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The ball is going back glass then side glass. Where do you stand?
A double wall spits the ball out later and wider. Start deeper and wider than feels right.
A deep ball is heading into your corner and it will hit the back wall and then the side wall. Where do you position yourself?
A double wall spits the ball out later and wider. Start deeper and wider than feels right.
Why
Back glass into side glass is the hardest ball in padel to read, because it changes direction twice and arrives with almost no pace. What catches people out is not the speed but the geometry: the ball comes out of the corner travelling along the wall and away from the middle of the court, so a player standing in a normal defending position ends up reaching sideways with no swing. Take one big step deeper and one step wider than instinct suggests, and let the ball come to you.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Just get a racket on it and lift it high. There is no shame in a scruffy defensive ball out of a double wall.
Intermediate
Turn your shoulders and shuffle rather than crossing your feet. You need to arrive facing the ball, not chasing it.
Advanced
Play it as a lob almost every time. Your body is turned away from the court and there is no pace to work with, so a high deep ball buys the reset. Save the bajada for the single wall.
Common questions
A deep ball is heading into your corner and it will hit the back wall and then the side wall. Where do you position yourself?
A metre deeper and wider than instinct says. A double wall spits the ball out later and wider. Start deeper and wider than feels right. Back glass into side glass is the hardest ball in padel to read, because it changes direction twice and arrives with almost no pace. What catches people out is not the speed but the geometry: the ball comes out of the corner travelling along the wall and away from the middle of the court, so a player standing in a normal defending position ends up reaching sideways with no swing. Take one big step deeper and one step wider than instinct suggests, and let the ball come to you.
Why not right where the ball will hit the side glass?
You will be standing exactly where you cannot swing. Where the ball touches glass is never where you play it.
What should a beginner do here?
Just get a racket on it and lift it high. There is no shame in a scruffy defensive ball out of a double wall.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Play it as a lob almost every time. Your body is turned away from the court and there is no pace to work with, so a high deep ball buys the reset. Save the bajada for the single wall.
Puzzles like this one
The ball is at your feet at the net. What now?
A ball below the net cannot be attacked. Block it deep and wait for one above the tape.
beginnerThe ball is coming off the back glass. When do you hit it?
Move back with the ball, let it pass you, hit it in front of your body.
intermediateYour partner got pulled wide. Where do you stand?
The pair moves like one body. When your partner is pulled wide, you take the middle.