Padel drills for beginners
Ten drills you can run on your own, with one partner or with a full four, plus a simple session plan so a court booking turns into real improvement.
The most useful beginner padel drills train four things: volleys at the net, waiting for the ball off the back glass, handling the lob with footwork and a controlled bandeja, and a reliable serve. Start with a cooperative volley rally and a back-glass rebound drill, add lob-to-bandeja work once those feel calm, and finish each session with a few live points. A one-hour booking split into a warm-up, two or three ten-minute drills and some points is plenty.
Key takeaways
- Most points at beginner level are lost at the net or off the back glass, so drill those first.
- Cooperative drills (keep the rally going) come before competitive ones (win the point).
- Solo work is real practice: serves, wall rebounds and footwork shadows need no partner.
- The bandeja is a placement shot. Drill it slow before you ever try to hit it hard.
- End every session with live points so the drill carries over into a game.
Why padel drills look different from tennis drills
If you come from tennis, your instinct is to rally from the baseline. Padel rewards something else. The court is small, the walls are in play and the game is always doubles, so the team that holds the net usually controls the point. That means beginner practice should lean towards volleys, lobs and wall play rather than long groundstroke rallies.
The walls are the other big difference. New players tend to swing too early at a ball coming off the back glass, because it arrives closer and later than they expect. Learning to let the ball come to you is a skill you can drill directly, and it pays off in almost every rally. Our common beginner mistakes guide explains why rushing the glass is one of the first habits to fix.
The 10 drills
The drills run roughly from easiest to hardest. Each one says how many players it needs, how to set it up and what to focus on. Do not try all ten in one session. Pick two or three that match what went wrong in your last match.
Cooperative volley rally
2 playersSetup: Both players at the net on opposite sides, a couple of metres back. Volley cross-court without letting the ball bounce, then switch to straight.
Focus: Racket up and in front, a short blocking motion, no backswing. Count your best rally together and try to beat it. Twenty in a row is a good early target.
Volley vs. groundstroke
2 playersSetup: One player at the net, one at the back. The back player hits medium-pace balls at the net player, who volleys them deep to the back third.
Focus: Depth over pace. A volley that lands short invites an attack. Swap roles every five minutes so both players practise both sides of the exchange.
Back-glass rebound
Solo or 2 playersSetup: Stand a couple of metres from the back glass. Bounce the ball so it hits the floor, then the back wall, and comes back to you. Hit it forward at controlled pace.
Focus: Wait. Let the ball come off the glass before you swing, turn your shoulders early, and meet it in front of you. With a partner, have them feed into the back corner.
Side-wall then back-wall (the double wall)
2 playersSetup: A feeder at the net sends balls into your back corner so they hit the side glass then the back glass, or the reverse. Play them back over the net.
Focus: Read the angle off the first wall and move your feet before the second. Start slow. This is the drill that makes corners feel less chaotic in matches.
Lob to target
2 playersSetup: One player at the net, one at the back. The back player lobs over the net player. Count how many out of ten land deep, past the service line.
Focus: Open racket face, low-to-high swing, high follow-through. A lob that is too short gets smashed; a high, deep one is nearly always safe.
Lob-recovery shadow
SoloSetup: Start at the net in ready position. Toss a ball over your head, turn side-on, shuffle back three or four steps without crossing your feet, and play a controlled overhead.
Focus: Keep your eyes on the ball the whole way back. Turning your back to the net is the habit this drill is built to break.
Lob, bandeja, recover
2 playersSetup: A partner at the back lobs gently. You play a bandeja: side-on, racket high, sliced through the ball, aimed deep. Then step forward back to the net.
Focus: The bandeja is a placement shot, not a smash. Finish low across your body. If you finish above the shoulder, you swung too hard.
Serve to targets
SoloSetup: Place a towel or cone in the back corner of each service box. Serve sets of ten from each side, underhand and below waist height after one bounce.
Focus: Consistency first. A served ball that lands deep and comes off the back glass at a predictable height is better than a fast serve that misses.
Return and charge
2 to 4 playersSetup: Server serves, returner plays a low cross-court return or a lob, then both teams play the point out. Rotate after five points.
Focus: The returner learns to pick between the low ball and the lob. The serving team practises moving up to the net together after the serve.
Net vs. back, live points
4 playersSetup: One pair starts at the net, one at the back. Play points where the back pair has to win the net with lobs and patient balls off the glass. Switch every five points.
Focus: This is the core pattern of padel doubles. The net pair practises holding position; the back pair practises earning it back.
Need a court to practise on?
Drills need a real padel court with glass walls. Find clubs near you, then book an off-peak hour, which is usually the easiest slot to get for practice.
