Top Squash Sport Drills to Boost Your Skills

As someone who’s played, coached, and taped fingers for 12+ years, here’s my straight take: if you want speed, brain games, and sweat, the squash sport is it. Tiny court, fast racquet, sharp rallies. Footwork, fitness, serve, recovery. It’s chess with lunges.

Quick answers so you don’t scroll forever

• Scoring: play to 11, win by 2, point-a-rally (PAR). Simple, fast, ruthless.
• Gear: non-marking shoes, a light racquet, and a ball that fits your level (single dot or double dot).
• Beginner tip: hit the side wall more than you think, and recover to the T every time.
• Safety: goggles for juniors, awareness for everyone. Don’t swing through people. Ever.

If you want the full background, history, rules, and odd trivia, the summary on Wikipedia is decent. I still disagree with some “strategy” bits, but it’s a start.

Why I keep coming back

In my experience, squash hooks you because everything happens now. No waiting for a ball to roll in from the parking lot. No wind. No excuses. You serve, we dance, and someone makes a mistake. Usually me, after three boasts in a row that had no right to exist.

When I review matches, I live in tactical breakdowns. Line, length, and who owns that triangle tells the whole story. If your length lands short, your opponent lives in front, and you’re jogging around like a lost tourist.

The rhythm of a rally (and why it feels like a chase scene)

I’ve always found that good rallies have a soundtrack. Ball hits front wall, then side wall, then a soft whisper near the nick. Volley, volley, drop, scramble. The body wants to panic. The mind whispers: get back to the T. Repeat until one of us forgets oxygen is a thing.

If you like bite-sized clips and the stuff people screenshot for bragging rights, I toss my favorite bits into top plays. Bias alert: I’ve posted more backhand nicks than forehand ones. That’s just who I am now.

Scoring and calls without the drama

Here’s the clean version: play to 11, need two to win. Any player can score on any rally. Lets are replays. Strokes give a point. If you block the swing or the direct path to the ball, you probably owe them a stroke. If you both kind of bump like shopping carts, etc. If they set up for a winner and you wander in like a confused duck, that’s on you.

I like to capture the momentum swings, the “how did we get here” snapshots, in Match Analysis. The turning point in most games happens in two rallies. You just don’t notice it until it’s gone.

Gear that actually matters (and what doesn’t)

• Racquet: pick something 110–135 grams with a balance you can control. If your wrist aches, it’s too head-heavy or you’re muscling the ball.
• Grip: keep it dry. Overgrips are cheap. A sweaty grip is a drop shot to your own confidence.
• Ball: single-dot red for beginners, single-dot yellow as you improve, double-dot yellow when you can keep it warm. Cold ball and dead rallies.
• Shoes: non-marking soles, good lateral support. Ankles are not negotiable.

People ask me if quarters vs periods matter for tempo. Funny enough, pacing changes by sport. Hockey rhythms are structured by periods, while field hockey uses quarters, which shifts tactics a lot, if you like that kind of meta talk, check this explainer on periods vs. quarters in hockey that I reference when I teach squash pacing.

Training that doesn’t waste your time

What I think is: training should feel like the game. Short bursts, smart recoveries, and decision-making under stress. You don’t need a three-hour grind to play well. You need 45 focused minutes where your legs and brain learn to talk to each other.

• Solo hitting: 10 minutes straight drives, 5 minutes volleys, 5 minutes drops. Aim small.
• Condition games: drive-then-drop, backhand half-court, or three-quarter length only.
• Movement: ghost to the corners in sets of 4 x 45 seconds. Rest 45 seconds. Cry a little. Repeat.

When I want to cross-train my eyes for speed and angles, I sometimes watch cricket and hockey highlights. The way a hockey winger finds lanes is the same way I try to take space on the T. Patterns are patterns.

The table I wish someone showed me on day one

Short, sweet, and actually useful. Tape it to your brain.

