Stop Feeding Their Confidence in Padel: Miss on the Right Side
Every shot has two ways to be wrong, and they are not equally expensive. One kind of miss costs you a point. The other kind costs you a point and hands your opponents a smash they will remember for the rest of the match.
Two shots in particular get this wrong constantly, and both are fixable by choosing which side to err on.
Never leave the lob short
A short lob is a gift. It sits up in range and they get to hit the shot everyone wants to hit, in front of their partner, with nothing at stake.
You did not just lose the point. You gave them a free confidence boost that makes them play more aggressively for the next twenty minutes.
Aim long and adjust downward
Set your target deep, near their back glass. If one goes out, shorten it a fraction on the next one.
That way your errors are long ones, which cost a point and nothing else. Nobody gets a free smash out of a lob that lands beyond the court.
Never play the chiquita too high
Same logic, opposite direction. The chiquita is meant to arrive at their feet, below net height, forcing them to hit up.
Float it high and it becomes a slow ball at a comfortable height for a player standing at the net. That is the easiest put-away in the sport.
Aim low and adjust upward
Aim to skim the net. If one hits the tape, lift it slightly next time.
The pattern is the same for both shots: pick the side where a miss is just a miss. Points you lose that way are cheap. Points that also make your opponent feel unbeatable are not.
