A 4 minute read, written in October 2026
How to take the net in padel: the transitions that work
The pair at the net wins the large majority of points in padel, and moving there safely matters more than moving there fast. Here is when to go and when to hold.
Why the net is worth the risk
In professional men's padel the serving pair holds the net in roughly 66% of rallies after the serve, and in women's roughly 51%, according to match analysis by Escudero-Tena and colleagues in 2023. Even at that level, taking the net and keeping it is not automatic. At club level it is rarer still, which is exactly why it decides so many points: the pair that gets there and stays usually wins.
Those numbers also say something club players tend to forget. Even professionals lose the net close to a third or a half of the time depending on who served, so a transition that fails once in a while is not a sign you are doing it wrong. It is a sign you are playing the same game everyone else does.
The gap between the men's and women's numbers is also worth a moment's thought. It is not that one game rewards the net less, it is that the shots used to hold it, pace, depth, the speed of the split step, vary by rally, and the transition itself matters more than which pair happens to be better at keeping it once they arrive.
After your own lob
The moment your lob clears the opposing net player's racket, both of you should already be moving forward together, not watching to see where it lands. Wait for the bounce and you have given away the head start that made the lob worth hitting.
Stop moving in as their racket comes back to meet the ball, not before. A pair that keeps drifting forward while the opponent is mid-swing gets passed at the feet; a pair that has already stopped and set has a real chance to volley whatever comes back.
After the return of serve
The returning pair's other classic entry is straight after the return itself. Hit your return low and with depth, then walk in behind it rather than staying back to admire it: a low return buys enough time to close half the distance to the net before the server's partner can do much with it.
This only works if the return was actually good. A short or high return followed by a run to the net is the fastest way to get passed, because you have committed to a position you have not earned.
Depth matters more than pace here. A return hit hard but short still gives the server's partner time to step in and volley it away before you have closed any real ground, while a slower ball that lands deep buys you the same window a much harder shot would, with far less risk of the error that gives the point away outright.
The split step that decides everything
Time a small hop, landing on both feet, at the exact moment your opponent makes contact with the ball, not a moment before or after. From that landing you can push off in any direction; caught mid-stride when they hit, you cannot.
Your call
You and your partner are defending well from the back. When is the right moment to move forward to the net?
You go in behind the ball that makes them uncomfortable, not behind the ball that feels good to hit.
The whole reasoning, at every level
Most club players either stop moving too early, well before the opponent swings, or keep drifting in right through their contact. Both leave you flat-footed for the one ball that actually needed a reaction. The split step is the small habit that fixes both.
Where to stop, and moving with your partner
Stop about two metres from the net. Any closer and a decent lob goes straight over you; any further back and you are volleying up rather than down, which gives away the whole point of being there. Court positioning covers the two good places to stand on a padel court in more depth.
Go together or not at all. One player at the net and one still at the back is the most common shape on a club court, and it is the easiest one to beat: it opens the middle and offers a free lob over whoever stayed deep. If your partner is not ready to come with you, hold your own position rather than going alone.
When to hold instead of going
Not every short ball is an invitation. If your lob was shallow, or your return sat up, moving in behind it hands the net to opponents who never actually lost it. Read the quality of your own shot before you commit your feet to it.
A pair that holds its ground on a mediocre ball and waits one more shot for a real opening usually ends up at the net anyway, just a shot later and on safer terms. Patience about when to go matters as much as speed once you have decided to.
Most club pairs lose more points rushing in behind a poor lob than they ever do staying back too long, so watch for that pattern in your own games before assuming speed is the missing ingredient.