The coach explores the defensive smash in padel tennis. A defensive smash is executed from a distance and at a higher or deeper lob, enabling the player to guide the ball into corners using a sliced or flat hit. However, if a ball goes over a player’s head, forcing them to reach behind to make contact, there are two primary issues.
First, their body weight moves away from the neck position, making recovery challenging. Second, it’s difficult to add slice or a flat ball when contacting behind oneself, resulting in a topspin shot that may bounce up for the opponent before they reach the glass or hit the glass and come up, allowing them to attack the ball.
The coach advises players to assess their ability to hit a smash and recover the net position before executing one. If not, it’s recommended to let the ball bounce off the glass and attack it with lob shots from behind, then move up the court again.
