A 6 minute read, written in October 2026
Padel shots: every shot name, what it does and when to use it
The main padel shots are the serve, return, drive, backhand, volley, lob, bandeja, víbora and smash, plus soft balls such as the chiquita and drop shot and wall shots such as the bajada. Most have Spanish names, because the modern game grew up in Spain and Argentina. So which ones do you need, and when does each one work?
Padel shots at a glance
Most padel shots have Spanish names, and English-speaking players use them too. The table gives each main shot, when you use it and where you play it from. The sections below explain each one.
| Shot | When you use it | From where |
|---|---|---|
| Serve | To start every point | Behind your service line |
| Return (resto) | To answer the serve, after the bounce | Back of the court |
| Drive | To keep the rally going on your forehand | Back of the court |
| Backhand (revés) | The same on your backhand, usually sliced | Back of the court |
| Lob (globo) | To push the net pair back to their glass | Back of the court |
| Chiquita | To make the net pair volley upwards | Back or middle of the court |
| Volley | To attack or block before the bounce | At the net |
| Drop shot (dejada) | When both opponents are deep | At the net |
| Bandeja | To answer a lob and keep the net | Around the service line |
| Víbora | To attack a medium lob with side spin | Service line to the net |
| Smash (remate) | To finish a short, high lob | Close to the net |
| Por tres, por cuatro | To send the ball out of the court | Close to the net |
| Rulo | To kill the ball in the side mesh | Near the net |
| Gancho | A fast, compact overhead finish | Near the net |
| Bajada | To attack a ball high off your back glass | Back of the court |
| Contrapared | To rescue a ball that has passed you | Off your own glass |
Serve and return: how every point starts
The serve is underarm: you bounce the ball behind the service line and hit it at or below waist height into the diagonal box. At club level its job is to start the point well and let you follow it to the net, not to win it outright. Most servers aim at the side glass or at the receiver's body. The serve guide covers where to aim, and serve faults and lets covers the rules.
The return, resto in Spanish, is the only shot in padel you must play after a bounce, because the receiver may not volley the serve. Safe returns go low to the feet of the server as they move in, or high over the net player as a lob. Many returns come off the side or back glass, which gives you more time.
From the back: drive, backhand, lob and chiquita
The drive is the forehand groundstroke, played after the bounce or off the glass. From the back of the court it rarely wins a point, and hit hard it usually hands the net pair an easy volley. A low, steady drive to the middle or the feet keeps you in the rally. The word also names the player on the right side.
Your call
Their lob was deep, you let it bounce, and it is coming off the back glass. In the moment, what tells you whether to attack with a bajada or lob back?
Bajada when the ball comes off high and they are close to the net. Lob when it comes off low or they are deep.
The whole reasoning, at every level
The backhand, revés in Spanish, is the same shot on your other side. Most padel backhands are hit with one hand and some slice, which keeps the ball low and gives you control off the glass. Revés also names the player on the left side.
The lob, globo in Spanish, is a high ball over the net pair that lands deep and sends them back to their glass. It is the main way to win the net back, which makes it arguably the most important shot in the game. The lob guide covers height and targets.
The chiquita is a slow, low ball, often with slice, played to the feet of an opponent at the net. They have to volley upwards, which gives your pair time to move forward. It is the soft alternative to the lob, and the chiquita guide shows where it has to land.
At the net: volley and drop shot
A volley is any shot hit before the bounce, nearly always from the net. Padel volleys are short and compact: a firm block or punch with the racket face slightly open, steered rather than swung. Aim deep, or low at the feet. The volleys guide covers both types.
The drop shot, dejada in Spanish, is a soft ball that dies just over the net, ideally with slice so it barely bounces. It works when both opponents are deep at their back glass and cannot reach the front of the court in time. Against a pair already moving forward, it gives them a free ball. The drop shot guide covers when it pays.
Overheads: bandeja, víbora and smash
The bandeja is a controlled overhead with slice, hit at about head height in front of you and sent deep, usually cross-court. Its job is to answer a lob without giving up the net, and it is the overhead you will hit most. The bandeja guide explains the swing.
The víbora is the bandeja's more aggressive relative: a sliced overhead with side spin, hit further out to the side so the ball skids low off the side glass. It wins points against players who misread the spin, but it is harder to control. The víbora guide breaks it down step by step.
The smash, remate in Spanish, is the full overhead, hit flat or with topspin from a lob that is short enough to get under. From close to the net it can finish the point, but from deep it usually comes back off the glass and costs you the net. Bandeja, víbora or smash explains how to choose.
Finishing overheads: por tres, por cuatro, rulo and gancho
Por tres and por cuatro are smashes hit hard enough to leave the court after the bounce: por tres out over or through the side, por cuatro over the back fence. A ball that leaves the court this way usually wins the point, although on courts with side openings a fast opponent may run out and play a por tres back. Both need a short, high lob and a position close to the net. Playing outside the court explains the rules.
The rulo is a topspin overhead, usually aimed so the ball bounces and runs into the side mesh, where it dies or comes off at an awkward angle. The gancho is a short, compact overhead somewhere between a bandeja and a smash, hit with a quick hooking action and often aimed at the glass or the mesh.
Coaches and clubs do not always agree on the exact definitions of these 2, so treat these as working descriptions. Both are advanced shots that most players add only once the bandeja is reliable.
Off the walls: bajada and contrapared
The bajada, short for bajada de pared, is played from a ball that comes high off your own back glass. Instead of letting it drop, you attack it on the way down with an overhead or forehand action, sending it fast and low. It turns a defensive position into an attacking one, and good players use it to take the net.
The contrapared is a shot you hit into your own back or side glass so it rebounds over the net. It is mainly a rescue when the ball has passed you, and it is legal as long as the ball hits glass, not mesh. Advanced players also play it off the side wall to change the angle. The wall play guide covers the habits both shots need.
Learning order: 4 things to master first
You do not need all of these to play well. Coaches tend to start with the shots that keep the ball in play, then add attack:
- the serve and return, because every point starts there;
- the volley and the lob, which win the net and take it back;
- playing the ball off the back glass, the skill that most separates beginners from improvers;
- the bandeja, before any of the other overheads.
The víbora, the chiquita and the drop shot come next, and the rulo, gancho and por tres last. New to the game? Start with how to play padel.