Positioning with your partner
Where to stand in a padel doubles point: moving as a pair, and why the team that holds the net usually wins it.
What this episode covers
- Moving as a pair, as if tied together with a rope
- Why the team at the net wins most points
- When to move up, and when to stay back
- Covering the middle, and who takes the ball down it
The lesson
Padel is played in pairs, and the pair moves together. Picture a short rope between you and your partner: when one of you goes forward, back or across, the other follows, so there is never a gap down the middle, or one of you at the net while the other is stuck on the back glass.
The net is where points are won. From there you can volley the ball away before it bounces and keep your opponents under pressure, while the team at the back can mostly only defend and wait for a chance. So the aim of a point is simple: get both of you to the net, and stay there.
Move up when you've hit a ball that gives you time: a deep shot, a good lob, or one that has pushed your opponents back. Moving up behind a weak shot leaves you at the net with the ball coming hard at your feet. If a lob pushes you back, go back together and start again from there.
Balls down the middle cause the most confusion. Agree before the match who takes them, usually the player whose forehand is in the middle. Call "mine" or "yours" early, and when your partner moves wide for a ball, shift across with them to close the gap they've left.