Padel Shots Explained: Bandeja, Víbora, Lob and More

Padel's shots come from tennis, but the court and the walls have shaped them into something different. Most of the names are Spanish, because the game grew up in Spain and Argentina. This tutorial covers the shots you will hear about most, in roughly the order beginners learn them.

Where the UK's LTA publishes coaching advice on a shot, we link to it. Several of the other terms are common court vocabulary rather than official definitions, and players sometimes use them a little differently.

Groundstrokes: forehand and backhand

The basic forehand (called the drive in Spanish) and backhand (revés) are played after the ball bounces, either directly or after it has come off your wall. Compared with tennis, the swing is shorter and more compact. The racket is short, the court is small, and a big swing easily sends the ball into the opponents' back glass before it bounces, which loses the point.

From the back of the court, the aim is usually not to hit winners but to keep the ball low or to lob, and to get back to the net.

The lob (globo)

The lob is a high shot over the heads of opponents who are at the net. It is the main way to push them back and take the net yourself, and it buys time when you are under pressure at the back of the court. The LTA's guide to lobs covers when and how to play it.

A good lob lands deep, close to the back wall, so that the opponents have to turn and run back or play an overhead from an awkward position.

The volley

Volleys are played before the ball bounces, usually from near the net. In padel the volley is mostly about placement: aim at the opponents' feet, into the gap between them, or deep towards the corners. Keep the swing short and the racket in front of you.

Playing off the glass (salida de pared)

Playing the ball after it rebounds off your own back or side glass is the skill that most separates padel from other racket sports. Instead of rushing to hit the ball before the wall, you step back, let it come off the glass and hit it as it comes towards you. The ball is already travelling towards the net, so you need less effort to send it back. The LTA explains how to play off the back glass.

Overheads: bandeja, víbora and smash

When your opponents lob you, you have three main overhead options. The LTA's guide to overheads, the bandeja and the smash is a good place to start.

• Bandeja. The most common padel overhead. It is a controlled shot played against a lob, and its main aim is to keep your pair at the net rather than to finish the point. It is hit with a compact swing and aimed deep, often towards the corners.
• Víbora. A more aggressive relative of the bandeja, hit with heavy side-spin. The ball bounces and comes off the opponents' wall at an awkward angle, making it hard to return. It is used to put pressure on the opponents or win the point.
• Smash (remate). A full, powerful overhead like a tennis smash, used to finish the point against a short lob. Be careful: a hard smash that bounces high on the opponents' side can come back off their back wall and give them an easy ball.

Por 3 and por 4

Advanced players can smash the ball so hard that, after bouncing, it leaves the court. A smash that goes out over the back wall is called por 4 (or x4) and wins the point. One that goes out over the side wall is called por 3 (x3). On courts where out-of-court play is allowed, the opponents can run out through the side opening and try to return it. See our padel rules guide for when out-of-court play is allowed.

The bajada

A bajada is an attacking overhead played after a deep lob has bounced and come off the back wall. Instead of simply returning the ball, you hit down on it as it comes off the glass, turning a defensive position into an attacking one.

The chiquita

A chiquita is a slow, low ball played from the back of the court that dips at the feet of opponents who are at the net. It forces them to volley upwards from an awkward position, which gives you the chance to move forward and take the net yourself.

The contrapared

The contrapared is a last-resort shot. When a ball has got past you, you hit it into your own back wall so that it rebounds over the net into the opponents' court. The rules allow it as long as the ball then lands in the opponents' court before touching their walls.

Which shots to learn first

1. Groundstrokes and volleys, with a short, compact swing.
2. The lob, to move opponents back and get to the net.
3. Playing off the back glass, the skill that makes padel feel like padel.
4. The bandeja, so you can hold the net when you are lobbed.

Once those feel natural, add the víbora, the chiquita and the bajada. For the basics of a point, start with our how to play padel tutorial, and for the first shot of every point, see how to serve in padel.