Why placement beats power in padel

Many of the habits, tactics and conventions learned on other courts simply do not apply inside the smaller padel court.

Players transitioning from tennis, squash or badminton arrive with the deeply-ingrained and entirely justified belief that hitting the ball hard usually brings reward.

However, this is just one of the aspects that newcomers quickly have to un-learn as they navigate padel's intriguing idiosyncrasies.

We’re here to break down just a few reasons why accurate placement ultimately beats power when it comes to playing padel.

The glass

The most obvious reason that padel doesn't reward power as much as other racket sports is the large panes of glass at each end of the court.

In tennis, striking a ball deep and powerfully often proves a winning shot. In padel, hard shots simply rebound off the glass and come right back to your opponents, who (if they're well positioned) are set up for an attacking shot from the middle of the court.

A softer, well-placed shot that dies near the glass is much harder to return, and can help you win easy points on the padel court.

Power sacrifices control

With its tight court dimensions, padel features the ever-present jeopardy of hitting the ball against the walls and losing the point.

Whacking the ball inevitably decreases the accuracy of your shot and dramatically increases the chances of the ball cannoning into the wall without hitting the floor first – making you lose the point.

Padel is a game of precision and patience, where - especially at beginner level - most points are won through errors than spectacular winners.

Feet, corners and gaps

Whilst power can be used when there's a clear opportunity to hit an outright winner, many of padel's most effective shots are 'pushed' or caressed towards their intended target.

A particularly effective shot is hitting softly towards your opponent's feet when they are positioned at the net (when hit from the back of the court this is called a 'chiquita'). This forces the opponent to hit an upward return, which allows you and your partner to move forward and take control of the net.

Hitting towards the back corners also allows you both to move forward into an attacking position the net. Placing the ball into gaps is also a tactically astute shot, manoeuvring opponents out of position and creating chances to attack.

Angling volleys into the mesh at the side of the net not only produces an erratic rebound which can confuse opponents, it also forces them out of their defensive formation and opens up gaps to hit into.

It may take a while, but once you've learned to resist the instinct to whack the ball, winning padel matches becomes a whole lot easier.