Padel has now become a sport that has forcefully entered not only the recreational but also competitive activities of Italian athletes.
A dynamic, fast-paced sport that is partly reminiscent of tennis but has different rules and shots.
Some of these are really spectacular and require a lot of training if you want to perform them effectively.
Since padel has South American and Spanish origins, many shots are in Spanish.
Let's look at the main shots in padel and some of their secrets to transform them into winning shots.
SERVICE
At an amateur level, the serve can be a winning shot, but as the level increases, it will be increasingly difficult to score a point directly from the serve.
The main purpose of the service is to allow us to quickly and easily get to the net.
Tips and Strategies: The best serves are those that are cut and angled and look for the wall, or those that are directed into the center of the court to try to surprise the opponent. The important thing is to vary it so that the opponent does not know what to expect.
VOLLEY
The goal of the volley is to keep your opponents at the back of the court by putting pressure on them and trying to force them into errors!
Tips and strategies: To make a good volley you have to be close to the net as it is an aggressive shot so if you hit it from the back of the court it is unlikely to be a good volley . To cause confusion in your opponents you have to hit a volley in the center of the court so they will be unsure who should take the shot!
LOOP ( IN SPANISH GLOBO )
A shot that is often underestimated, the lob is one of the fundamental shots in padel as it serves to bring opponents back to the back of the court and allows us to move up and conquer the net!
Tips and strategies: Always try to execute a high and deep lob , you must send the opponent to the back of the court otherwise a short lob will give the opponents the opportunity to attack us and close the point.
BAND
One of the most appreciated shots by padel players because it allows us to quickly regain the net when the opponents, in an attempt to send us to the back of the court, perform a lob that is too short. It is a high forehand volley in which the ball is given spin in order to keep the bounce low. The aim of this shot is to maintain the position at the net and force the opponents to stay at the back of the court. To perform a good bandeja the best area is in the middle of the court, the direction must be angular so that the ball bounces on both walls, putting the opponent in difficulty.
Tips and strategies: In this shot we must avoid playing with power, a perfect volley favors precision and good placement of the ball.
VIBORA
One of the most difficult shots from a technical point of view, it is similar to the bandeja in terms of the height of the shot and the area in which it is executed but it is performed with more speed, the shot is more cut and you must have the intention of closing the point!
Tips and Strategies: The goal of this shot is for the ball to bounce off the glass and fall to the ground before the opponent can hit it.
DEJADE
This shot is a short sliced ball, used by the player at the net to catch opponents off guard as they defend at the baseline.
Being a rather risky shot if not executed perfectly, it is not a very common shot. One of the professional players who loves this shot is Juan Lebron.
Tips and Strategies: This shot requires a lot of practice and technique.
CHIQUITA
This shot is played from the back of the court or from mid-court, the ball is hit slowly and gently so that it bounces at the feet of the opponents who are at the net or are coming down to the net.
Tips and Strategies: The goal of this shot is to slow down the opponents' game, it is a counter attack shot.
AGAINST THE WALL ( IN SPANISH CONTROPARED )
This shot is played at the back of the court, with your back to the net, after the ball has bounced off the back glass and we send it into the opponent's court, first bouncing it off the wall in front of us!
Tips and strategies: We must keep in mind that if this shot is not executed perfectly it will give the opponents an easy ball to be able to land on! It is essential to give the ball a trajectory from low to high so that it maintains its height after the bounce against the wall.
WALL OUTPUT
It is a shot similar to a bandeja played at the baseline. When the opponent makes a lob one option is to respond with a wall exit, this shot is made after the ball has hit the wall and the trajectory is from top to bottom.
SMASH, SMASH x3 AND SMASH x4
The smash can easily transform from an opportunity to close the point to offering the opponents a good ball to attack us! To close the point with the smash, the ball after bouncing against the back glass must return towards our court (SMASH) or go out from a side wall (SMASH x3) or even go out directly from the court without bouncing on the glass (SMASH x4) . However, if you do not give it enough power and a good angle, the ball bouncing on the back glass will land in the opponent's half court giving them the opportunity to attack us!
SMASH x3
It is a smash that after bouncing on the opponent's court and the back wall, goes out laterally from the court (precisely 3 m high)
SMASH x4
It is a smash that bounces so high that it goes over the back wall (4 m high) and out of the court, making any attempt at recovery impossible.
Tips and strategies: You should hit the ball at its highest point, extending your arm and racket above your head and positioning yourself to the side. If you hit a deep, parallel smash, at the height of the service line, it will be more effective and your opponent will have less time to react to defend the ball.
