But what is this word?  The Gancho . We hear about it on and around the fields, but what does it mean? What is it and at  what is it for  ? We get back to you.

Gancho, in Spanish, means  "the hook" . It is a stroke that was missing from the book on padel technique, which is now part of the vocabulary and repertoire of strokes of advanced players.

In fact, it is a shot that is performed between the bandeja and the smash, slowly, most of the time to find a short angle crossed towards the grid. This “gancho” allows you to hide the shot that you are going to perform, allows you to counter your opponents if they stick to the net after having played you a high ball.

How to realize it?

If you know how to differentiate the bandeja, the vibora, and the smash, you will know how to perform the gancho. For the others, it is better to first focus on the bandeja/vibora and the smash.  Once these blows are mastered, go to the gancho .

First of all, the  place of impact  of the ball which must be high, to the side, above the non-dominant shoulder. We could hit the ball with a smash by plunging the pala in the back to then print a topspin effect, but we would prefer to stay with the arm outstretched, the head of the pala towards the sky, and we will impact slowly, if possible. flat, pushing the ball.

This curve that we will give to our gesture, preparation with outstretched arms, impact flat above the head, end of gesture downwards, will allow the ball to dive towards the ground at a significant angle which will allow us to find the grid. Warning: excessive speed will cause the ball to rebound significantly, which will facilitate the attack on the opponents.

When to use it?

Use the gancho when your opponents' lob doesn't allow you to hit a smash or a bandeja. The ball is behind you and the gancho is the best option to not lose the net. Then, outdoors, this shot is used a lot when there is wind or the sun becomes annoying. You take more time and ensure your high ball.

In this video we can clearly see the difference in this player between the vibora struck sharply at eye level with a high end to the gesture, and the gancho, struck slowly, arm outstretched, which ends downwards.

Video credit: YouTube Padel Star

Julien Bondia

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

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