Your first serve
The underarm padel serve, step by step. Once it goes in reliably, you have what you need for your first match.
What this episode covers
- The rules of the serve, in plain language
- Where to stand and where your feet must stay
- The bounce, the contact point and the follow through
- Serving wide to the glass once you're confident
The lesson
The rules are short. Stand behind the service line, bounce the ball once on the floor, and hit it at or below waist height. Both feet stay behind the line until you've hit it, and the ball has to land in the service box diagonally opposite you. You get two attempts, and the scoring is the same as tennis.
Stand about a meter in from the side wall, feet shoulder width apart, shoulders turned slightly toward the box you're aiming at. You're not trying to hit it hard, so there's nothing to load up. Most beginners stand too central and face straight forward, which makes an easy motion complicated.
Bounce the ball, let it rise and start to drop, then hit it at hip height with a push rather than a swing. Contact happens in front of your body, not beside it. Follow through toward your target and let the racket finish high, because a racket that stops at contact drops the ball into the net.
Once it goes in reliably, aim wider so the ball bounces and runs into the side glass. A serve that finishes in the glass is awkward to return and buys you the second you need to move up to the net, which is where doubles points are won. Learn it in that order though: in first, wide second.