Six padel tips to use in your next match

Start with control, not harder hitting. If you already play tennis, keep your early preparation and ball tracking, but shorten your swing and stop treating every deep ball as something you must hit before it reaches the glass.

These six padel tips give you a decision or movement cue to use during your next session.

1. Serve to start the point, not finish it

Choose a generous target inside the diagonal service box rather than aiming for a line. Use a pace you can repeat without losing balance.

The legal basics: start behind the service line on the correct side of the centre-line extension, and bounce the ball in that serving area. The ball must not cross either line before you strike it. Strike at or below waist height, keep at least one foot on the ground at contact, and do not touch the service line or imaginary centre-line extension with your feet. The serve must bounce in the diagonal receiving box. These requirements come from the 2026 FIP rules, Rule 6.

Checkpoint: Can you land several serves in the same broad area without increasing your effort? Build that repeatability before chasing difficult placements. See the full padel serve rules for faults and lets.

2. Prepare early; make the swing smaller

Turn your shoulders as you read the incoming ball, then use small adjustment steps to find comfortable contact. Avoid taking the racket far behind you simply because that is your tennis habit.

On a fast volley—a shot played before the bounce—think of guiding or blocking the ball rather than swinging through it with maximum force. The LTA recommends short backswings and placement over power for beginners.

Checkpoint: If you repeatedly contact late, reduce the backswing before trying to swing faster.

3. Read the back glass instead of rushing toward it

A deep ball does not automatically demand an immediate return. If it has enough pace to rebound into playable space, let it bounce on your court, hit the back glass and come away from the wall. Return it before its second ground bounce.

That sequence is legal under FIP Rules 12–13. The glass rebound does not give you another ground bounce.

Prepare while the ball travels, turn side-on and adjust with small steps. A slower ball may stay close to the glass, so do not wait in one fixed position. The LTA’s back-glass guidance stresses reading pace, creating space and controlling the return.

Checkpoint: Are you beside the rebound with room to swing, rather than crowding the ball against the wall?

4. Use the lob to change positions

A lob is a high shot over the opponents. When they are at the net and you have balanced contact, use it to push them back—not just to keep the ball alive.

Prepare with the racket face more open and lift smoothly from low to high. Aim for the ball to bounce beyond the service line but before the back glass, as recommended in the LTA lob guide.

Checkpoint: Watch the opponents. If your lob forces them back, you and your partner can advance. If it sits up for an attacking overhead, stay ready to defend rather than charging forward automatically.

5. Move with your partner

Use “both back” and “both forward” as your basic rally positions, not rigid rules for every instant. Avoid leaving one player at the net while the other remains deep for several shots.

When your partner moves toward a side ball, shift with them to help cover the middle. Call “mine” early when taking a shared ball. The LTA identifies paired movement and communication as core beginner habits.

Checkpoint: After your shot, check your partner’s position as well as the ball. Our doubles positioning guide explains the starting positions and recovery movements.

6. Do not force a winner from awkward contact

If the ball is low, behind you or difficult to reach, choose a controlled return with room inside the court. Save aggressive shots for contact you can organise comfortably.

A harder shot is not automatically better: the LTA notes that powerful shots can rebound off the glass into an easier return.

Checkpoint: Judge the shot by the return it creates, not how hard it felt.

Put the tips together

Imagine both opponents are at the net. Their volley lands deep; you let it rebound from the back glass, adjust into balanced contact and play a lob. It pushes them back, so you and your partner advance together. On the next volley, use a compact action to keep pressure on them rather than attempting an immediate winner.

After warming up, practise that sequence with four players: two at the net and two defending. Have a net player feed a controlled, deep ball that rebounds from the back glass into playable space. The defender returns it with a lob if balanced, or a controlled low return if not; then play the point out. Swap starting positions every two points. For the first few rallies, measure success by a controlled return and coordinated recovery—not by winning the point.