You can have a lovely backhand and still lose to a pair with worse shots than you, because they stand in the right place and you do not. Positioning is the least glamorous part of padel and the most important. Get it right and average shots win points. Get it wrong and your best shots get punished. These are the mistakes I see every single week on court.
You do not move as a pair
Think of you and your partner as connected by a rope about three or four metres long. When one of you moves, the other moves with you. If your partner goes to cover a wide ball, you slide across to cover the middle. When you both push forward to the net, you go together. When one of you is pushed back, you both drop.
The classic error is one player charging the net while the other stays back, leaving a huge diagonal gap straight down the middle. Good opponents will find that gap every time. Move together and that gap never opens.
You do not respect the net
In padel, the net is king. The pair at the net wins the large majority of points at every level, because they take time away from the other team and hit down while their opponents hit up. Almost everything in your tactics should serve one goal: get to the net and stay there, or take the net away from the pair that has it.
If you and your partner are both at the net and playing well, you should be winning. If you are both stuck at the back, your first job is not to hit a winner, it is to construct a way back to the net, usually with a good lob.
You get caught in no man's land
The worst place to stand is halfway between the net and the back wall. From there, balls at your feet are impossible and lobs over your head are impossible. You want to be committed: either up at the net taking volleys, or back near the glass where you have room to let the ball come off the wall.
The rule is simple. If you are moving forward, get all the way to the net. If you are pushed back, get all the way back. Never stop and sit in the middle.
You leave the middle open
The middle of the court is the highest percentage target in padel, and it is where most confusion happens. A ball down the middle makes both players hesitate, because each thinks the other has it, and it takes away the angles they can hit back. If you are attacking, aim down the middle far more than you think you should. If you are defending, make sure one of you clearly owns the middle so it does not fall between you.
You get split by the T
Getting split means the ball goes between the two of you and neither reacts. It usually happens when you are both drawn to the same side, or when you have not agreed who takes the middle. Before points, especially on the return, have a quick understanding of who covers the centre. A rough guide is that the player with the forehand in the middle takes the central balls, but the real fix is communication. Call it, even just a shout of "mine" or "yours". Silent pairs get split.
You leave the net without a reason
Here is the golden rule I repeat more than any other. Never leave the net unless you are forced to. The only good reason to retreat from the net is a lob you cannot smash or bandeja. If you back away from the net because you are nervous about a volley, or because the ball is coming fast, you are handing your opponents the most valuable ground on the court for free. Hold your position, take the volley, and make them lob you before you give up an inch.
A quick checklist
- Are you and your partner moving together, roughly level with each other?
- Are you committed to the net or the back wall, and not stuck in between?
- Do you both know who takes the middle?
- Are you only retreating from the net when a lob actually forces you back?
Run through that in your head between points for a few sessions and it becomes automatic. If you want to pair positioning with tactics, our beginner tactics guide covers how these ideas fit into a game plan, and you can find courts to practise on across the city on our venues page.
FAQ
Where should I stand when my partner is serving?
The server comes in to the net after serving, and the partner is already at the net. In padel the serving pair wants both players at the net as quickly as possible, because holding the net is how you control the point.
Who should take the balls down the middle?
As a general rule, the player whose forehand is in the centre takes the middle balls, but the more important thing is that you agree it and communicate. A quick call of "mine" prevents the ball falling between you.
Why do I keep getting lobbed?
Usually because you are standing too close to the net or drifting forward as you volley. Hold a sensible position around a metre and a half from the net so you can still turn and chase a lob, and learn the bandeja so lobs do not force you all the way back.