Comfortable versus reached backhand
Adjust the feet so the body reaches a comfortable backhand contact. Then recover to ready.
Fixed feet leave a stretched reach. Do not fold the wrist to make up the distance.
Start with a manageable backhand
The backhand is played across the non-hitting side of your body: the left side for a right-handed player and the right side for a left-handed player. This lesson teaches the basic one-handed flat backhand, useful when you want a simple controlled return from the back. Flat means you are not deliberately carving under the ball for slice. If you already use two hands, you can still practise early preparation and spacing, but this is not a two-handed mechanics lesson. Begin with a slow feed around knee-to-hip height so the task is contact, not a difficult chase.
Let the shoulder turn prepare the racket
From ready, turn toward the backhand side as soon as you read the direction. Use the non-hitting hand on the throat to help organise the turn, keeping the preparation compact and low enough for the incoming ball. For a right-hander, the hitting arm comes across toward the left side; for a left-hander, toward the right. The Padel School’s lesson starts beginners with the racket low rather than copying a higher advanced take-back and late wrist adjustment. Soft knees and a small bend in the elbow leave room to move. Prepare first, then shuffle into position instead of waiting until the bounce to begin the whole action.
See the action, then try it
You MUST learn the Flat Backhand - Padel Tips
The Padel School · from 1:46
Watch for: Watch the compact take-back and soft bend in knees and elbow.
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Then practise: Name the contact space
You MUST learn the Flat Backhand - Padel Tips
The Padel School · from 4:44
Watch for: Compare a comfortable contact with the coach’s reaching error.
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Then practise: Name the contact space
Move the feet until the arm has room
Aim to meet the ball slightly ahead of the hitting-side hip as you face side-on for the backhand. On an ordinary right-handed backhand, the right foot can be nearer the net; for a left-hander, mirror that with the left. Do not step so far across the body that your legs and torso become twisted around the stroke. Take smaller adjustment steps if the ball is close. If it is farther away, move your body toward the contact area rather than leaving the feet rooted and stretching the arm straight. A lunge may rescue an emergency ball, but it is not the model for a gentle practice feed.
Guide the face through contact
Release the supporting hand as the hitting arm comes forward. Send the racket through the ball with a comfortable, supported wrist and a controlled arm action. You do not need to snap the wrist to make the face flat. Meet the ball in front of the hip, keep your body stable through that contact and let the racket continue toward the intended flight. Do not stand up abruptly to lift a low ball. After the stroke, return the non-hitting hand to the racket and recover to ready. The next ball may come to either side, so finishing in a comfortable backhand pose is only half the job.
Separate spacing problems from flight problems
If your wrist bends to reach the ball, first check the distance between the ball and your feet. Move earlier and shorten the feed before changing the grip. If the ball feels trapped beside your body, create a little more room with the feet instead of yanking the elbow outward. If the racket repeatedly cuts underneath the ball, slow down and rehearse a forward path through an imaginary contact before hitting again. A net miss can come from late, low contact or a downward face; a long ball can come from an upward face or too much pace. Do not treat either result as proof that every backhand needs more force.
Keep the easy backhand available in a match
On a manageable return or rally ball, turn early and choose a broad target over the net. Resist running around the ball just because your forehand currently feels stronger. You need a backhand that leaves your pair organised, even if it is not an attacking shot. After a missed backhand, identify whether the trouble happened before contact: late turn, cramped body or a reach. That is a more useful next-session instruction than deciding the backhand is unreliable after one point. Once contact is repeatable, take the same preparation into an easy back-glass rebound.
Take it to the court
Use these suggested practice doses to compare your own sessions; they are not a rating or a pass requirement.
Name the contact space
Players: 2 players
Equipment and space: 2 rackets; Padel balls; Broad central target marked with flat markers; Empty court
Setup: Feeder gives gentle one-bounce balls to the backhand, avoiding the glass. Hitter begins behind the service line in ready position.
- Turn before the bounce and use the non-hitting hand to organise the compact preparation.
- Adjust with the feet; send a flat backhand over the net toward the centre.
- Recover to ready, then describe contact as cramped, comfortable or reached.
- Feeder records contact description and in-court result as separate observations.
- Discuss the most common spacing label after ten balls, then swap roles.
- Dose
- 2 rounds of 10 feeds per hitter, resting and collecting balls between rounds.
- Look for
- The arm has comfortable space, the wrist does not fold to reach, and the hitter recovers even after a miss.
- If it breaks down
- The ball lands in but only after a stretched or cramped rescue. Do not mark this as solved spacing.
- Make it easier
- Self-drop the ball on the backhand side, or shadow five contact positions before resuming slow feeds.
- Make it harder
- Vary the feed one small step toward and away from the hitter, keeping the same broad target.
- In your next match
- Use a simple backhand on the next manageable return rather than running around it; note whether the pair stays organised.
Decide your next session
Repeat easy feeds if reaches dominate. Add a small feed variation once comfortable contact repeats; if the same awkward wrist position persists, take that specific contact problem to a coach.
Record it and choose repeat, vary or coachingRead next
Continental grip for padel: find a comfortable starting hold
Padel forehand: prepare early and find space for contact
Padel volley: a controlled first block at the net