Positioning and defending as a pair

Padel is always doubles. On the serve, the server stays back and the partner starts at the net. After the return, join up on the same line. Both at the net when you are attacking. Both behind your service line when you are defending. Move as one unit. Earn the net, and stop the other pair doing the same.

Move as a pair

Both players stand on the same line, each covering a half.

• Attacking: that line is at the net, roughly a metre behind the cord.
• Defending: that line is behind your own service line.
• In between: you are moving through the transition, together.

Two players side by side at the net cover the cross-court angles one net player never could. Two side by side at the back cover the lobs and deep balls one defender cannot. Both players stand on the same line, one slightly forward depending on where the ball is. From above, the four players form a diamond, not a square.

Any ball you hit below net height is hard to attack from deep.

Every decision comes down to one question: does this shot help us get to the net, or stop them getting there?

One player at the net and one at the back leaves a hole. It is a transition, not a home.

If you are caught one-up-one-back, make a quick call. Can you both push up right now? If not, both drop back together and look to advance as a pair.

When your partner moves, you move too.

1. Partner pulled wide to the side glass: you slide across to cover the middle.
2. Partner steps in to attack a high ball: you step in with them.
3. A deep lob threatens: you both retreat together, staying level.
4. The closer player takes the middle. Hesitation down the centre creates the corridor opponents target. Decide early and call it: "mine" or "yours".

Do not sprint the net. You arrive there together, after a ball that does not invite a counter-attack. Both players move forward when the ball allows it. Not one. Both.

At the net, stand about a metre behind the net cord, each partner covering their half. Split-step (a small jump landing on both feet) as your opponent strikes. Racket up at chest height before the ball arrives.

At the back, start behind your service line, both level, about a metre each side of the centre. Do not run forward to cut off a ball before it bounces off the back glass. Let it come back to you: Playing the glass. The way back to the net is a deep lob: The lob and the soft game.

The returner plays deep (the serve must bounce first); the returner's partner usually starts back too, because the opposing net player is waiting to attack. Serve rules are on serve and return. Start as a back pair and lob your way up.

+−

Defending as a pair

Most points from the back court are lost, not won. When the other pair owns the net, survive, reset, and retake: keep the ball in play, buy time with height and depth, then walk forward together on a short or weak reply. Flat winners from behind the service line die in the fence.

Defence is a pair skill. If one of you lunges while the other freezes, you stay pinned. At the net you finish points. At the back you refuse to gift them. Make the attackers hit one more good volley.

• Survive: racket early, short swings, ball back over the net.
• Reset: high and deep, so they cannot smash you again for free. The shot is the lob.
• Retake: both advance only when the ball is short, soft, or floating.

If you try to skip straight to retake on every ball, you keep feeding easy volleys.

Defend in the same shape you attack: both on one line, roughly behind your service line, covering your half and the middle.

Habit	What to do
Same depth	If your partner drops two metres, you drop with them
Cover the middle first	Agree who takes "mine"
Recover after every shot	Hit, then shuffle back to your half
Rackets up	Ready even when your partner is playing

Move as one unit when the ball crosses the court. A ball past you is often still playable after the bounce: Playing the glass.

When a lob goes over your partner at the net (or deep over either of you in transition), the player who can take it cleanly shouts "mine". If you must swap sides, shout "switch" early. Three calls cover most defence: mine, yours, switch. Then re-form the diamond. Do not freeze watching the smash.

Keep resetting when	Take the net when
They are set at the net with a comfortable volley	The ball is short or soft in front of you
You are stretched, off-balance, or jammed	You forced a weak lob or a floating reply
The ball is below net height with no angle	They are out of position after a deep lob
Score pressure is making you rush	You and your partner can both walk forward on the same ball

Both of you move, or neither does. If the quality is not there, lob again.

Practise it

1. Before each ball, ask: are we both up, or both back?
2. When your partner moves sideways, slide with them to keep the line.
3. When you are stuck at the back, lob deep, then walk to the net together. The lob itself is The lob and the soft game.

One principle per session is enough: survive first, reset with height, retake only on a ball that earns it.

Diamond shadow drill · 2 players · 10 min

+−

Common errors

• Camping at the net while your partner covers the back. That is one-up-one-back.
• Getting to the net as fast as possible. Only when a ball lets you. Charging in off a weak shot gets you smashed at your feet.
• Taking every ball because you are nearest. Down the middle, yes, but the bigger rule is to move together so there is no middle to exploit.
• Flat drives from defence, or a winner from behind the service line. Earn the net first.
• A silent switch, or only one player walking forward after a good lob.

Watch this