Pro pickleball player and content creator Kyle Koszuta recently gained valuable insight into World No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters’ practice routine. 

The first topic Waters touched upon during their workout together was drilling versus playing.

At the start of her career, she didn't drill at all, and she eventually discovered that she was drilling too much. So, it’s all about finding balance.

“Drilling is great, but it’s not replicating exactly what’s going to happen in a game,” said Anna Leigh. “Right now, I’m drilling probably 60-70% of the time, and playing games 30–40% of the time.”

Her mom and coach Leigh Waters also chimed in. 

“When you’re drilling, you’re supposed to be working on things. If you don’t ever play in a game, you never get to practice using the things that you’ve learned in your drilling. You’re less likely to do those things in a match if you’ve never done it in practice,” she explained. “If you’re drilling a forehand speed-up and you never play rec games where you get to actually hit forehand speed-ups you’re working on, you’re definitely not going to do it in a tournament or a rec game that counts because you’re going to be too scared. You have to play rec games because you’ve got to put to use what you’ve been working on.”

 
Leigh and Anna Leigh also discussed how practicing your reaction to the shots you’ve been drilling is key because of the different variables in a game.

So drill, but don’t forget to play. 

What should you drill?

Anna Leigh drills just about everything, from dinking in every direction, to stationary speed-ups, to dropping thirds and moving into the kitchen. 

“There are days where we work on one thing the whole practice,” confirmed Leigh. “Then there’s other days where it’s more movement-oriented, so we’re working on cardio and footwork, and some days where it’s situational and we’re working on patterns and two-on-one drills.”

Most pickleball players don’t love drilling because it’s so repetitive.

It’s no surprise that even Anna Leigh gets bored of drilling, too. For over 18 months, her drilling sessions always started with dinking for 30 to 45 minutes. She recently decided to change things up and start with other drills, like ground strokes from the baseline.

“Mixing it up is great, and just doing the same thing over and over isn’t all that helpful,” emphasized Leigh.

But with so much to work on, how do you know where to start?

“I have a different viewpoint than most people. Most people think you need to have the finesse game first, but I think you need to have the aggression first because the finesse game takes time. The finesse game is so nuanced and it’s really the most difficult part of pickleball. The scariest part of pickleball for your opponents is the attacks, not your dinks,” said Leigh. “Look at any tennis players who come into the game. How do they play? They do nothing but attack. They drive and attack, and people hate it. But the more they play pickleball, they dink more and they attack less because they think that’s how you’re supposed to play. I’m an aggression coach, and I think it’s important. Don’t get locked into learning the dinks and ignoring the aggression. The aggression is super important.”

Anna Leigh added that most people focus primarily on improving their weaknesses, which is good, but don’t forget to make your strengths even better. 

“If you have an amazing backhand speed-up, why not make it better? I feel like a lot of players think they need to work on the things they’re not great at,” said Waters. “But if you could make your strengths even better, that’s something you should work on, too.”

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