A 5 minute read, written in October 2026

The víbora in padel: what it is and how to hit it

The víbora is a sliced overhead with side spin, hit out to the side of your body so the ball skids low off the side glass instead of sitting up. It is more aggressive than the bandeja and harder to control. So when should you hit one, and how do you get the spin right?

What the víbora is: a sliced overhead that stays low

Víbora is Spanish for viper, after the way the ball darts away from the defender. You hit it from a lob, near the net or around the service line, cutting across the ball to give it slice and side spin. It lands in the other half, hits the side glass and comes off low and fast, so the defenders struggle to get the racket under it.

Played well, it wins the point or forces a weak reply that you can finish at the net. Played badly, it sits up off the glass and gives the defenders time. The difference is almost always spin and target rather than power.

Víbora vs bandeja: same family, different job

Both are sliced overheads that answer a lob while you keep the net. The bandeja is the safe one: hit in front of you with backspin and sent deep, so it reaches the glass slowly and gives nothing to attack. The víbora adds side spin and pace and aims at the side glass, to win the point rather than just hold the position.

Learn the bandeja first, because the víbora builds on the same movement. The bandeja guide covers it, and bandeja, víbora or smash explains how to choose between all 3 overheads.

When to hit it: a medium lob on your forehand side

The víbora needs the right ball. Look for these signs:

• the lob is short or medium, landing around the service line rather than near your back glass;
• the ball is on your forehand side and you have time to set your feet;
• you are balanced and moving forwards or sideways, not running backwards;
• your opponents are coming in to the net, or one of them reads side spin badly.

If the lob is deep and over your head, play a bandeja, or lob back. If it is short and high enough to get under easily, the smash is usually the better choice.

Technique: turn, contact to the side, cut across

1. Turn early. As soon as you read the lob, turn your shoulders side-on and move with side steps or crossover steps, so your free shoulder points at the net.
2. Prepare high. Take the racket up behind your head with the face slightly open, and point your free hand at the ball to judge the distance.
3. Let the ball come out to the side. Contact is out to the racket side of your body, at about shoulder to head height, rather than in front of your head as for a bandeja. Coaches differ on whether it should be a touch higher or lower than your bandeja, but they agree on the side.
4. Cut across the ball. Swing from high to low and from the outside in, brushing across the back of the ball rather than hitting through it, with your forearm turning over through contact. This is where the side spin comes from.
5. Follow through across your body. The racket finishes low on the other side, near your opposite hip.
6. Recover. Land, step forward and get back to your volley position before the reply comes.

Pace comes from the shoulder turn and the speed of the arm across the ball, not from muscle. A víbora hit well short of full power but with real spin does more damage than a fast one with none.

Targets: the side glass first

• Cross-court to the side glass. This is the main target: land the ball around the service line, close to the side wall, so it hits the glass low and fast and runs along or off it.
• Short and angled into the side mesh. An advanced option: a víbora that lands well in front of the service line and runs into the mesh by the net dies or jumps at an odd angle.
• At the feet of a player coming in. When an opponent runs forward after their lob, a fast víbora at their feet is hard to volley.

Avoid the middle of the back glass. A víbora that reaches the back wall before the side loses most of its bite and comes back as a comfortable ball.

Common mistakes, and how to fix them

• Too much power. Pace without spin sends the ball long into the back glass, where it sits up. Slow down and cut more.
• The ball behind your head. Late contact kills the swing and the ball floats. Turn and move earlier.
• Hitting from too deep. From near your back glass, the ball arrives slowly and you lose the net while it travels. Play a bandeja from there.
• Swinging with the arm alone. Without the shoulder turn there is no pace and no control.
• Watching the shot. Players who stop to admire it get caught by the reply, so recover straight away.
• Using it on every lob. Opponents learn to stand off the side glass and wait for it. Mix it with the bandeja.

A drill: 10 víboras at a side-glass target

You need a partner or coach feeding lobs from the other side of the net. Put a towel or a cone on the floor about 1 metre from the side wall, around the service line on the diagonal from you.

1. Start in your volley position, about 2 metres from the net. The feeder plays a medium lob to your forehand side.
2. Turn, move back, hit a víbora at the target and recover to your volley position.
3. Score a point for every ball that lands near the target and hits the side glass before the back glass. Hit 10, then swap.
4. Once you score 6 out of 10, have the feeder shout "bandeja" or "víbora" as the lob goes up, so you learn to decide late.

The víbora is a shot for players who already rally and hold the net comfortably. If that is not you yet, how to play padel and the guide to padel shots are better places to start.