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The eight mistakes every padel beginner makes

Nearly all of them come from playing padel as though it were tennis. Fix these and you will jump a level without hitting a single new shot.

1. Hitting too hard

Power is the least valuable quality in padel. The court is small, the walls give the ball back, and a hard ball to a player at the net returns faster than it left. Placement, height and patience beat pace at every level.

2. Standing on the service line

No man's land. Every ball lands at your feet and every lob goes over your head. Be two metres from the net, or in front of your back glass: pass through the middle, do not live there.

3. Being afraid of the glass

Beginners rush deep balls because they think the wall ends the point. It does not: the ball can bounce once and then use every wall on your side. Move back, give the glass room, let the ball come past you, and hit it in front of your body.

4. Never lobbing

The lob feels defensive, so beginners avoid it. It is the main attacking tool in the sport: the only shot that pushes a net pair backwards and lets you take the net.

5. Serving and staying back

The serve is underarm and slow, so it cannot hurt anyone. Its whole value is that it lets the serving pair walk to the net. Serve, then go.

6. Attacking a ball below the net

If the ball is below the tape, it has to travel upwards to get over, and upward balls give the other pair time. Block it deep instead and wait for one above the net. Height, not effort, decides whether a ball can be attacked.

7. Splitting up as a pair

One at the net and one at the back opens the middle and offers a free lob. Move as a unit: imagine a three-metre rope. If your partner goes, you go.

8. Watching your own shot

The shot is not finished until your feet have recovered. Admiring a good cross-court ball is how you arrive at the next one late and off balance. Hit, then move: every single time.

What to work on first

If you only fix one thing this month, make it the lob: hit it higher, deeper, and go in behind it with your partner. It fixes more scorelines than any new shot you could learn, and it teaches you the rhythm of the whole game.

Practise it

intermediate

Your partner got pulled wide. Where do you stand?

The pair moves like one body. When your partner is pulled wide, you take the middle.

beginner

You have served. Where do you go?

In padel you serve in order to get to the net. Serve, then go.

beginner

A ball comes down the middle. Who takes it?

The middle ball belongs to the forehand: decided before the match, not during the point.

beginner

You are stranded on the service line. What do you do?

The service line is a doorway. Split-step on it if you must, but never live there.

beginner

You just hit a great lob. What next?

A lob without a run forward is a wasted lob. Both of you go, or neither.

intermediate

You are both at the back. When do you go in?

You go in behind the ball that makes them uncomfortable, not behind the ball that feels good to hit.

Questions people ask

What is the biggest mistake beginners make in padel?

Hitting too hard. The court is small and the walls return the ball, so pace mostly helps your opponents. Placement, height and patience win far more points.

How do I improve at padel quickly?

Fix your positioning and start lobbing. Stand two metres from the net or in front of the back glass, move as a pair, and lift the ball high and deep so you can take the net.

Why do beginners struggle with the wall in padel?

They stand too close and hit too early. The ball has to be allowed to bounce, hit the glass and come past you before you play it out in front of your body.