How to Train Squash Solo When You Have No Partner

Squash is a two-player sport, which makes it annoying when you can't find someone to hit with. Partner cancelled. Can't find anyone at your level. Court booked, nobody available. Solo training is your fallback, and it works better than most people think, if you do it properly.

What Solo Training Is Good For

Movement, footwork, aerobic fitness, and pattern repetition. The things that carry you through a five-game match. For shot-making under pressure or tactical adaptation against a real opponent, you need a ball and a partner. But for court coverage and conditioning? Solo isn't just acceptable. It's sometimes better, because there's nothing to distract you from the movement itself.

Ghosting Is the Foundation

Moving to each court position, playing a shadow stroke, then returning to the T. That's the most direct route to better court movement when you're alone. The discipline is the T-recovery. Every single rep, come back before the next call. No shortcuts. Set up a structured session in the app, put your earphones in, and twenty minutes goes by faster than you'd expect.

Use Structure to Stay Honest

Without structure, solo court time drifts. You move fast for a bit, slow down, lose focus. With a session running through your earphones, there's always something happening. The calls come whether you're ready or not. Two or three structured ghosting sessions per week alongside your match play, and within a month you'll notice your feet arriving earlier, fewer scrambled balls, better stamina late in games. These show up in real matches, usually before you consciously notice them.