A 7 minute read, written in October 2026

Padel drills: what to practise alone, at home, or with 2, 3 or 4 players

The most useful padel drills repeat one shot or one pattern: wall rallies and footwork alone or at home, volleys and lob to overhead with 2 players, a feeder and two hitters with 3, and short games with one rule for 4. Below are 19 drills, each with a setup and a score, and a weekly plan.

Session order: warm-up, technique, then live play

Run every drill session in the same order: warm up, groove one or two shots, then test them in live points. A shot that only works when a partner hands it to you is not ready for a match, which is why the live part matters as much as the drills.

• Warm-up, 10 minutes. Easy jogging, side steps and arm swings, then soft rallies from the service line before anyone hits hard.
• Technique, 20 to 30 minutes. 2 or 3 drills from the sections below, about 10 minutes each.
• Live play, 15 to 20 minutes. Points or a short game that starts with the shot you have just drilled.

Quality beats quantity. A set of 20 balls hit with full attention does more than 100 hit while chatting, so end a drill when the shots get sloppy, even if the clock says 3 more minutes. Give each drill one target, such as height over the net or depth past the service line, and judge every ball against it.

Solo padel drills: alone or at home

Padel drills alone build the footwork, balance and steady racket face that a partner cannot fix for you. You need your racket, a ball and clear space. At home, use a solid outside wall you are allowed to hit, keep anything breakable well away, and keep the swing short.

• Wall rally count. Stand 3 to 4 metres from the wall and hit forehands at waist height, letting the ball bounce once each time. Count your best run of controlled shots, then do the same on the backhand. To progress, step in and volley without the bounce.
• Shadow footwork. With no ball, ghost a pattern: split step, 3 side steps to one side, a swing, then recover to the centre. Do 6 rounds of 30 seconds with 30 seconds of rest between them. Add a backpedal and an overhead swing once the pattern feels smooth.
• Split step timing. In your wall rally, make a small hop each time the ball hits the wall, landing on the balls of your feet with soft knees as it comes back. Count the rallies where you split stepped on every ball, and aim for 5 in a row.
• Racket face bounces. Bounce the ball up off the face 20 times in a row, with a relaxed grip and a firm wrist. Then alternate faces, then alternate while walking. Score your best run out of 3 tries.
• Continental grip volleys. Hold a continental grip, the one you would use to hammer a nail, and play soft volleys against the wall from 2 metres without changing grip between forehand and backhand. Do 3 sets of 20.

Two-player padel drills: volleys, lobs and the glass

Padel drills for 2 players give each of you far more balls than a match does. Start each drill cooperatively, then make it competitive once you can keep 10 in a row going. For 8 more and a 40 minute session built from them, see padel drills for two players.

• Cross-court volleys. One player at the net, the other behind the service line on the diagonal. The net player volleys cross-court and deep; the back player keeps the rally going. Count volleys in a row that land past the service line, aim for 15, and swap after 5 minutes. The volleys guide covers the technique.
• Lob and overhead. The back player lobs over the net player, who plays a controlled overhead into the back half, away from the lobber, and returns to the net. Do 10, then swap. The lobber scores for a lob landing in the last 2 metres before the glass; the net player scores for an overhead past the service line. The lob guide covers height and depth.
• Bandeja from the back glass. The hitter starts at the net, the feeder lobs deep, and the hitter turns side-on, moves back towards the glass and plays a bandeja before the ball gets there, aiming deep cross-court. Then walk forward to the net. Do 3 sets of 8, with deeper lobs as it improves.
• Back wall rallies. The feeder hits deep so the ball bounces and comes off the back glass. The hitter lets it come off, turns with it and plays it back cross-court at a safe height. Score 1 point for each return past the service line, out of 10, then move to the corner. The wall play guide explains how to read the rebound.

Three-player padel drills: one feeds, two play

Padel drills for 3 players work well because one feeds with a handful of spare balls, two play, and nobody waits for long. Rotate on a timer, every 5 minutes, so each player gets the same number of balls and feeds once in every 15 minutes.

• Net pair against the feeder. The feeder stands at the back on one side; the pair stands at the net on the other. The feeder sends 10 balls: low balls at the feet, balls down the middle and lobs. The pair volleys back into the feeder's half, never at the feeder, and calls who takes each middle ball. Count clean returns out of 10 and beat that score next round.
• Winner stays on the diagonal. 2 players play cross-court points on one diagonal half of the court, and anything landing in the other half is out. The third feeds the first ball of each point from the side. Play points to 5, and the loser swaps with the feeder.
• 2 against 1 from the back. A net pair plays live points against 1 player at the back, and every ball must go to the defender's half. The defender scores by lobbing over the pair or forcing an error; the pair scores by finishing to the corners, not at the defender. First to 7, then rotate.

Four-player padel drills: games with a rule

Padel drills for 4 players should be live points with one rule that forces the habit you want. Short games to 7 points keep everyone honest and let you change partners often.

• Games to 7 with constraints. Normal points, first to 7, with one rule per game: no smashes, every point starts with a lob, or volleys must land past the service line. Change the rule and the partners after each game.
• Only the middle. After the serve, every ball must land in the middle third of the court, the strip between the 2 opponents. A ball that lands wide of it loses the point. It trains the habit of playing through the middle, where the opponents have to decide who takes it.
• Serve and return patterns. The server plays 10 serves, calling the target before each one: the side glass, the body or the centre line. The returner answers with a lob or a low cross-court return. Play each point out; the serving pair gets a bonus point when the serve hits its target and they win the point. Then swap roles.
• Win the net back. One pair starts at the net, the other at the back, and every point starts with a feed to the back pair. A point won normally scores 1; a point won after lobbing and taking the net scores 2. First to 7, then swap ends.

With 8 or more players, run the session as an Americano in the tournament maker and give each round one of these rules.

Beginner padel drills: start with control

Padel drills for beginners should build control before speed: keep the ball in play, then add the glass, then the volley. The lob, the bandeja and the smash can wait until you can rally 20 balls in a row from the back.

• Mini padel. Both players stand between the net and the service line and play soft balls that bounce once in that space. Aim for 20 in a row, then step back 1 metre and go again.
• Bounce, glass, hit. A partner feeds a gentle ball that bounces and hits your back glass. Let it come off, turn with it and push it forwards with a short swing. Do 10 on each side, and ask for a firmer feed once 8 out of 10 clear the net.
• Blocked volleys. At the net, your partner feeds soft balls from the service line on the other side. Block each one back with no backswing, 20 on the forehand and 20 on the backhand, and count the ones that land past the service line.

Know what each shot is for before you drill it. The guide to padel shots explains the main ones in the order most players learn them.

Weekly plan for padel drills

Two short home sessions and two court sessions a week are enough for steady progress, as long as each one has a focus. Here is a plan for a club player with one drill session and one match a week.

• Monday, 15 minutes at home. Shadow footwork and split steps, then racket face bounces.
• Tuesday, 75 minutes on court with 2 or 3 players. 10 minutes of warm-up, 2 technique drills on your weakest shot, then 15 minutes of points.
• Thursday, 15 minutes at home. Wall rally count and continental grip volleys.
• Saturday, 90 minutes with 4 players. Warm-up, 2 games to 7 with a rule, then a normal set.

Leave at least a day between hard court sessions, and stop any drill that causes pain rather than ordinary tiredness. Change the focus shot every 3 to 4 weeks, and choose it from your matches: the shot that cost you the most points is the one to drill next.