A simple 60-minute practice plan
This plan suits two to four beginners sharing a one-hour booking. Swap drills in and out based on what you want to fix, but keep the shape: warm up, two or three drills, then points.
- Warm-up (10 minutes). Easy mini-rallies from the service line, then the cooperative volley rally (drill 1). Get your feet moving before you hit anything hard.
- Wall block (15 minutes). Back-glass rebound (drill 3), then the double wall (drill 4) once single rebounds feel calm. Rotate the feeder every few minutes.
- Overhead block (15 minutes). Lob to target (drill 5) followed by lob, bandeja, recover (drill 7). Everyone takes a turn as lobber and hitter.
- Serve and return (5 minutes). A few sets of serve to targets (drill 8) so every point in the last block starts cleanly.
- Live points (15 minutes). Net vs. back (drill 10), or normal points with standard scoring. Try to use what you just practised rather than play the way you always do.
Practising alone? Use the same hour for serve sets on both sides, back-glass rebounds and the lob-recovery shadow, with short rests between blocks. It is less fun than a game, but it is focused work on the exact moments that cost beginners points.
How to know a drill is working
Give each drill a number you can track. A volley rally count, lobs past the service line out of ten, or serves that land in the back third of the box are all simple scores. Write them down after each session. If the number stops moving for a few weeks, the drill has done its job, or you need a coach to look at the technique behind it.
The other test is the match. If you drilled the bandeja and still smash every lob in your next game, the drill has not transferred yet. That is why the plan above always ends with live points. For the shot techniques behind these drills, including the bandeja, víbora and chiquita, see our guide to padel shots, and for the underhand serve itself, how to serve in padel.
Gear that makes drilling easier
You do not need special equipment, but a few things help. A bucket or bag of balls means less time walking and more time hitting during feeding drills. Many players keep older balls for practice, since a ball that has lost some pressure still works for volleys and wall rebounds. When you do buy balls, our roundup of the best padel balls compares the common options. A couple of cones or towels for serve targets and court shoes with good grip on the surface round it out.
A beginner racket is fine for every drill here. If you have been drilling for a while and feel the racket is holding you back, our guide to upgrading from a beginner padel racket covers when it is worth it.
When to add a coach
Drills repeat whatever technique you bring to them, good or bad. If a drill feels harder after a few weeks instead of easier, or your partner keeps pointing out the same habit, a lesson is usually the faster fix. A group clinic is a cheaper way to get drilled by a coach alongside players at your level. Our padel lessons for beginners guide covers what a first lesson includes and how to choose between a clinic and a private session.
What we will not tell you on this page
We do not promise that a set number of sessions will move you up a level, because that depends on how often you play, your background in other racket sports and the coaching you get. The drills here are standard practice patterns used across padel coaching, not a certified curriculum. If your club or coach uses a different progression, follow theirs.
FAQs
What are the best padel drills for beginners?
Start with the skills that decide most beginner points: a cooperative volley rally at the net, a back-glass rebound drill so you learn to wait for the ball off the wall, a lob-to-bandeja drill for when you get lobbed, and serve-to-target practice. Those four cover the net, the walls, the overhead and the start of every point.
Can you practice padel alone?
Yes. With a court and a few balls you can run serve-to-target sets, feed yourself off the back glass and practise the rebound, and shadow the bandeja and lob-recovery footwork without hitting anything. Solo work will not teach you doubles positioning, but it builds the timing and footwork that make partner drills more useful.
How many balls do you need for padel drills?
One ball works for a cooperative rally, but feeding drills go much faster with a bucket. Many players keep a couple of tubes of older, softer balls just for practice and save fresh balls for matches. Pressure drops as balls age, so a practice set will play slower than new balls, which is fine for most beginner drills.
How long should a padel practice session be?
A 60-minute court booking is enough for a focused beginner session: a short warm-up, two or three drills of about ten minutes each, and some live points at the end to test what you practised. Short, regular sessions tend to help more than one long session a month.
Should beginners take lessons or just drill?
Both help, in different ways. A coach can spot a grip or footwork problem in minutes that you might repeat for months on your own. Drilling between lessons is how the fix sticks. If you only have budget for a few lessons, use them to learn the volley, the wall rebound and the bandeja, then drill those.
Book a practice hour
Pick two drills from this page, find a court near you and bring a partner or three.
Last updated October 22, 2026 · PadelAnywhere Editorial
Sources
Drill setups are cross-checked against published coaching resources, including Padel Coach Finder’s drills library (cooperative cross-court volleys, back-glass rebounds), Padeli’s solo, pair and wall drills (back-wall recovery, bandeja shadow, lob-recovery footwork) and Padel Relay’s drills and practice guide. Serving rules follow the underhand, below-waist serve described in our serving guide. Your coach’s progression takes priority over any written drill list.