Colpi del padel: Servizi

Flat serve

The basic underarm serve: bounced behind the service line, hit at or below the waist with a little forward swing, into the diagonal box. Placement and consistency matter far more than pace.

Wide serve

A serve aimed at the outside of the box, so it bounces close to the side wall and runs into the side glass, pulling the receiver wide.

Deep serve

A serve that bounces close to the service line, so the receiver has to play it off the back glass or from deep in the court.

Short serve

A serve that bounces near the net, drawing the receiver forward. It is rarely used and easy to attack if it sits up.

Slow serve

A deliberately gentle serve that breaks the receiver's rhythm and gives you more time to reach the net.

Fast serve

A firmer serve, still struck at or below the waist, that rushes the receiver and can force a weak return.

High, looping serve

A legal serve with a higher arc over the net. It lands deep, bounces higher and is useful now and then as a change of pace.

Serve to the back corner

A serve that bounces deep near the side wall and runs into the corner where the back and side glass meet, the hardest rebound to read.

Attacking first serve

A first serve with more pace or a tighter target, accepting a little more risk because you still have a second serve.

Safe second serve

A second serve with more margin over the net and inside the lines, played after a first-serve fault so that you do not lose the point.

Serve and volley

The usual pattern in padel: serve, then move straight to the net to volley the return and take the attacking position with your partner.

Serve and bandeja

Serve, close in, and answer the lob return with a bandeja to keep the net instead of giving it up.

Serve and smash

Serve, close in, and finish a short return with an overhead when the receiver lifts the ball weakly.

Slice serve

A serve with backspin and a little sidespin that skids low off the floor and the side glass, so the receiver has to dig the ball up.

Side-spin serve

A serve brushed across the ball so it moves sideways after the bounce, usually curving away into the side glass.

Kick serve

A topspin serve that jumps up off the floor and kicks off the glass higher than the receiver expects.

Serve to the side glass

Aimed at the outside of the box so the ball bounces and runs into the side glass, pulling the receiver wide and opening the middle.

Serve to the T

Aimed down the centre line, where it meets the service line, to cut the angle the receiver can use and set up a volley through the middle.

Serve to the body

Aimed straight at the receiver, so they have to get out of the way of the ball and cannot swing freely.

The serve

How every point starts: bounce the ball behind the service line, strike it at or below the waist and send it diagonally into the receiver's box. This page covers the rules and the basic action; the serve pages linked from it cover the different types.

Surprise serve

A serve that changes the receiver's expectations: a different target, pace or height from the one you have been using, still struck at or below the waist.