All levelsTechnique guide

Serve — Padel Drills

The padel serve: bounce the ball, hit it underarm below waist height, cross-court into the service box. Unlike tennis, the serve is a starting gun — not a weapon. Placement and transition to net matter most.

Technique: step by step

Grip and stance

Stand behind the service line, feet shoulder-width apart. Continental or Eastern grip works for most players. The ball is bounced — not tossed — before contact.

Bounce the ball

Let the ball bounce once in front of you. Contact must happen below your waist. This is the main rule difference from tennis — height restriction creates a natural power cap.

Strike cross-court

Hit the ball cross-court into the opposite service box. The ball must land in the correct box and can then hit the back glass — the second bounce off the glass is still in play.

Vary placement, not power

Aim for three targets: wide (opponent's body side), body (directly at them), and T (centre line). Mixing these three consistently is more effective than hitting hard.

Move immediately to the net

After striking the serve, take 2–3 steps toward the net with your partner. The team that controls the net controls the point. Do not stay at the baseline after serving.

Coach tip

A consistent serve in the right box, every time, beats an unreliable power serve. Get it in and get to the net.

Drills by level

1.Consistency drill: hit 20 serves in a row aiming for the centre T. Count consecutive successful serves. Target 15/20 before moving to varied placement.
2.Shadow drill: without a ball, practice the full serve motion and net approach in sequence. The footwork after the serve is as important as the serve itself.

1.Three-zone serve drill: serve 10 balls to each zone (wide, body, T) in rotation. Have a partner call the target just before you serve to simulate game pressure.
2.Fast transition drill: serve and race your partner to the net. First one in position wins a point. Trains the urgency of the serve-and-approach.

1.Pattern serve drill: pre-set a 3-serve pattern (e.g. body → wide → body) and drill it until it's automatic. In-match, pattern serves create predictable setups for your first volley.
2.Return disruption drill: serve to a specific target, partner returns, you volley. Focus on how the return quality changes with different serve placements — build your serve-into-volley read.

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Technique: step by step

Grip and stance

Stand behind the service line, feet shoulder-width apart. Continental or Eastern grip works for most players. The ball is bounced — not tossed — before contact.

Bounce the ball

Let the ball bounce once in front of you. Contact must happen below your waist. This is the main rule difference from tennis — height restriction creates a natural power cap.

Strike cross-court

Hit the ball cross-court into the opposite service box. The ball must land in the correct box and can then hit the back glass — the second bounce off the glass is still in play.

Vary placement, not power

Aim for three targets: wide (opponent's body side), body (directly at them), and T (centre line). Mixing these three consistently is more effective than hitting hard.

Move immediately to the net

After striking the serve, take 2–3 steps toward the net with your partner. The team that controls the net controls the point. Do not stay at the baseline after serving.

Drills by level

1.Consistency drill: hit 20 serves in a row aiming for the centre T. Count consecutive successful serves. Target 15/20 before moving to varied placement.
2.Shadow drill: without a ball, practice the full serve motion and net approach in sequence. The footwork after the serve is as important as the serve itself.

1.Three-zone serve drill: serve 10 balls to each zone (wide, body, T) in rotation. Have a partner call the target just before you serve to simulate game pressure.
2.Fast transition drill: serve and race your partner to the net. First one in position wins a point. Trains the urgency of the serve-and-approach.

1.Pattern serve drill: pre-set a 3-serve pattern (e.g. body → wide → body) and drill it until it's automatic. In-match, pattern serves create predictable setups for your first volley.
2.Return disruption drill: serve to a specific target, partner returns, you volley. Focus on how the return quality changes with different serve placements — build your serve-into-volley read.

Serve — Padel Drills

Technique: step by step

Grip and stance

Bounce the ball

Strike cross-court

Vary placement, not power

Move immediately to the net

Drills by level

Get SmashIQ video analysis

Related drills

Serve — Padel Drills

Technique: step by step

Grip and stance

Bounce the ball

Strike cross-court

Vary placement, not power

Move immediately to the net

Drills by level

Get SmashIQ video analysis

Related drills