Shot	Best Use	Cue I Give Myself
Straight drive	Build length, push them behind you	High on the front wall, bounce near back nick
Crosscourt	Escape when stuck, change sides fast	Wide enough to pass behind the body
Drop	When they’re deep or off-balance	Soft hands, finish in front, recover first
Boast	Drag them forward, test lungs	Hit early, make it die before mid-court
Lob	Reset under pressure	High, slow, land tight on the side wall
Volley	Keep pace high, steal time	Take it early, punch through the ball

Footwork you can steal

In my experience, footwork isn’t pretty. It’s purposeful. Big first step, balanced base, chest up, and get back to the T like it owes you money.

• Split-step as your opponent hits. Not before. Not after.
• Step to the ball with your outside foot. Keep the stance open enough to recover.
• Finish every shot with a bounce back toward center. Even drops. Especially drops.

If you prefer the polished “official” scope of the game, professional tours, Olympic bits, and where the sport is heading, check the overview on Olympics.com. I’m excited and also mildly terrified for how televised angles will expose lazy recoveries.

How to read an opponent in 90 seconds

Watch the warm-up. Are they late on volleys? Backhand shaky? Do they crowd the middle? Boom and plan made. I’ll feed their backhand, volley anything loose, and test a straight drop early.

When people ask me if the game is “niche,” I point them to outlets that cover it with some bite, like The Guardian’s squash page. If mainstream eyes catch more of the PSA World Tour, expect better refs, better camera angles, and fewer mystery lets.

Mini breakdowns: Three Common Mistakes

1) You hit too hard, too often

We all do it. Hitting harder doesn’t fix bad length. Use height and width. Control beats power. Every. Single. Time.

2) You don’t recover to the T

It’s boring advice, but the T is the game. If you admire your drop like it’s a sunset, you’ll be sprinting to chase a crosscourt that you gifted.

3) You fake before you earn it

Deception works only if you can volley and hold a straight shot. Build the basics first. Then do the cheeky stuff. Otherwise it’s just bad theater.

A week that actually works (for busy humans)

• Mon: 30-min solo (drives, volleys, drops), 10-min ghosting
• Wed: 45-min match play with one focus (recover sooner, volley more)
• Fri: 20-min solo, 20-min condition games
• Weekend: Play a full match, review two rallies you lost and why

I log these little experiments and post-game notes under my own Player Profiles habit. Yes, I know I linked it earlier. That’s how much I think turning points matter in this game.

“Is it really that fast?”

Yes. The ball looks slow on TV. In person, it’s all sound. Thock, thock, hiss. A volley almost hits you and then you realize the walls are your friends and also your enemies. The walls don’t care whose point it is. They just reflect your decisions right back at you.

Things I wish someone told me

• Warm up the ball: A dead ball lies to you about your length.
• Play high when in doubt: Height forgives timing mistakes.
• Grip pressure, soft on touch: firm on drives. Don’t choke the racquet.
• If you clip the tin: it was probably a good idea hit too low. Aim one ball higher.
• When tired, play straight: Crosscourts are chaos when legs go.

If you want more nerdy angles

I break down patterns a lot because they compound fast, especially under pressure. If you’re into that, I stash longer reads in my corner of tactical breakdowns. Bring tea. Or an ice pack.

Is this game for everyone?

Honestly? If you like fast feedback, yes. If you want a chill walk and polite claps, maybe golf. The squash sport demands decisions every second. That’s the fun part. Also the stressful part. I love it anyway.

Common lingo so you don’t nod politely

• The T: middle crossroads. Live there.
• Nick: the floor-wall crease where shots die. Glorious when you find it.
• Tin: the lower front wall. Hit it and you lose. Loudly.
• Let: replay the point. Usually because of traffic.
• Stroke: you blocked them; they get the point. Try not to argue. Much.

FAQs

Is squash hard to learn if I’ve only played tennis?

You’ll pick up swings fast, but the walls and the T will humble you. Start with straight drives and short movement drills.

What ball should a beginner use?

Start with a single-dot (red or yellow depending on your club). You need the bounce while you learn timing.

How do I stop getting stuck in the back corners?

Use height. Lob or high drives to get out, then recover to the T and reset the rally.

Why do refs keep calling strokes against me?

You’re probably blocking the direct path or their swing. Clear wide after your shot and give straight access.

What’s the fastest way to get better in 2 weeks?

Solo drives 10 minutes a day, plus condition games that force straight shots. Record yourself once. Fix recovery first.