Every padel shot, explained

The foundations

These are the shots that make up the vast majority of every match. Get them reliable and you can play with anyone.

• Serve el saque Underarm, below the waist, after one bounce. Padel serves are not won outright, so the goal is placement, not power. Serving into the body or towards the side glass makes the return awkward and lets you move forward to the net behind it.
• Return el resto The most underrated shot in padel. A deep, low return keeps the serving pair from taking the net comfortably. When in doubt, return crosscourt and low, or lob if you are under pressure.
• Groundstrokes la derecha y el revés Forehand and backhand from the back of the court. Compared with tennis, take a shorter swing and stay lower — you are usually looking to keep the ball in play with control, not to hit a winner from the back.
• Volley la volea Struck out of the air at the net. Blocked or punched, rarely swung. The volley is how the attacking pair keeps opponents pinned at the back: aim low, deep and towards the corners rather than trying to end the point every time.
• Lob el globo The single most valuable shot in padel. A good lob pushes the net pair back and lets you and your partner move forward. Height and depth beat pace; a lob landing in the last metre before the glass is almost impossible to attack.

Overheads: bandeja, víbora and smash

When you are at the net and your opponents lob you, you have a choice: attack the ball, or control it and keep your position. Padel’s overheads exist on a spectrum from safe to spectacular, and choosing the right one is what separates intermediate players from beginners.

• Bandeja the tray The control overhead, and the most important shot to learn after the lob. Contact is out to the side at around head height with a slicing, tray-like motion, sending the ball deep and low with backspin. It does not win the point; it keeps you at the net and stops your opponents from attacking. If you learn one advanced shot, learn this one.
• Víbora the viper A more aggressive cousin of the bandeja, hit with a sharper, more wristy slicing action that puts side-spin on the ball. It skids low after the bounce and kicks towards the side glass, which makes it very awkward to return. Higher risk than the bandeja, and it still lets you hold the net.
• Smash el remate The full-power overhead, hit flat and downward to finish the point. In padel a smash rarely ends things by pace alone, because the ball rebounds off the back glass — so smashes are usually aimed to make the ball bounce and fly out of the court.
• Por tres x3 A smash struck so the ball bounces and rebounds over the side wall, out of the court. Named after the three walls involved. If your opponents cannot chase it outside the court, the point is over.
• Por cuatro x4 The same idea aimed over the back wall, hit steeply so the ball bounces high off the back glass and out. Spectacular, and the highest-risk shot in the game.
• Kick smash el rulo A topspin overhead that dips fast and jumps high off the surface, dragging the ball up and over the back glass rather than through it.
• Hook el gancho An overhead played on a ball that has drifted behind you, struck with a hooking action while moving backwards. Usually a recovery shot to keep the rally alive rather than an attack.

Rule of thumb: bandeja to stay at the net, víbora to pressure, smash only when the ball and your balance genuinely allow it. Most points at club level are lost by smashing balls that should have been bandejas.

Defence and the walls

Defending well is not about surviving — it is about buying enough time to lob your way back to the net. Every one of these shots is played after the ball has bounced on your floor.

• Back-wall defence la pared Let the ball pass you, turn side-on, track it off the back glass and hit it as it comes back to you. The key is to move away from the wall to give yourself room, not to stand and get jammed.
• Double wall la doble pared The ball rebounds off two surfaces — typically back glass then side glass, or the reverse. It looks intimidating but the ball slows down noticeably, so patience and footwork solve it.
• Side-wall defence la pared lateral A ball coming off the side glass, often after an angled volley or a víbora. Give ground, open your stance and let the ball come back into the court before striking it.
• Coming down off the wall la bajada When a smash or lob rebounds off your back glass and sits up, you can step in and drive it hard and low back down the court. The classic counter-attack, and the standard way to turn defence into offence.
• Wall assist la contrapared Deliberately playing the ball into your own back wall so that it rebounds over the net. Legal only when the ball has already bounced on your floor. A last-resort escape when you are jammed against the glass.

Touch and tactical shots

• Chiquita the little one A soft, low ball played from the back of the court to land at the feet of the net players. It forces them to volley upwards, which gives you a ball you can attack and a chance to move forward. The essential escape route from defence.
• Drop shot la dejada A delicate shot dropped just over the net, usually from the net position when opponents are deep. Effective against pairs who defend a long way back, and a fast way to lose the point if they are not.
• Block volley el bloqueo A short, firm volley with almost no swing, used against hard-hit balls. The pace comes from your opponent; you only supply the angle.
• Half-volley la media volea Taking the ball immediately after the bounce, usually when caught in transition. Keep the racket face steady, absorb the pace, and use it to buy the time to complete your move to the net.
• Counter-attack la contra A flat, hard drive played through the middle at the feet of the net players, instead of the expected lob. Used to break the rhythm of a pair that has become comfortable at the net.

How to practise these shots

Padel shots are learned in the order they appear in a rally, not in order of difficulty. A practical progression is: get the serve and the return reliable, then the lob, then the volley, then the bandeja, and only then the more aggressive overheads.

Practise each shot with a target and a success measure rather than a feeling. "Eight out of ten lobs land beyond the service line" tells you far more than "my lobs felt better today", and it gives you something concrete to compare next week.

• Warm up with purpose Spend the first five minutes of a session hitting the shot you are worst at, not the one you enjoy most.
• Isolate the wall Have a partner feed balls to the back glass so you learn to track the rebound before adding the pressure of a rally.
• Play lob-only points Points where every ball from the back must be a lob teach net position faster than any drill.
• Review after the match Note which shot cost you points while the memory is fresh. Patterns show up within a few matches.

Frequently asked questions