When I learned to play padel I was taught how to play a forehand service. The first time I watched a professional padel tournament on the World Padel Tour I was surprised to see players sometimes playing their service using a backhand.
I figured that if the professionals were doing it then it must be permitted, but why would a player use a backhand for a service as the forehand is a much easier shot to play. I was intrigued and decided to find out more.
How to play a backhand service in padel: Right-handed players should play a backhand service from the left side of the court using slice spin. Playing a backhand service from the left, the ball will stay low and near the glass when you serve wide to the right. The low ball near the glass is trickier to return and gives you an advantage.
Let’s take a closer look at the backhand service in padel to see if it is something you can benefit from, and maybe win more points in your next game of padel.
Can You Use The Backhand Service In Padel
It is completely within the rules of padel to play a service using a backhand as long as your service complies with the other rules of the padel service: your feet may not touch or cross the service lines and that the ball must bounce to between knee and waist height within the designated area.
Now that we have addressed the fact that it is completely permissible to use a backhand for your service in padel, the next logical question would be why you would want to use the backhand service as we all tend to be weaker on our backhand than our forehand.
And finally, we need to look at how to best utilize a backhand service in padel as a way to potentially win more points.
These are the areas that I’ll be looking at in detail to see how to add to our skill level. If you are worried about how to cope with your opponent using a backhand service, keep reading to the end where I’ll talk about how to return a backhand service.
Who Should Use A Backhand Service In Padel
If you are a player that is confident in your backhand and can play your backhand accurately with slice spin on a consistent basis then a backhand service could be an option for you.
If you are a right-handed player then it will make sense for you to use your backhand service from the left side of the court only as the ball will stay low when it comes off the side glass. If you choose to play your backhand service with slice-spin from the right side of the court you will notice that your slice-spin is less perpendicular to the side glass. This means that your ball will bounce more up and away from the glass almost as much as a topspin shot would.
Even though many recreational players adopt a backhand service because it is something they see the professionals do, you should only do so if you can hit a good slice and be accurate.
If you are a relative novice like me, you’ll do better by using the normal forehand service and get better at that than splitting your time trying to learn two very different types of service at the same time.
How To Play The Backhand Service In Padel
The first major aspect where your backhand service differs from your forehand service is the timing of your backswing.
When you play a forehand service you can easily play your backswing before dropping the ball. If you do the same thing with a backhand service your arms will be completely crossed and you won’t be able to have enough upper body rotation to generate much power in your service.
In this explanation, I will be explaining the backhand service from the perspective of a right-handed player. If you are a left-handed player the principles will still hold true but substitute left for right and vice versa.
Your objective will be to take your racket back with a full backswing and contact the ball in front of your body.
To begin your stance should be side-on with your right shoulder pointing toward the net.
Bounce the ball slightly forward of your right foot. As the ball is bouncing, do your full backswing and play your backhand slice service with enough power that you can still keep control over the shot.
If you watch Paquito Navarro on the World Padel Tour you will notice that his starting position is with his racket wide, out to his right so that maximize his backswing and generate a lot of power in his service.
Quite often when you are new to trying a backhand service you will likely not be able to get the timing right if you start with your racket as far out to the right as what Paquito does. Don’t worry too much about that for now. Start with your racket nearer to in front of you. Just don’t start with your racket all the way back in your backswing because you won’t be able to bounce the ball accurately with your arms crossed.
As you play your service be sure to use slice spin and be accurate while still using some power. The easiest way to ensure that you have enough power is to do a full follow-through after playing your service. What you will also notice as you play a full follow-through is that you will naturally take a step forward. Use that step and your forward momentum to move to the net behind your service.
What Are The Advantages Of Using A Backhand Service In Padel
Switching to a backhand service from time to time can change the rhythm of the game and throw your opponents off a bit.
If you come from a tennis background as many of us do, then you be used to playing under the ball with a slice while keeping the ball low over the net. You will be able to use this exact tennis skill to easily adapt to playing a backhand service.
If you play a backhand service with a slice from the left, as a right-handed player, the ball will stay low as it comes off the glass.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Using A Backhand Service In Padel
Until you develop some really good timing with your backhand service you will likely struggle for a while to have a consistently accurate ball toss. That is because your backswing crosses your body through the line of your ball toss.
When you play the backhand service from the left side of the court and stand side-on to play your service, your target will be diagonally behind you. This means that you will be looking back over your right shoulder to see your target at just about the limit of your peripheral vision. This is more difficult than playing the forehand service from the left side where you have a clear vision of your target almost directly in front of you.
The backhand service is only useful when played with slice spin. If you play your backhand service flat it will be ineffective and much weaker than your forehand service.
How To Practice Your Backhand Service For Padel
What I found was the most important thing I needed to work on when practicing my backhand service was my accuracy.
Place two targets in the service block you are aiming at. These can be anything that you have at hand, from cones as my coach uses to shoes or sweaters. Place one target down the T and the other out wide.
Take a basket of balls and start practicing your backhand service. Alternate your backhand service with the first being out wide, the second being down the T, the third out wide again, and so on.
It might seem counter-intuitive to play a backhand service down the T because you’ll seldom use a backhand service down the T in a match. The goal of the practice drill is to improve accuracy and alternating targets is a great way to do just that.
I can’t say that you must never play a backhand service down the T during a match. You might start noticing your opponent drifting closer and closer to the glass in anticipation of your wide backhand service. This would be a good moment to play a backhand service down the T and exploit the space. A good idea will be to communicate the change to your partner so that they can be better prepared for the type of return of service that could happen.
Once you start being more accurate with your backhand services, switch to the second drill where only about one service out of every five is down the T. During this drill the goal is for you to get a feel for how the ball behaves off the glass with the amount of slice spin that you can produce.
When you have a feeling for how the ball behaves off the glass you will be able to adjust the target of where you want the ball to bounce in order to get the maximum effect off the glass that you can.
At the moment I am not nearly accurate enough with my backhand service to feel confident using it in a serious match. However, I do use my backhand service during a social game because the outcome of the point is less critical.
Also, when our little group gets together for a social game, we knock the ball back and forth for about five minutes as a warm-up before we start. During that warm-up, I will use a gentle version of a backhand service whenever I can so that I can practice the timing of my ball-bounce and backswing. After all, every bit of practice helps.
How To Play The Return Against A Backhand Service In Padel
When your opponent plays a backhand service against you, expect the ball to both stay lower and closer to the glass.
As a novice player, my temptation was to drop my racket head down lower than my hand and kind of scoop the ball back. This was completely ineffective. Even on the rare occasions when I did get the return of service back over the net, my return was so weak that my opponents could easily hit a winner straight away.
A better way to play the return is getting your racket lower by bending from the knees and hips. If you are able to get low enough using your knees and hips while still keeping your back relatively straight you will be able to play something akin to a normal backhand return.
Because you are digging the ball out from near the surface of the court, play your return with your racket face more open so that you can get enough lift to get the ball up over the net without sacrificing your backswing or follow through.