Let pass the ball so that it bounces on the bottom glass. Not always easy to achieve, especially when coming from another racquet sport such as tennis. Here is 3 tips who can help you.

You are a beginner or you want to discover the padel. You enter the track, you start to trade. Little by little, you reassure yourself and you will try to make window exits. Unfortunately you often make the mistake because you can not correctly read the trajectory of the ball, its speed after rebound ...

Back at home, you watch how professionals are doing to defend window exits and you will try to do like them. Mistake ! What our sport professionals are doing is at a level that only top tier players are able to do:

  • Anticipation of the rebound
  • Late preparation to hide the desired direction
  • Perfect ball reading due to years of practice

So what?

There are several ways to learn how to defend back glass.

  • First of all the video tutorials. There are dozens of them on the web, in several languages, that will show you the basics of defense.
  • Then there are the lessons. Your club padel certainly offers lessons with an instructor who will take the time to explain the technique best suited to your game to better defend the windows.
  • Finally, there are our 3 tips.

1- Early preparation

We tend to forget him but preparing his pala back as soon as possible allows us to have more time to adjust our positioning. When the opponents impact the ball, try to place your pala as quickly as possible either on the forehand side or on the backhand side. This is the first information you will have, and your brain will process it faster each time if you get used to it. In forehand, we recommend pointing the racquet head towards the rear window, backhand, whether with one or two hands, try to hide your pala behind your body.

2- The first step

We had already mentioned in a previous article, the first step allows you to always be in a good position. How to achieve it? The foot on the side of your preparation (right foot for a right-handed person playing a forehand) will move backward in the same direction as the ball coming from your opponents. In other words, your foot will move parallel to the path of the ball. This first step must be correctly carried out and straightforward. You cannot do it too small because you will then be behind the ball, and especially not do it in a direction perpendicular to the trajectory of the ball because you will move away from it or even play from the back.

Following this first step, all you have to do is adjust your placement with small steps.

3- understand the rebound

This is certainly the most complicated step. We often see players hitting the ball too quickly, behind them, causing them to lose control, causing the foul or allowing the opponents a winning shot. We have a “tip” to help you understand the rebound.

When warming up or during training, have fun sending balls that will bounce against the opposing back glass. The ball bounces on the ground, then against the back glass, and finally on the ground again. That second bounce often tends to be at the baseline, 70% of the time, which is pretty high as a number.

So be reassured. In the vast majority of cases, the bullet will brake on its own and die right in front of you.

These 3 tips are essential for understanding and learning the game when exiting the window. Do not copy the game of professionals right away, take it step by step. In the meantime, we offer you this video.

Julien Bondia

Julien Bondia is a teacher of padel in Tenerife (Spain). Columnist and advisor, he helps you play better through his tutorials and tactical/technical articles padel.