Padel Special: Padel strokes and tactical tips for your perfect padel experience
Part two of our padel special is about hitting technique and tactics . For everyone who doesn't yet know what a Salida, Contra pared, x3 or Bandeja is, our padel expert Yannik Mann shed some light on it. From the serve to the groundstrokes, the lob, the stop or the overhead ball - we have not only an explanation but also a suitable short video for all the different padel strokes and stroke variations. So that you can also see how the individual shot works and is played. And for those padel experts - or those who want to become one - Yannik has an absolutely valuable tactical tip . It's not just about playing hardball, but playing smart padel. And in many ways that is quite different from tennis. This makes it all the more important to approach the whole thing correctly in a playful and tactical manner.
Have fun with our second part! Afterwards, each of you should know that a Chiquita for paddling doesn't mean a banana!
Our padel expert Yannik Mann explains the most important padel strokes including tactical tips
Most people start playing padel. That's what excites so many players in a short time - competing with your friends in no time. The rules from the first part of the padel special are enough to start a match. Now let's go a few steps further. Padel strokes and tactical tips await you in the second edition of the Padel Special.
The serve in padel
Similar to tennis, you have two serves and change the side of serve after each point. The ball must bounce behind the service line and be hit below waist height. It is played into the diagonally opposite service court. After bouncing, the ball may touch the glass, but not the grid. With net rollers, the serve is repeated. To make the ball difficult for the opponent, we try to play the serve as a slice and thus keep the ball flat.
Serve and net position
Play the ball as close as possible to the service line. This means the ball travels longer and you have time to get into the net position. If you're not quick on your feet, you shouldn't serve too quickly, otherwise you'll be out of position when your opponent hits the ball.
The primary tactical goal is to capture or hold the net position. Most points in padel are won in the net position. Take advantage of your opportunities to go to the net together with your partner. The easiest way to get to the net is after a good praise (beginner area). Advanced players also like to try to take the net position after a ball has hit the opponent's feet (Chiquita).
The return
The ball must bounce once in the service court before it can be played. You can freely choose your own position. However, it makes sense to stand behind the service line when returning and a little closer to the side wall than in the middle.
The ball that comes sideways against the first target can be played towards the wall. If he only jumps against the second side disk, you have to try to play the ball on the ground after the jump.
First of all, from the defensive side of things
When returning for beginners, the aim is first of all to force the opponent to take another hit. At this level, when the opponent is at the net, they should calmly score all the points - for themselves and for you. If our opponent gets an easy ball from us and responds with a winner, congratulations! I'd rather let the opponent make the point than make the mistake myself. There is a big difference between “the opponent wins the point” and “I lose the point”.
Longline when things get difficult on defense
If you play longline from the defensive, your opponent will most likely switch to your partner to put pressure on you and you can return to your position. If the ball comes back to you from your longline opponent, you have the following advantages:
- The jump from the back wall jumps straight forward and so you don't have to defend the double boards
- Your opponent doesn't have a good angle to continue attacking you
- The ball reaches the opponent faster due to the shorter path and he has less time to prepare his next shot
Direct groundstrokes
Direct groundstrokes are all strokes that are played after jumping without contact with the boards.
Low - low, high-high
If you hit the ball in the defensive position below the height of the net, you try to prepare with your hand under the point of impact so that your movement towards the ball automatically goes from bottom to top.
This will definitely get the ball over the net and it won't rise as much as if you were to slice at the same speed below the height of the net. If the ball reaches you above net height, you can prepare above the ball and play backspin.
Salida and Bajada de pared
Deep balls - with the impact point below the height of the net - are called salida de pared in Spanish. If the ball first hits the ground, it will always have backspin after contacting the back wall. In order to be able to transmit this backspin, we open the face in preparation for the salida de pared . So the ball falls past the back wall onto the club face.
The ball from the back wall that bounces high is prepared with the hand above the point of impact and is called bajada de pared .
Time to let through
In general, it is important, especially for tennis players, to see the back wall as a friend , helping to slow down the game and give more time on the defensive. Try to let the balls that land behind the service line pass through. In a match situation you usually fall back on what you know, but the sooner you start letting the balls go through, the faster you will get better defensively.
Contra pared
The contra pared is the blow over the boards.
Both the back and side walls may be involved to hit the ball back to the other side. The side and rear walls only refer to the glass construction. The grid may not be played directly. Beginners beware: Please only use this shot after you have practiced it a few times with a trainer.
Only play with the wall if there is no other option!
The boards should mainly be used when the ball no longer comes back so far after the wall that you can play the ball as Salida de pared. This mainly occurs when:
- the opponent plays the ball past you and you have to run after it.
- the ball is played so slowly and far back to the backhand that you can neither play in front of your body nor behind the wall.
The volley
Every tennis player knows volleys and most people play them well. The classic tennis volley in padel is played primarily in volley-to-volley duels. Due to the short distance to the opponent, there is hardly any time to prepare the blow, so you have to prepare short and behind the point of impact.
If the opponent is in a defensive position, it makes sense to play the ball with a little more backspin to create a flat bounce off the back wall. To do this, the opponent's ball should reach you above the height of the net and your hand should be raised at least to the height of the hitting point. The punching movement then goes from top back to bottom front.
