Andoni Bardasco, former professional padel player and founder of Padel Stuff, shares his critical look at game sequences from tournaments. In a new video produced in collaboration with Padel Magazine, he returns to a point disputed during the P2000 in Casa Padel, to dissect the technical and tactical choices of the players.

A potentially contentious service?

Right at the beginning of the video, Andoni points out a controversial detail:
“The player’s serve appears to be slightly above the belt, which could make it illegal. However, with the angle of the video, it’s hard to say for sure. What do you think? Does this serve appear legal to you?”
A subject that, according to him, can be debated, but which is not the key element of his analysis. He prefers to focus on the tactical aspects of the point.

The course of the point: contrasting tactical choices

The course of the point: contrasting tactical choices

After a good service, the receiving player responds with a lob, followed by a viper well executed. The defending player then chooses to retaliate with a new lob. At this point, everything seems balanced. However, the point changes when a smash with side effect is played by the attacker, opening up space in the centre of the pitch.
This space offers the defending player an opportunity to counterattack. He opts for a petite well placed in the corner, forcing a defensive volley from the attacker, but the sequence takes an unexpected turn.
Andoni explains:
“The defending player had the opportunity to control the point by playing intelligently, but he chose to force the attack. This hasty choice gave the opponent an easy ball and prevented his partner from going to the net to lock the angles. Result: the attackers regained control and concluded with a vibora.”

Andoni Bardasco: understanding padel through a disputed point...
The course of the point: contrasting tactical choices

The “extra ball”: a Spanish philosophy

Andoni insists on a fundamental notion of padel:
“The famous Spanish 'extra ball' consists of prolonging the rally by preparing the ideal situation to conclude. This does not mean playing an extra ball at random, but always anticipating an extra shot and positioning yourself to fully exploit it.”
In this situation, he would have advised the defending player to choose a slow and low chiquita, forcing the opponent to pick up the ball. This strategy would have made it possible to:

  • Give your partner time to get to the net,
  • Protect the corners,
  • Increase the chances of regaining control of the point.

Lessons to be learned

According to Andoni, this sequence illustrates a common mistake among players, which he tries to correct with his students:
“It’s not about wanting to finish the point too quickly. Padel is a game of patience, where each shot must prepare the next.”

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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