Hitting the ball immediately after the side glass or the fence in padel is something that I have seen the professionals do often. When I started playing paddle it was a shot that made me nervous as I didn’t want to smash my new racket to pieces. So I set about learning how to do it.
When the ball as it comes off the side glass in padel, play normally with racket take-back, swing, and follow through. Just delay the start of the swing by a fraction of a second to compensate for the slightly greater distance the ball must travel to get to your racket as it bounces off the glass.
Let’s take a closer look at how and when to play this shot that so many beginners struggle with.
The Ideal Conditions For Playing Off The Side Glass In Padel
In an ideal world, the ball comes into the side glass with enough angle that you can see that it will bounce far enough away from the glass for you to play a proper shot. It will rebound to where you have the space for a proper backswing and you have the time to get into position and prepare for the shot.
The return of service is a great example of this. Your opponent is serving from the back of the court so you can see the angle that the ball is coming. Plus you already standing in the part of the court that your opponent is hitting too. That makes it much easier to get into position and play off the side glass.
Because the ball is coming to where you are it gives you that bit of extra time to get yourself properly into position and play an ideal shot.
It is a lot more difficult if you are running all over the court and trying to defend against fast volleys some of which were placed into the side glass. Alternatively, you may be standing way too close to the glass and have less time to prepare your shot as the ball bounces away from the glass towards your body.
Remember that especially with the return of service, if there is enough angle and speed the ball will rebound far enough for you to play an easier shot.
When To Play Immediately After The Glass
You will use the specific shot of playing the ball as it comes off the glass when you can see that it will be a distinct disadvantage to wait for the ball to come back to you off the glass.
A common reason for this is that you are already really close to the glass and don’t have the space between you and the glass to let the ball come to you. This is usually the result of having just played a ball near to the glass and you haven’t had the time to move back into your usual “ready” position.
What can also commonly happen is that you can see that the ball will contact the side glass before dropping down to contact the back glass right near the court surface leaving a near-impossible shot that has no backswing.
Alternatively, you can use this as an attacking shot to gain an advantage. Your opponent might have played their shot and been slow to get back into position. If you are able to play your shot early you will be able to exploit the open space they have left on their side of the court.
The professionals aim their service so the ball contacts the side glass on the line where the first and second glass panels join. In other words, the ball contacts the side glass 6ft (2m) out from the corner.
The main reason is that if the ball contacts the side glass further forward the angle and speed of the ball will allow the ball to bounce far enough away from the glass to make a really easy return of service.
When the service hits the side glass on that join 6ft (2m) from the corner, the rebound off the glass will take the ball tight against the back glass making for a more difficult return of service from a cramped position.
How To Hit Confidently And Consistently Immediately After The Glass In Padel
Start by standing in your normal ready position. That is with your weight up over the balls of your feet and your racket in front of you – racket head up.
From there step across for your shot and prepare by doing a normal racket take-back. You will notice that your set-up for the shot is exactly the same as any normal groundstroke.
To play the shot you take your normal racket swing. The only difference is that you delay starting your swing by a fraction of a second.
The reason you need to do this is that the ball will contact the glass and come away from it a bit. That not only slows the ball down a bit but also adds a small amount of distance that the ball must travel to get to your racket.
So play your normal swing, slightly delayed, to compensate for the ball taking longer to get to you. Use your normal ground-stroke follow-through to ensure that you hit with enough power to clear the net into the space you are aiming for.
What many players do, particularly beginners is start their swing too early only to pause mid-swing to wait for the ball. They then have a static racket at the point of contact and can only jab their racket at the ball.
Not only is jabbing at the ball ineffective, but it also shows your opponents that you struggle with shots that are tight against the glass, meaning that they will continue to pepper you with exactly those shots.
Confidence comes from playing and practicing this shot often.
When you get the opportunity to try this shot in a social game, do so by playing your normal shot using a take-back, swing, and follow-through – just slightly delayed. Resist the temptation to pause your swing when you see that your timing is out. Play through the shot even if it will be a fault. Trial and error is the only way you will learn the timing you need for your racket swing speed. If you continue to pause your swing it will become a habit and you will never learn to time this shot properly.
The reason that you see top players use this shot a lot is that they have practiced and become confident with the timing of their racket swing to the point where they can accurately aim where their shot will go.
You will also gain confidence and accuracy the more you play this shot. Remember that you will always be more accurate the further you allow the ball to come off the glass.