Targeted volleys
Play the high volleys (above net height) quickly to the opponent's feet or in front of the line if you aim into the gap. If you play into the gap and the ball comes too far back, it will bounce far away from the target and become easier for the opponent. In front of the line causes the ball to hit the target as it falls and then it becomes difficult to bring the ball back.
Two against one
Try to build the point across the middle together with your partner. Only when the opponent has had to get into the middle do you then have space on the outside. Play together against the person who just played the ball in the middle and stay in the middle and outside against one another.
The praise
The lob is one of the most important shots in padel.
When do you play a lob? What if I need time because the opponent played a good ball that is difficult for me to get to? The answer is: NO, this is tennis. With padel it's exactly the other way around. The lob is an offensive stroke in padel because we achieve our tactical goal #1, the net position, through a good lob. If we play the lob too low, too short, or too long, we invite the opponent to hit us. For a good lob we need a simple ball. As soon as you start playing with the discs, I advise you to play the lobs towards the back wall. The ball is already heading in the right direction after the back wall and you just have to give it a little height and direction.
In the defensive position
Play difficult balls flat and easy balls as praise.
The stop
In padel you also play stops to surprise your opponent and get them going. Of course it's nice to stop out the door, but how often does it work? Beautiful is not always effective and the stop does not always have to be a winner. A short ball into the middle of the pitch is often enough to force communication problems with the opponent and break up the game. Unlike tennis, in padel there is no stop from the defensive position because the opponent is in the offensive position at the net.
Special tip for advanced users
If the opponent plays a Chiquita and doesn't move forward, play a stop. The ball is relatively slow and arrives below the height of the net. With a little backspin the whole thing becomes a dream ball.
The Chiquita
Chiquita, Spanish for the little girl, is the name of the shot that is played at the opponent's foot level. This forces the opponent to play and lift the ball below the height of the net. If the Chiquita is played well, you also have the chance to get into the net position with this ball.
Overhead variations: Smash, Bandeja, Vibora, Rulo, x3 and Gancho - hallelujah
The Smash
The smash is familiar to every tennis player and is not a problem even with the smaller racket. A lot of wrong decisions are made here at the beginning because the ball is played as a smash from too far back. The smash should only be used if the ball is hit in front of the body and the body weight can be placed forward into the ball. For lobs that come down the service line, there is a better overhead variation - the Bandeja.
The Bandeja
Bandeja means tray in Spanish. It gets its name from preparing the bat with a high elbow and a slightly open face. If the opponent plays a good lob that is not long enough to hit off the wall, but not short enough to use an offensive strike, then the Bandeja is used. The Bandeja is a defensive overhead ball designed to maintain net position. The open face allows the ball to be played long back with a little backspin, giving us time to get back into the net position. The meeting point for the bandeja is approximately at head height and to the side of the body. For tennis players it can be compared to a high slice volley.
The Vibora
If the opponent's lob is shorter and to the right side, we can attack with a Vibora . The Vibora is similar to the slice serve from tennis. The hitting surface is rather closed during preparation and the movement goes outwards, away from the center of the body, towards the ball. Due to the sidespin that the ball receives, the ball winds its way through the air or after the bounce. The name says it all here too. Vibora means viper.
The Rulo
Rulo or kicksmash into the grid - a fantastically beautiful shot, but also technically demanding. Why kick and not just straight? Safety first is the answer. We try to give the ball a high trajectory over the net and still land in front of the net. The topspin from the kicksmash makes this possible. Second serve in tennis to the outside is exactly the technique we need here, but do it slowly - you don't need a lot of strength.
x3 - over the side wall
x3 (Portres) means “over 3”. This refers to the three meter high side wall. Here we play a kicksmash that hits the opponent's back wall as high as possible and then flies sideways out of the court.
The Gancho
Gancho , the hook, is played when the opponent plays a quick lob over us, just as we can get to it.
Like the Bandeja, this shot is a more defensive overhead ball. The difference here is that the ball is hit to us and not next to the body. Due to the high meeting point, it is usually easy to play to the outside. Attention to all tennis players - The wrist should remain relatively stable during defensive strokes to give us control and not speed.
Australia formation
Padel players at an advanced level maintain their side. Overall, this makes shot selection a little easier and you start to specialize on one side. If two right-handed players play together, the player on the right side (forehand side) has more of a game-building role, while the player on the left side (backhand side) usually finishes the point more often with the forehand in the middle.
In the beginner area it makes sense to get to know both sides in order to be flexible depending on who you are on the pitch with. However, you can get used to sticking to one side throughout the match right from the start. When serving on your own, the server's partner does not change sides.
Train with the professionals right from the start and improve
Learn from the best players and coaches in the world with Hello Padel Academy . The Academy was founded in 2013 by former professional padel player Mauri Andrini and now runs academies in Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and of course Germany. Our padel expert Yannik is head coach there. The academies generally offer coaching training, workshops for players, online courses and padel camps.
We have two goodies exclusively for you at the Hello Padel Academy:
- Three days of free access to the Hello Padel Academy online platform
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You shouldn't miss this!
Outlook on our further padel special
In part three of our padel special with Yannik Mann you can expect:
- Padel courts: Where can I even play padel?
- Where can you find out more about space construction ?
- Top padel trips
Do you have any questions about padel?
Then simply send us your question using our form.
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