Pickleball Skinny Singles

Our last blog post was titled, "Best Pickleball Drills." Skinny Singles is pickleball drill that is really more of a game - it is probably one of the best drills in the sport. It’s high-energy and it simulates gameplay. It’s a great way to work on your skills and any shot that needs polishing.

Pickleball Skinny Singles: How to Play

You will only be using one-half of the court in this one-on-one game. The benefit of shrinking the pickleball court helps hone your skills, like placement and control, and get a lot of repetitions in.

Skinny Singles is played and scored like regular singles except you can only hit across the net into your opponent’s half of the court. The scoring is the same as normal, and any ball that lands out of the designated restricted area is out.

Or you can simplify it and play to 10, 12, or whatever amount of points you would like.

Variations

The great thing about Skinny Singles is that you can tailor it to your skill and ability level. Here are three ways to play:

Down The Line Only - It doesn’t matter what side of the court you use, just restrict yourself and your hitting partner to one side of the pickleball court. Your serves will have to go down the line instead of crosscourt, and from there, play out the point.

Crosscourt Only - You and your hitting partner stand diagonally from each other on opposite sides of the court, and you play out the points crosscourt. Serve placement are back to normal.

Odds & Evens - The deuce side of the court is known as odd in pickleball and the advantage side is known as the even side. You can either play points or use normal scoring. Just make sure you’re standing on the even side if your own score is even, and switch when your score is odd; the same goes for your hitting partner. The two of you will be switching where you play based on the score. Sometimes you’ll both be on the odd, or the even, or opposite of each other - just be sure that you’re playing within the restricted area.

Incorporating Skinny Singles into your next pickleball practice session will change up the pace than just drilling and add another element of fun, and even improve your reflexes. This game will take your skills to the next level and help you perfect your ability to place and control your shots.