Padelmetrics looked at the differences observed between female and male players on the professional circuit. This new study on differences in lob according to gender and positions is interesting.

a) In men's padel:

  • Right-handed players use cross-court lobs more.
  • Left-handers prefer parallel lobs.
  • The majority of lobs are directed at right-handed players (probably due to the higher proportion of right-handers and the lower effectiveness of their returns).
  • The highest success rate (in terms of overtaking opponents) is observed with parallel lobs. Cross lobs are less effective, probably due to differences in reaction times.

b) In women's padel:

  • The predominant direction is towards the center.
  • Lobs go past opponents more frequently than in men's padel.
  • The center lob is the most commonly used, although least effective, lob. It aims to reduce the success of smashes by making it more difficult for opponents to return the ball cleanly.
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.