Lately, I have seen more players in World Padel Tour tournaments playing the smash to the fence. It looks like a really good way to potentially win a point quickly. What I didn’t realize is that it is a great attacking smash to learn first as it is played slower and with more control than power smashes.
The smash to the fence in padel is ideally played cross-court so that you have a bigger target to aim at. The wider and closer to the net you can stand, the easier your cross-court smash to the fence will be. Flat and slice smashes are more effective as the ball will stay lower after hitting the fence.
Let’s take a closer look at the elements of the smash to the fence so that you can quickly master this brilliant attacking shot that will improve all the smashes you play.
Read The Ball Coming To You
This means that you need to read the ball that is coming to you so that you can gauge whether a smash to the fence is possible or not.
Remember that a high ball is not one that is behind your center of balance. You don’t want to be tipping over backward as you are playing your smash as it will reduce the amount of control you have over the direction of the shot.
Likewise, you will want to play your smash to the fence off a slower lob that gives you time to get into position.
How High To Contact The Ball For The Smash To The Fence In Padel
When it comes to choosing the height of ball that you ideally want to smash to the fence, you will want the ball to be as high as possible so that you can get the downward angle that you need.
Remember that any shot that you play toward the fence will be shorter than a more normal shot played into the corner. This means that you either need to play much softer or get as much angle as you possibly can.
How Far From The Net Should You Be For The Smash To The Fence
If you are able to play the ball closer to the net you can get away with a ball that is a bit lower. This is more along the lines of playing a volley toward the fence. Even with a volley to the fence, you will want the ball to be high enough to have a downward angle to the fence. A low volley won’t work.
If you are far away from the net the smash to the fence becomes a lot riskier as you again have less angle to work with.
How Far To The Left/Right Should You Stand For The Smash To The Fence
In a similar way, the further to the left/right you are from the centerline the easier it becomes to make the cross-court angle for your smash to the fence.
As you move closer to the centerline you have progressively less court to work with for your smash to the fence.
What Part Of The Fence Should You Aim For When Playing Your Smash
The closer to the door that the ball contacts the fence, the more effective your shot will be. If your smash is deeper and you aim to contact the fence nearer to the glass there is a good chance that your opponent can step forward and play the ball before it gets to the fence.
Playing a tighter angle so that the ball contacts the fence nearer the door makes it virtually impossible for your opponent to reach the ball before it connects with the fence.
What Part Of The Court Should You Cover After Playing The Smash To The Fence
When you play your crosscourt smash to the fence, your opponent is limited to only two options based on the lottery of how the ball bounces off the fence.
Your opponent can either play the ball straight or partially crosscourt. It will be very difficult to react to the uneven bounce off the fence and still control a tight, attacking crosscourt shot.
For this reason, your best option after playing your smash to the fence will be to move across and cover the center of the court. This will allow your partner to easily return any balls that come down the line on their side of the court while you will be in position for anything vaguely crosscourt or up the center even if the ball is slightly onto your partner’s side of the court.
The Effect Of Spin On Your Smash To The Fence
Some coaches maintain that if you smash to the fence with slice, the ball will have a tendency to stay low compared to if you play your smash flat or with topspin.
This is based on the premise that the ball reacts on some parts of the fence in a similar way to when the ball comes off a glass wall.
However, for the most part, the biggest effect on how the ball comes off the fence is down to luck based on which part of the fence-wire the ball contacts.
From my perspective, trying to add slice-spin onto a smash to the fence is just adding more complexity to the shot and I’d leave that until my skill level is much higher than it is now.
Even when played flat, the smash to the fence is a very effective padel shot and will help you win many points. As a social player if I had to try and add spin it will just increase my chances of making an unforced error.
How Should You Play A Lob To Prevent An Opponent Smashing To The Fence
If you play your lob toward the corner and don’t get enough depth it will give your opponent the opportunity to play a smash to the fence against you.
The way to avoid this is by aiming your lob more toward the center of the court. That way your opponent will not have enough of a crosscourt angle to be able to play their aggressive smash to the fence.