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A 2 minute read, written in August 2026 and read over again on 10 October 2026

The eight mistakes every padel beginner makes

Nearly all of them come from playing padel as though it were tennis. Fix these and you will jump a level without hitting a single new shot.

1. Hitting too hard

Power is the least valuable quality in padel. The court is small, the walls give the ball back, and a hard ball to a player at the net returns faster than it left. Placement, height and patience beat pace at every level.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
Hitting hard from the back Hard from the back at two players at the net just feeds their volley. Slow it down: lob, or a low ball to the feet.

2. Standing on the service line

No man's land. Every ball lands at your feet and every lob goes over your head. Be two metres from the net, or in front of your back glass: pass through the middle, do not live there.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
Both players on one side Two players on one side leave half the court empty. The partner of the one hitting covers the other half, always.

3. Being afraid of the glass

Beginners rush deep balls because they think the wall ends the point. It does not: the ball can bounce once and then use every wall on your side. Move back, give the glass room, let the ball come past you, and hit it in front of your body.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall

Your call

A ball rebounds off your back wall high and comfortable, around chest height, and both opponents are at the net. What do you play?

The bajada is the attacking shot from the back: a high glass rebound, taken early and driven down.

The whole reasoning, at every level

4. Never lobbing

The lob feels defensive, so beginners avoid it. It is the main attacking tool in the sport: the only shot that pushes a net pair backwards and lets you take the net.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
You are stuck deep in the corner. What do you hit? Bad position, simple shot. High, deep, cross: buy time and get your feet back.

5. Serving and staying back

The serve is underarm and slow, so it cannot hurt anyone. Its whole value is that it lets the serving pair walk to the net. Serve, then go.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
You have served. Where do you go? In padel you serve in order to get to the net. Serve, then go.

6. Attacking a ball below the net

If the ball is below the tape, it has to travel upwards to get over, and upward balls give the other pair time. Block it deep instead and wait for one above the net. Height, not effort, decides whether a ball can be attacked.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
The ball is at your feet at the net. What now? A ball below the net cannot be attacked. Block it deep and wait for one above the tape.

7. Splitting up as a pair

One at the net and one at the back opens the middle and offers a free lob. Move as a unit: imagine a three-metre rope. If your partner goes, you go.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
They lob over your partner. Who chases it? The lob belongs to whoever can get behind it facing forwards. Then both of you drop back together.

8. Watching your own shot

The shot is not finished until your feet have recovered. Admiring a good cross-court ball is how you arrive at the next one late and off balance. Hit, then move: every single time.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
Your partner got pulled wide. Where do you stand? The pair moves like one body. When your partner is pulled wide, you take the middle.

What to work on first

If you only fix one thing this month, make it the lob: hit it higher, deeper, and go in behind it with your partner. It fixes more scorelines than any new shot you could learn, and it teaches you the rhythm of the whole game.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
A lob goes over your partner at the net. You are at the net too. What now? One goes back, both go back. Never leave the pair split front and back.
The Playbook, chapter 8: Positioning as a pairDecide left and right in advance: for two right-handers, the bigger forehand and smash usually plays the left.See the chapter

Try it on court: chains on this idea

The gap in the middle

Both of them have drifted to your left at the net.

The gap in the middle, from the right

Both of them have drifted to your right at the net.

Attack is right 5% of the time

Lab note: Every position in the Lab's bank has one right call and up to three wrong ones, each with a written reason.

What the pros and coaches say

Ask a coach who runs beginner groups what they correct most and the list is short: standing in no man's land, hitting too hard, taking the ball before the glass, and not moving with the partner. Hello Padel's beginner series is built around exactly those four. The pros agree from the other direction: Paquito Navarro has said the hardest thing to teach a strong player is to hit softer, because in padel the pace you give is the pace you get back.

Drawn from the beginner coaching curricula of Hello Padel and The Padel School, and interviews with Paquito Navarro.

Questions people ask

What is the biggest mistake beginners make in padel?

Hitting too hard. The court is small and the walls return the ball, so pace mostly helps your opponents. Placement, height and patience win far more points.

How do I improve at padel quickly?

Fix your positioning and start lobbing. Stand two metres from the net or in front of the back glass, move as a pair, and lift the ball high and deep so you can take the net.

Why do beginners struggle with the wall in padel?

They stand too close and hit too early. The ball has to be allowed to bounce, hit the glass and come past you before you play it out in front of your body.