Padel Planner Austria
Padel guides

Padel defence: choose glass, lob, chiquita and counter ball.

Good defence does more than keep the ball alive. It creates time, moves the attacking pair and uses glass, lob, chiquita or body channel to build a route forward.

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From trouble to neutral

Turn early, keep space from the ball and move until contact. Under pressure, use height or a low large target. Lob and chiquita become attacking bridges only when their quality allows both partners to advance.

Create time
use glass and height deliberately
Large targets
middle, body channel or depth
Together
advance only behind quality

Spacing, turn and low contact

Turn shoulders and hips early, use a wide base and keep adjusting with small steps. Fast glass rebounds especially demand room; contact becomes cramped beside the pane.

Waiting near the glass can create space because many rebounds travel away again, but not always. Angle, spin and speed decide. Read the floor bounce and exit direction before committing.

  • Prepare side-on before the glass
  • Keep moving until close to contact
  • Use the free hand for balance
  • Play compactly in front

Lob, working lob and chiquita

A high deep lob can recover the net but needs time underneath the ball. Under severe pressure, a safe high reset is better than a short snatched lob.

A faster working lob need not clear opponents every time; it can move them back and force a difficult overhead. A low chiquita to the feet opens the transition only when both partners read the reply.

  • Give the lob height and a large target
  • Work over the less settled shoulder
  • Do not let the chiquita sit up
  • Stay back behind a poor ball

Body channel, middle and variation

A controlled fast ball into the body channel removes angles and reaction time. Aim safely into available space, never with intent to hit someone. The middle can also complicate communication and racket choice.

Variation matters when it solves a problem: pace to the body channel, soft to the feet, high over a shoulder or deep middle. Random change without balance simply adds errors.

  • Use margin under pressure
  • Body channel before tiny sideline
  • Move opponents rather than win every ball
  • Partner calls follow or stay

Six defence drills

Begin cooperatively and finish with open points. The quality of the transition ball matters more than merely reaching the net.

  • Glass spacing: feed through the rear glass, catch after rebound, then play
  • One-lob game: back pair receives exactly one lob per point and chooses when
  • No-lob game: gain the net only through chiquita, body channel or high backhand route
  • Three exits: coach calls middle, body channel or lob
  • Working lob: bonus when the overhead contact is forced behind the service line
  • Reset to attack: three neutral balls before a quality ball may be followed together

Try it on court

Put the theory into practice. Find a padel club in Austria or check current court availability.

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Rules and tactical references

FIP defines wall play; LTA and manufacturer coaching support glass defence, lobs, slower play and transitions. These targets are decision models, not rigid laws.

  1. FIP: 2026 Rules of Padel
  2. LTA: back glass and playing slow
  3. Babolat: defence and positioning
  4. Wilson: lob, net and tactics
Editorially reviewed on 10 August 2026

Padel knowledge

Playing the glass: read back-wall and double-glass rebounds.The glass is not an obstacle; it can create time. Separate flight, first bounce and rebound angle to defend deep balls calmly and choose a more useful reply.Padel transition and split-step: reach the net in balance.Transition does not end with running forward. After your shot, move, brake into a split-step before opponent contact and play the next ball from balance.Types of padel volley: firm, soft, slice, drop and volley lob.A good volley is not automatically hard. Starting position, ball height, balance and open space decide whether a firm, deep, soft or high volley is the useful choice.Padel tactics drills: 12 games for defence, net and overheads.A useful drill does more than restrict shots. It gives one tactical problem, a measurable target and a progression until the decision works in an open point.