Smashing the Tennis Player Out of You —Mastering the Art of Padel Smash
If you’re coming from tennis and are just getting started with padel one of the most common questions is:
What’s the difference between a Tennis Smash and a Padel Smash?
Well, look no further because we’ll gladly break it down to you.
Outside of Spain and Argentina, the great majority of padel players have a tennis background. Players start to discover that it is suddenly easier to reach the net in this sport, the ball goes slower, and the lob is a lot more common stroke. For these reasons, it’s understandable why smacking any lob is so appealing.
In tennis, the primary goal is to complete the point on your overhead shot 100 percent of the time, and all you have to do is hit beyond your opponent.
Tennis players take the same strategy on the padel court as they do on the tennis court: they set up to strike the ball as hard as possible to complete the point.
If you’re a tennis player, check out this video. Do you have the same problems when training for padel?
Padel, on the other hand, is an entirely different game. The padel bats do not create the same power, the walls keep the ball in play, and with one poorly performed shot, the attack may change into defense.
Good players are cautious about which balls they can genuinely go for, only hitting an aggressive smash to end the point when they are in a great position. It’s also why there are so many various techniques for smashing in padel.
Here’s a great video to help you maximize your tennis experience and use it to execute perfect padel smashes:
When tennis players first begin playing padel, they are frequently pitted against their friends (typically from a tennis background). As a result, they are unfamiliar with the game and how to use the walls.
But don’t get too comfortable, your tennis experience can be a disadvantage if you don’t know how to use it in your favor.
This means that the players can get away with smashing hard from the wrong positions for a while. Still, when they play against more experienced padel players, they realize their blunder.
During the smash, the experienced players move forward, wait for it to come off the wall, and it pops up high for them to finish the point.
Remember: only smash hard when close to the net, and the point is sure. The rest of the time, try to hit controlled strokes towards the corners of the court.
There’s a time and a place for the violent smash! As the phrase goes, “patience is a virtue.”
To cap it all off, check out this video and see if you’re making any of these mistakes when doing a smash in your next padel game:
