The Perfect 15-Minute Warm-Up
Getting your body, shots and focus ready before you step into a match
By Connor Garnett • Professional Pickleball Player
October 28, 2026 • 7 min read
A good warm-up is about more than hitting a few balls before a match. I want to get my body loose, get my mind ready and start creating the consistent shots I am going to need once play begins.
Pickleball may not seem like the most physically demanding sport, but we still need to prepare our bodies for the movement, rotation and quick reactions the game requires. I use about 15 minutes to work through the movements and shots I expect to use in a match, building from getting loose into dinks, drops, drives, volleys, serves and returns.
Start by Getting the Body Loose
The first thing I normally do is a few laps followed by active stretching. I want everything loose and I want to have as much rotation as possible because a lot of our force and power comes from the rotation of the body.
Once I feel loose and limber, I am ready to start hitting. The goal is not to tire myself out before the match. I am preparing my body to make the movements I am going to ask it to make once I start playing.
Find Your Contact Point with Dinks
I start on the court with about two minutes of straight-ahead dinking. I am getting my feet moving, getting my legs low and beginning to move through the patterns I typically use on the pickleball court.
The biggest focus is creating a consistent contact point. I do not want to stand straight-legged and simply hit balls back and forth for two minutes. I want to get down, get behind the ball and avoid reaching or becoming overextended. I am finding my range and creating consistent repetitions.
The way we warm up should resemble the way we are going to play. If I stand still during the warm-up and suddenly have to move once the match begins, everything feels different. I want to warm up the things I am actually going to need: focus, footwork and a consistent contact point. Building those repetitions is also how we start building confidence before the match.
Make the Dinking More Match-Like
Once I have the feel of the straight-ahead dink, I move into crosscourt dinking because it is more realistic to what I am going to see in a match. I begin with safe targets and get a feel for the shot before adding more.
As I warm up, I start working on pulling my opponent wide, taking balls out of the air and changing where the ball lands. Some dinks are shallower and safer, while others are pushed deeper. I am looking for a consistent pace while also finding my distance control.
There should also be intentionality depending on which side each player expects to play. If I am playing the left and my partner is playing the right, I can give my partner balls that allow him to work on the shots he expects to hit. I might begin with dead dinks and then move him around and give him different looks.
Simply standing crosscourt and hitting forehand to forehand can give you some feel, but it does not necessarily train what you are going to encounter in a match. The ball may move you out of position. You may need to pull an opponent wide or play a more neutral ball. I want the warm-up to begin preparing me for those different situations.
Work Through Your Drops and Drives
After the kitchen work, I move into drops and drives. I see a lot of players try to bang the ball as hard as they can or hit perfect, aggressive drops during the warm-up. I am looking for something different.
With the drop, I want to find my range and recognize whether the ball is effective enough for me to become offensive on the next shot. If my opponent has to hit up on the ball, I know I can be in an offensive position. If my opponent can hit down on it, I have to be defensive.
I mix different types of drops and keep working until I begin to find the feel of the shot. There is not a specific number I need to hit. If I miss a couple, I may spend a little more time on them. Once I have a good base, I start adding drives.
With the drive, I am thinking about two things. First, I do not want to overhit it. I am hitting at about 60 to 70 percent because I am trying to get the feel of the shot. Second, I am watching the arc of the ball and where it begins to drop.
A ball that is moving down forces my opponent to hit up, which puts me in a more advantageous position. I can hit a harder drive without spin that allows my opponent to hit down on the ball, or I can hit a slightly slower ball that is dropping and forces them to hit up. On this shot especially, I want placement over power.
I spend about two minutes on the drops and about two minutes on the drives. I am not trying to hit perfect shots. Making or missing a ball during the warm-up does nothing for me once the match begins. I want to get loose and put the right technique and mindset into the shot so I am prepared to execute it when the match starts.
Wake Up Your Hands
Next, I warm up my hands with cooperative volleys. The focus is consistent placement. I want to keep the ball around chest level rather than hitting one ball low and the next one high.
I keep my elbows in and make contact relatively close to my body rather than becoming overextended. I am also intentional about finding the center of the paddle. As the exchange gets faster, keeping the elbows in helps maintain a consistent shot.
I also want more than one ball coming back. We are trying to train three- or four-shot exchanges because those are the combinations we may see during a match. If I speed up a ball and it comes back, I need to be ready for the next one.
Staying grounded matters here too. I use a small split as my opponent is about to hit and stay grounded through my legs. I am trying to avoid the big, fast swings that can appear once adrenaline starts flowing during a match. The warm-up helps level-set everything and lets me begin queuing in my reflexes.
Add a Few Overheads
After the reflex volleys, I will sometimes warm up a few overheads before moving into serves and returns. The overheads give me an opportunity to get the torso twist and trunk rotation working while finding my timing on balls above my head.
They can be particularly useful when it is sunny or windy. Hitting a few overheads allows me to anticipate what I may see if an opponent lobs or gives me a high ball, and it helps me understand where the sun is before those situations happen during the match.
Finish with Serves and Returns
I finish with serves and returns, usually hitting about five to 10 on each side. I start the first couple a little slower to find the feel and consistency before adding more.
On the serve, I work on three different spots: wide, body and T. I am looking for a repeatable target with a safe, high margin. As I warm up, I can add more pace or depth, hit a little shorter when I want more margin and mix in variations such as a loopier serve or slice.
I do not want to overthink the technique. I want my body to start working, get the muscles warm and begin firing the shots. Sometimes I will rip a few serves simply to get a feeling for the upper limit of what I have that day.
On the return, depth is the focus. The deeper I hit the return, the more uncomfortable I can make my opponent. I am working through the kinetic chain, finding that consistent contact point and looking for a target that will be difficult for my opponent while still giving me a high-percentage make rate.
The Twoey Takeaway
By the end of the warm-up, I want to have warmed up three things: my body, my shots and my focus. The purpose is consistency in my preparation, my contact point and the way I am approaching the match.
I am not concerned with hitting perfect shots during these 15 minutes. I am trying to get my body and mind in sync before I compete. When the warm-up prepares me for the movements, shots and situations I am actually going to encounter, I can step onto the court ready to play. ●
About Connor Garnett
Ranked fifth in the world in men’s singles, Connor Garnett is a professional pickleball player competing on both the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball. Known for his athleticism, analytical approach, and his signature two-handed backhand known as the “Twoey”, Garnett has established himself as one of the sport’s most respected competitors and educators. Through his instructional series, Twoey’s Tips, he shares the technical insights, strategies, and training methods that have helped shape his professional game, giving players of all skill levels practical advice to elevate their performance on the court.
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