Padel tactics: how to win more points without hitting harder

The net position decides the match

Unlike tennis, padel is a game of positions. The team that controls the net wins roughly seven out of ten points, because they can hit down on the ball, put their opponents on the half volley and force weak returns. That is why almost all padel tactics answer two questions: how do we get to the net, and how do we make them leave it?

In practice this means that after serving or returning you should always move forward right after the shot. If you stay at the back after your return you give the net away for free. Move up together with your partner, roughly at the height of the service line, and do not stand closer to the net than you can recover from a lob over your head.

The lob: your most important weapon

The lob is the most underrated shot in recreational padel. A high, deep lob over the net players forces them to turn and retreat, and in that moment the positions switch: they defend, you attack. Against a pair standing tight at the net, the lob is often the only shot that moves them.

• Lob early in the match so your opponents never dare to stand really close to the net. The mere threat of the lob gives you more room.
• Lob when you are under pressure. A lob buys you time to recover your position instead of gambling on a difficult passing shot.
• Lob down the middle. A lob between the two opponents always creates a second of uncertainty about who takes it.

Slow down instead of hitting harder

The most common tactical mistake at club level is hitting too hard. A hard ball into the back glass comes back faster and easier than a soft one, and every hard shot is a gamble. The best club players do the opposite: they lower the tempo when they are in trouble.

Play low and soft at your opponents' feet when they are at the net. A ball that dies at their shoes is impossible to attack, and the next ball arrives in a better position for you. Think of every point as a staircase: first you neutralise, then you build, and only when the ball sits up high and you are balanced do you hit the winner.

Play the weaker player

In doubles you do not win points with pretty winners, you win them by aiming the game correctly. Identify early which opponent is the weaker player and let the majority of your balls go there, especially on the important points. That is not unsporting, that is padel.

The same principle applies to the middle. Balls between two opponents create communication problems, and at club level they often end with both hesitating or both swinging. When you are unsure where to aim: hit the middle.

Five tactical mistakes that cost you games

1. Staying at the back after your return. You give away the net and play the rest of the point in defence.
2. Trying to hit winners from a defensive position. From the back glass the odds are low and the price of a miss is high. Lob instead.
3. Hitting hard at a pair well set at the net. The ball comes back faster than you can reset.
4. Never lobbing. Then your opponents can stand as close to the net as they like and close every angle.
5. Playing every point at the same tempo. Vary between soft balls at the feet and lobs and you become impossible to read.

Tactics start before the first point

Talk to your partner before the match about three things: who takes the middle balls, who covers the lob and what you do when you end up defending. A pair that communicates hits worse but wins more. During the match, short calls are enough: "mine", "yours", "switch". It sounds simple, and that is exactly why it works.

Want to test the tactics against new opponents? Find matches at your level in the match feed. Playing the same group every week means you learn each other's habits, and it is only against unknown pairs that your tactics are truly tested.

Common questions