Cozy Up in Courts: Padel The Hottest Winter Sport
Many of us will have to deal with colder temperatures as the winter months approach. Many players will have to play inside shortly. Here are some tips so you can still enjoy a flaming padel session even in winter:
Dress for success!
Padel is different when you’re playing in 40-degree weather instead of 90-degree weather. You must, above all, dress appropriately.
As you begin to warm up, you should remove a layer or two of your clothes. As soon as you remove the outer layer of your warm sweatshirt, your body temperature will plunge to the opposite of what it was before.
Gloves and sunglasses
If you can keep them warm as you play, gloves are a good option for change-overs. It’s more difficult to establish the ideal gripping posture when your hands are chilly.
As the winter sun is lower in the sky and more likely to be a continual annoyance, sunglasses may be useful. It’s rare, but not impossible, to play padel while wearing sunglasses and cursing.
Warm up your cold bones!
Stretch a lot before and during your practice sessions. You don’t want to injure yourself by overworking your muscles in the cold.
Do not rush the warm-up; instead, allow at least five to ten minutes more time than you normally would.
Did you know that you’ll also need to change your gameplay as the season changes?
You may be able to play for longer and remain in longer rallies if the temperature and humidity aren’t 90 degrees.
The chilly temperature, though, does affect your performance and the ball. The ball’s bounce decreases with the temperature.
Here are shots that are perfect for the chilly weather:
- Shots that are taken from the floor
- Slice
- Flat and slice serving options are available
In the meanwhile, your topspin and other strokes will be less effective. A powerful kick or topspin serves may lose part of their bounce in the chilly conditions, so be careful.
When it’s chilly outside, your flat serves and slice serves will be more effective, and they’ll make your opponent work harder to get to the balls. Additionally, the ball will bounce lower for you, so be prepared for that!
Begin your backswing lower than you normally would because of the low bounce, and bring your racquet back early.
Slicing is more effective when the ball does not bounce much higher than the net and you have access to both topspin and a slice approach stroke. Your opponent will be forced to go beneath the ball and hit a passing shot, which is difficult, by keeping the ball low.
In addition, you’ll have to get closer to the ball than you would in a warmer environment. The ball will not go as far into the court since it is flatter than if it were heated outside. For shorter balls, be careful to move further into the court.
To prevent the ball from dropping too short and enabling your opponent to step onto the court to strike every ball, aim deeper and smash harder now that the ball is flatter.
