Sometimes it seems that in padel we tend to train the serve less than in other sports. This is because it is easy, to a certain extent, to get a serve into the opponent's court.
However, improving your serve in paddle tennis is a matter of training. This shot determines from the first moment who is best positioned to score the point: you or your rival.
Therefore, it is essential introduce serve exercises into our training. Only in this way will we be able to place the ball in the place that interests us to start the points in which we have the service on the right foot.
In general, We can divide the paddle serve into two large areas: tactics and technique.
Tips to improve your paddle serve
Technique
If you have never introduced specific serve exercises into your training, or you are a beginner in the world of paddle tennis, we recommend that you start by preparing the technique for this type of shot. This is because only then will you have the tools to make a precise hit and, later, be able to use it within a more elaborate tactic.
The first thing we should know is the regulations for this type of hitting. As you may know, the paddle serve is performed diagonally and always hitting at hip height at most. In this sense, there are players who serve by hitting the ball at a lower height. Although this is totally legal according to the regulations, it is not advisable, since we will achieve an angle that does not allow us to give as much speed to the ball as would be recommended. Therefore, we recommend that you technically take advantage, as far as possible, of the limits of the regulation. Hit the ball as close to hip height as you can. This way the angle of the shot will be flatter, which will benefit us and give the opponent less time than if we hit with more parabola.
Another key point is the position of our feet. In this sense, one of the most common mistakes is placing the feet at the same height, parallel to the service line. This type of hit will not allow us to give enough force to our shot, since we will not take advantage of the weight of our body for the serve. Therefore, it is recommended put the non-dominant foot in a more forward position. In this way, when hitting we must make a hip movement with our dominant foot that, starting the movement from behind, generates inertia in the direction of the net that we can take advantage of to hit with greater force and climb to the net before the opponent can even subtract our serve.
Finally, we have to mention the position of the elbow and the shovel. This should hit the ball slightly tilted backwards, which will allow us to give a certain effect to the ball, cutting it so that it rises as little as possible after bouncing on the opponent's court and making it difficult for it to be easily subtracted. To do this, a trick is to pay attention to the movement of the elbow. If we start with a 90 degree angle at the elbow and in a high but comfortable position, we will achieve that When starting the movement in the form of a pendulum towards the ball, we generate power with a descending line. This allows us to increase the difficulty of the rest and therefore increases the chances of us getting the point.
Tactics
Once you have trained enough, you will see how you have mechanized and improved your paddle serve. If this is so, congratulations! Now you can focus on tactics.
In this sense, we can only give you small tips, since it will largely depend on your rival on the track. Your ability to read the court and the point you are playing will also play a role.
As a first piece of advice, we can recommend change the type of serve on a recurring basis. If you always serve at the same point, you will see how your rivals get used to it and return the rest better each time. Therefore, try to vary between short and long serves, to the center, to the wall or to the opponent's feet.
Likewise, we encourage you to go up to the net as soon as you serve, even before your opponent has had time to subtract. In this way, we will be able to win the net as soon as we start, which increases our chances of winning the point.
Another tactical point that we recommend to improve your paddle serve and that is basic: communicate with your partner. Remember that it is a team sport, the serve has to catch the opponent off guard, not your partner. If you have a spoken tactic, it is more likely that they will anticipate what type of return they may receive, and thus put you at a certain advantage over your rival.
Finally, we have advice for both technique and tactics: train, train, train! Only by practicing will you be able to hit the ball exactly where you want, direct it where it tactically makes sense at that moment of the point and put your rivals in trouble. Train and increase your chances of winning serve points exponentially.
