[box type = ”shadow”]Kristina Clément padel NOXKristina Clément, Coach of the Monegasque Federation of padel, technical consultant Padel Magazine, several times member of the French team of padel, and NOX ambassador [/ box]

The chronicle "Your wall is your friend" continues with the 2rd step: play with the side window.

In 1er article "the wall is your friend", we had presented the advantages of letting the ball pass and using the wall as support in the game.

Today, we will talk about the side window where this time it will play a ball that comes from front but with an angle.

The side wall is composed of screened walls and 2 windows of 2 meters wide.

2 cases of figure when the ball arrives crossed:

1- if the ball hits the first window (the one that is glued to the fence), it will immediately hit it and not let it pass because either it will never reach the back wall or it will die on the latter and will simply unplayable.

2- if the ball hits the second side pane (the pane closest to the back wall / orange trajectory on the diagram), it will have to be allowed to pass and played “double wall”, that is to say after the rebound on the back window because you will not have time or space to play it just after the rebound on the side window.

How to position yourself in the case of a simple side wall?

1- In the first case, where you have to play right after the wall, it is important to look at where the bullet is impacting the glass to optimize its placement in depth. If it strikes at the beginning of the window near the fence, you will be able to keep your basic position (in blue on the diagram). If it is deeper and almost touches the 2eme side window, you will have to back up and position yourself near the bottom wall (in red).

2- It will be necessary to free itself from the wall and to move with small steps towards the back towards the center of the court to avoid being too stuck to the side wall and to have enough room to play the ball next to oneself and not on the body. On the other hand, it will give you more time to react once the ball comes out of the wall.

Respect the 3 basic principles:

It is necessary (as we had evoked for the back wall):

1-Prepare as soon as possible (when the ball is still in front of you) with the racket placed behind you at the height of your hip while putting you in profile but with this time supports a little more open to allow you to give you more management opportunities.

The sooner you cock your arm, the easier it will be for you… don't forget!

2- Hit the ball in front of you preferably at hip height (if rebound allows).

3- Accompany after the strike the gesture as far as possible towards where you want to play and without forcing, gently because you will use the speed of the ball and use the transfer of weight of the body forward.

Next step: play with double walls…. Explanations in a future article! In the meantime, practice the side window!

Kristina Clément

Kristina Clément discovers the padel in July 2006 in his club in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Two years later, she played her world debut of padel… Who could believe it? Technician, tactician, Kristina offers you always detailed news.

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