Wall Speed-Up Combo
Why this drill
The kitchen-line pattern that decides games — dink, dink, speed up, then handle what comes back — rehearsed solo at full speed. The wall plays the counter-attacker better than most partners: instantly and without mercy.
Setup
Wall with the 34-inch line. Stand seven feet back at dinking distance. One ball, spares in a pocket.
The drill
Run the combo on a loop: two soft dinks above the line, then a speed-up driven firmly a foot above the tape, then block the fast rebound back into a soft dink — and you are back at the start. Dink, dink, attack, block, dink. One full cycle without losing control is one rep; ten reps is a set. Do three sets, initiating the speed-up off the forehand in the first, the backhand in the second, and alternating in the third.
One thought to take on court
The speed-up and the recovery are one motion — paddle back to chest height before the wall answers, because it always answers.