Category: Padel university

When to replace your Padel Racket

Padel Rackets next to Padel Court in Sweden. Photo by Oskar Hagberg.

Padel tennis rackets are one of the essentials for padel players. The best racket for advanced players is usually made of a carbon fiber racket face, carbon frame, and EVA rubber core. 

Carbon fiber bats offer more power, resistance, and durability. It’s designed for the player to have a good grip plus a nice spin on the ball upon contact. 

On the other hand, beginner padel rackets are made of fiberglass face and frame and a foam core material.

Fiberglass rackets are less resistant and durable compared to carbon fiber bats. Hence, it’s only suitable for occasional practice matches. 

But, no matter what materials were used, your padel tennis racket will eventually lose its shape and show signs of wear and tear.

When the racket loses its shape, it consequently loses its ability to give a good spin and will affect how you play the game. 

Once you feel that it no longer has enough elastic properties to give a powerful blow and start noticing a vibration upon contact, it’s HIGH TIME to change your racket. 

If you don’t know what signs to look for to change padel racket, read on! We’ll explain all these to you in detail.

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What is a padel overgrip, and when should I change grip?

Different types and colors of a Padel Overgrip. Image source: The Padel Magazine.

One thing that newbie padel players neglect but top players highly value is the overgrip. You can have all the skills needed, but an ineffective and old overgrip will throw you off.

The overgrip, which you wrap around the racket handle, ensures you have extra grip, proper handling, and better sweat absorption.

That said, you must change padel overgrip regularly. But how often is “regular”?

Well, it depends on multiple factors. We’ll elaborate more below.

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Padel Shot Effects: How to play with spin

Spinning Padel ball in rain. Photo by Josh Calabrese.

Padel is a sport that allows for more creativity because you can utilize the back wall and bouncing to get into position and score points. This works thanks to a Padel slice or spin.

Advanced players who play Padel competitively can use their feet, racket position, and fore or backhand swing to spin the ball over the net and around the court.

Let’s look at the best ways to achieve a spin effect during a Padel game. We’ll look at how to spin a ball coming to you without too much difficulty. We’ll see how the net position and ball speed affect which shot to use.

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Gold Point in Padel, the Sudden Death of a Game

What is the Golden Point in Padel? Image source: PadelNuestro

The mechanics of a padel match are constantly evolving. World Padel Tour and the International Padel Federation incorporate new regulations to make the game more interesting.

The Gold Point was a new rule change introduced by the World Padel Tour in 2020. It’s recognized as one of the alternative scoring methods in padel.

But why was it called the gold point? Why is it coined as the sudden death of a game?

These could be a few questions you have in mind at the moment. You’ll have the answer to those and a whole lot more about the gold point of padel in this article which is a part of our Padel University series.

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Serving Rules Padel

Man hitting Padel serve with dynamic movement. Image source: WorldPadelTour.com.

Service in padel is not as noteworthy compared to that of tennis. However, practicing the right way to serve the ball is still CRUCIAL in every padel match.

A good serve would help your team take advantage of the net position or even score a point by producing an ace. It’s also the shot that dictates the ball’s direction, spin, and trajectory.

In turn, you have the upper hand in forcing your opponents to press themselves at the back glass. You also have the power to dictate the shot that they’ll use for easy returns.

How padel players serve the ball is quite different from tennis players.

In tennis, you launch the ball up in the air before you serve. But, in padel, you only need to bounce and strike the ball, and you can only do it via an underarm serve.

Another thing to note with padel service is the lines. It’s important to keep your feet behind the service line and not cross the imaginary central line.

You must also hit the ball diagonally towards your opponent’s service box.

These are the BASIC things you must know about a padel serve. But, there are many things to note for you to improve that serve.

Stick with us as we discuss more about padel service. We’ll help you get on the move in your following games.

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What is an Ace in Padel, and how do I achieve it?

Your position and movement when you serve is the most important factors to achieve an Ace in Padel. Image source: Hello Padel Academy.

Like Tennis, Padel also understands the concept of Aces, which is when a player cannot return to their opponents’ service.

True aces, or aces where the opponent can’t even reach the ball, are possible. The best part is, you can train your services to achieve aces just like the pro players (when facing an amateur).

It just takes PRACTICE and the RIGHT TECHNIQUE.

Let’s look at the best ways to achieve an ace in Padel.

We’ll go over the proper techniques, strategies, and angle you will need to ensure that your Padel service goes where you want it to.

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How to Win points in Padel as a Beginner

Padel may be a descendant of other racket sports like tennis, but it is its own game with its set of rules, play styles, and strategies for winning.

While a passionate beginner may want to play in the World Padel Tour one day, they will need to sharpen their Padel skills, learning to hold the racket correctly and hit the ball in the sweet spot.

Let’s look at how to ensure victory when playing Padel as a beginner. We’ll look at the basic shots, some common mistakes, and what you need to know to go from the amateur to professional level.

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Kids Padel: Get them to share your interest in playing Padel

Young girl learning Padel by doing kids drills. Image source: tenisgimeno.com.

Padel is a competitive sport that helps children learn a new skill, gain confidence and make friends on and off the court.

It brings many benefits like physical coordination and balance and is a fun activity that can boost self-esteem. The question is, what is the best age to introduce children to the sport?

Let’s look go over the basics and benefits of playing Padel. We’ll look at how to find your local padel court, how to motivate children and get them into sports, and the Padel rules for beginners.

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How to Play an Americano Tournament in Padel

Americano is a “quick tournament setup” of padel that is normally played with non-fixed teams, and often more participants than six.

The main difference between a normal game of padel in terms of the scoring system, and an Americano setup is that each ball counts towards the total scoring.

As an example; each match is decided by playing a predetermined number of points (1 point per ball), for example, 21 points. If playing to 21 points per match, one team will serve four times and then the serve will switch to the other team.

An example result would be 14-7, this means that the players on the winning team will each take 14 points from the match, and the losing players will each take 7 points to their total points in the tournament.

Read on to learn how to play and organise an quick padel tournament using the Americano way.

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Sweet Spot in Padel Rackets

Padel racket shapes and their respective balance and power vs control

Are you shopping for a new padel racket? Don’t pick up any old padel racket when you walk into the shop!

Check the shape of the head first. The shape of the head on a padel racket will determine where its sweet spot is and can give you more control over your shots.

In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to find the perfect padel racket.

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