I love racquetball and am just now getting serious about practicing so I can be good (not just playing and hoping shots work to get points). I found some goo practice drills on a
W&M RBall Suggested Drills website
Here are the two I am currently focusing on because good fundamentals are key. If you watch Open level or Pro players, the majority of their shots are going to be down the line, cross court or wide-angle. Make sure to do both fore and backhand versions. I typically only count the shot if it does not come off the backwall (a good player will hit a winner on any ball that comes off the back wall)
Warmup
Lunges/phantom strokes (no ball). Start in the ready position as if prepared to return serve. Take a step to the forehand side, execute a forehand stroke. Return to ready position. Take a step to the backhand side, execute a backhand stroke. Return to ready position. Repeat 50 times. Concentrate on form.
Toss and Hit Drill
Stand in the middle of the court on the dotted line facing forward in the ready position. Hold the ball in your left hand. Toss the ball gently diagonally toward the right hand side wall. Toss the ball so that it takes a nice bounce, but not so hard that it bounces off the side wall or bounces away from you so you have to chase it. Take a cross-over step and execute a down the line shot. Repeat until you have hit 5 good DTL shots. (A good DTL travels the length of court close to the side wall without touching the side wall and bounces twice before hitting the back wall.) You should be hitting close to the short line. Repeat the exercise hitting 5 good pinch shots. (A good pinch shot hits the side wall, then the front wall, bouncing twice before it hits the other side wall.) Repeat again hitting 5 good cross-court or wide-angle passes. Repeat on the backhand side.
Move back five feet and repeat the exercise, now hitting all 15 of your shots near the dotted line.
Move to within two feet or so of the back wall and repeat the exercise. You should be contacting the ball about four feet in front of the back wall. Don't hit any pinch shots because you are too far away from the front wall. Instead hit 10 DTL's and 10 cross-court or wide angle shots.
I like this drill because it forces you to take the cross over step before hitting. This is important for correct footwork. A very common mistake is for players to hit "wrong footed." Interestingly, I see more players hitting the forehand off the wrong foot than hitting the backhand wrong footed (perhaps because they can more easily "muscle" the forehand).
Finally, set up within a foot of the back wall, facing the side wall. Bounce the ball into the back wall and, on the rebound, hit a DTL. Repeat until you have hit 10 DTL and 10 CC or WA shots. Be sure to shuffle out from the wall as you let the ball drop into your hitting zone. This is good practice for hitting balls off the back wall.
To make this exercise more challenging, hit 5 CC and 5 WA shots and don't count the shot if you meant to hit a CC and you accidentally hit a WA or vice versa.
If you find this drill difficult, do the basic drop and hit drill instead. Everything is the same except that you set up about 5 feet from the side wall, facing the side wall, drop the ball out and away from yourself, and execute the same shots. Try not to drop the ball too close to your body and jam yourself. You should be able to extend your arm on the shot. If you have trouble timing the drop and hit, just let the ball bounce twice before hitting it. (Letting the ball bounce twice is also a good drill for short-hopping the ball.)
Facebook
Twitter