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The chiquita return: when does it beat the lob?
Chiquita return against a fast-arriving server with a good bandeja. Low to their feet, then advance together.
You are an experienced returner. When is the soft, low chiquita return the better choice over the lob?
Chiquita return against a fast-arriving server with a good bandeja. Low to their feet, then advance together.
Why
The return lob has a natural enemy: the server who arrives at the net quickly and has a reliable bandeja. Against them, lobs become neutral balls at best. The chiquita return is the answer: a soft, low ball with slice that lands at the server's feet just as they arrive, forcing a volley from below the net that has to be lifted. The returning pair advances behind it and takes the net off the weak volley. It is a touch shot that punishes good movement; against a slow server it is unnecessary, and against one who stays back it is a gift.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Not yet. Get the return lob deep and reliable, then the drive, then this one.
Intermediate
The chiquita return is hit with an open face and soft hands, aimed to bounce just inside the service line at the incoming server's feet.
Advanced
Disguise it from the lob: same preparation, the difference is in the last half-metre of the swing. Servers who cannot read it arrive to the wrong ball every time.
Common questions
You are an experienced returner. When is the soft, low chiquita return the better choice over the lob?
Against a fast server with a good bandeja. Chiquita return against a fast-arriving server with a good bandeja. Low to their feet, then advance together. The return lob has a natural enemy: the server who arrives at the net quickly and has a reliable bandeja. Against them, lobs become neutral balls at best. The chiquita return is the answer: a soft, low ball with slice that lands at the server's feet just as they arrive, forcing a volley from below the net that has to be lifted. The returning pair advances behind it and takes the net off the weak volley. It is a touch shot that punishes good movement; against a slow server it is unnecessary, and against one who stays back it is a gift.
Why not against a server who stays back after serving?
A chiquita to a player at the back is a short ball they can attack. The chiquita needs a net player to aim at.
What should a beginner do here?
Not yet. Get the return lob deep and reliable, then the drive, then this one.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Disguise it from the lob: same preparation, the difference is in the last half-metre of the swing. Servers who cannot read it arrive to the wrong ball every time.
Puzzles like this one
Both of them are at the net. What is the highest-percentage ball?
Only the lob moves a net pair backwards. Everything else invites them forward.
beginnerYou have served. Where do you go?
In padel you serve in order to get to the net. Serve, then go.
intermediateWhat do you do with the return of serve?
The return lob is how the receiving pair steals the net. Aim over the player who is still moving.