Winter is Coming! Time to Freeze Your Vibora
While watching professional padel players, I’ve seen them play a normal-looking volley that rebounds off the back wall at an odd angle. So you kind of ask yourself: what exactly is the vibora shot? The vibora is a new kind of high volley in padel that is played from the backhand court with a lot of side-slice spin to cause the ball to return back at an angle off the back glass.
This is a powerful move but only when you know when exactly to use it.
When are you going to play the Vibora?
The vibora is more aggressive than the bandeja. It also means you’ll be more inclined to play it with simpler balls and weaker lobs. In most cases, you’ll play the bandeja if you’re forced to go from online to or behind the service line.
If you can walk right up to the online, on the other hand, you’ll be able to play an influence smash that bounces up and over the four-meter excessive again wall. The vibora is the ideal extreme volley for in-between situations, since it allows you to recover from your shot while still playing aggressively.
In cold, wet conditions, the Vibora is superior than the Smash
Because humidity and cold make the ball heavier and less bouncy, the smash becomes more difficult. When the odds are high that your smash won’t be able to get out of the courtroom properly, using a vibora is a much better alternative than using a smash.
So, when you know your smash will be significantly less effective, spend your time on the courts during the cold and wet winter months to follow your vibora as much as possible.
The Vibora’s backswing is extremely short
If you employ too much backswing, you’ll wind up swinging your racket head over the ball and striking it from the facet, quickly sending it out.
You should smash the ball in a chopping motion while regulating the amount of forward motion of your racket.
Take advantage of the back glass while doing a Vibora
When you first start playing the shot, use the back glass as a practice aid to keep you from using too much backswing.
Stand near to the centre of the courtroom, side-on to the back glass, around elbow distance from the back glass, holding the racket up as if playing an exaggerated volley.
The rear glass prevents your arm from performing a larger backswing in this position. You’ll see that it’s almost the same starting point as the bandeja.