play
For players in their first three months: just play. Get court time, make mistakes, get comfortable with the sport’s pace and geometry.
From month three onwards: introduce one structured practice session for every two or three match sessions. More than that and you’ll miss the pressure and adaptability that actual points build.
The goal is not to stop playing matches in favour of drilling. It’s to make your match time more productive by filling the gaps that match play alone won’t close.
For a broader framework on improving at padel – including how to use lessons, video analysis, and the mental side of the game – see how to improve at padel. And if you want to understand the positional theory behind why some of these drills matter so much, padel court positioning is worth reading before your next session.