We may say, repeat and repeat to be wary, many players of padel are irresistibly drawn to "no man's land". Kind of “Bermuda rectangle” of the runway padel, no man's land is the so-called "transition" zone located just in front of the service line.

We always tell beginners that above all they should not drop anchor in these 25 to 30 m²,… And yet, many freshwater sailors anchor there for too long… at the risk of sinking.

First of all, tell yourself that this expression no man's land (or land without man) was not chosen without reason. The Larousse dictionary defines it as an "unoccupied space between the first lines of two belligerents". In other words, a area where soldiers are defenseless, exposed to enemy fire and shelling...

Well, at padel, it's the same. But let's look at the reasons that lead players to venture into this area and especially to stay there.

There is no point running ?

■ Laziness.- Why spend your time running back and forth when you can take it easy without moving? This is the intuitive calculation that many players do. We will see that this idea is not so good.

■ Centrality.- Positioning yourself two or three steps from the net and two or three steps from the back of the court seems very practical for covering your half-court. But it requires a lot of speed and anticipation. And we don't play padel like choosing an apartment in town…

■ The tennis past.- Because they are often good at volley and half-volley, skilful at playing a ball in front or behind them, many tennis players playing padel remain stuck in the no man's land. Again, this is often a miscalculation.

Former tennis player Arnaud Di Pasquale performing a high volley

Try another tactic

Even if you think you have a decent success in your shots played from no man's land, we invite you to read the following and try another tactic.

■ A must-see area.- Playing no ball from this area is obviously impossible. Whether it is to advance towards the net or to retreat and defend, it is essential to pass through these three meters located in front of the service line.
After a service, for example, we generally play a neutral first volley, without risk taking, which allows us to move towards the net. There, we can be more offensive.

■ In attack.- Multiplying offensive volleys from no man's land exposes you to fault. Even with an irreproachable cladding and flawless address, a volley played from too far away is always more likely to go directly into the net or a grid, or even to be blocked by an opposing volleyball player who will have anticipated and made the step of more.

Also watch out for smashes from this area. It is often better to step back to play a beautiful bandeja without risk than attempting a hasty smash which will offer a counter ball to the opponents. A vibora in the diagonal is also recommended to take back the net in the best dispositions, provided you are well placed and control this shot.

A bandeja performed by Julien Bondia from no mans land

Reduced risk of fault

■ In defense.- Unless you have made a very good lob that will prevent your opponents from finding length and ensure that you play a ball going forward, being too advanced inside the court robs you of time in defense, forcing you to make volleys or half-volleys, sometimes played behind you. You can hit one, two or three in a row, but if the opponents are good at the volley and the smash, they have every chance of taking advantage in the point.

In addition, being too advanced prevents, often by reflex, letting the ball pass to play it after the window. And even if we let it pass, we often have too much distance to cover and we find ourselves playing with our back to the net, in an acrobatic position. Conversely, if you are less than three meters from the window, you have time to step back to play the ball in front of you, moving forward...

In summary, we have everything to gain by not staying in no man's land – unless you are a high-level player, who will know how to choose the right time to get there and to take time from your opponents. Among amateurs, backing up quickly will most of the time allow you to defend in good conditions, to be able to slow down the game and take advantage of the windows to go back on the attack. Likewise, advancing quickly will put you in a better position to volley, with a greatly reduced risk of fouls. We try ?

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme falls into the pot of padel in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves pala in hand! Journalist in Alsace, he has no other ambition than to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

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