Where to Run After Your Serve in Padel: Follow the Ball's Path
Everyone knows you go to the net after serving. Far fewer people think about the line they take to get there, and most just run straight up their own side.
There is a better route, and it is already drawn on the court for you. Follow the path your serve took.
The returner has a cone, not a line
From wherever your serve lands, the returner can only send the ball back within a limited fan of angles. Anything wider goes out or into a wall.
That cone is the only part of the court you actually need to worry about, and it starts at the ball, not at the middle of the court.
Follow your serve and you stand inside it
Running along the same line the serve travelled puts you in the middle of that cone as it opens. You are covering the widest part of what they can realistically play.
Run up the middle instead and you end up beside the cone rather than inside it, reaching sideways at balls that were always going to be reachable if you had taken the right line.
It works from either side
Serve wide and your path bends wide with it. Serve down the middle and your path is straighter. The rule does not change, only the line does.
You are never guessing where to stand. The ball you just hit has already told you.
One less thing to think about
You do not have to read the returner or guess their favourite line. Just travel along the route your own ball took.
It costs nothing, it takes no extra fitness, and it puts you in the right half of their options every single time.
