How to hit a bandeja that keeps you at the net

The bandeja is the shot that separates beginners from real padel players. It isn't a smash. It's a controlled, sliced overhead whose only job is to keep you and your partner at the net when the opponents lob you. Here is how to hit it, step by step.

What the bandeja is for

Bandeja is Spanish for "tray", and the name describes the racket position: you hold it up beside your head as if carrying a tray of drinks. You play it when the opponents lob you and the ball is too high to volley but not good enough to smash.

In tennis you'd let that lob bounce, or smash it hard. In padel, a hard smash usually just bounces off the back glass and gives the opponents an easy ball. Running back to let it bounce hands them the net. The bandeja solves both problems: you hit it in the air, with control, and you're back at the net before they can attack.

Step 1: turn side-on early

As soon as you see the lob, turn your shoulders and feet so your side faces the net, like a tennis serve stance. Move with small side-steps or a crossover step, never backpedalling facing the net. Turning early is 80% of a good bandeja, because everything else depends on the ball being in front of you.

Step 2: racket up, other arm pointing

Bring the racket up early, head high and beside your head, with the face slightly open. Point your free arm at the ball. It helps you judge the height and keeps your shoulders turned. Use a continental grip, the same grip you use for volleys.

Step 3: contact in front, with slice

Hit the ball in front of your body and to the side, at roughly head height or a little above. Don't hit it right above your head, and never behind you. Swing forward and slightly down, cutting across the back and underneath of the ball to put slice on it.

The slice is what makes the bandeja work. A sliced ball travels with control, bounces low and dies off the back glass instead of popping out for the opponents to attack.

Step 4: follow through, then move forward

Finish with the racket travelling towards your target and across your body, staying relaxed. The moment the ball leaves your racket, step back towards the net with your partner. The bandeja only works if you take the position it bought you.

Where to aim

• Deep, towards the back glass. The ball should bounce close to the glass and come off it low, so the opponents have to dig it out.
• Into the corners, especially to the side glass. A ball that bounces and runs into the corner is very hard to lob back well.
• Through the middle when the opponents are slow to decide who takes it.

Avoid aiming short. A bandeja that lands in the middle of their court with no pace sits up perfectly for a counter-attack.

Bandeja, víbora or smash?

The víbora is the bandeja's aggressive sibling. You contact the ball more on its outside, with side spin, so it skids off the side glass. Learn the bandeja first. It's the safer shot, and the víbora grows out of it.

Five common mistakes

1. Hitting it too hard. Power without slice means the ball bounces high off the back glass and you get punished.
2. Letting the ball get behind you. Late turns force you to lean back and the shot floats.
3. Staying flat-footed facing the net. Turn sideways every time.
4. Watching your shot instead of moving. Recover to the net immediately.
5. Aiming for winners. The bandeja is about position, not points.

Three drills to groove it

1. Feed and recover. Your partner feeds medium lobs from the back. Start at the net, turn, play a bandeja, touch the net area again. Ten in a row.
2. Target zone. Put a towel two metres in front of the back glass. Count how many bandejas bounce between the towel and the glass.
3. Live point. Play points where the defending pair may only lob. The net pair scores double if they still hold the net after three bandejas.

You'll find progressions for all of these, from solo to full four-player drills, in The Padel Drill Book.

When not to play a bandeja

The bandeja is a tool, not a reflex. Two situations call for something else:

• The lob is short and slow. If you can get under the ball comfortably close to the net, attack it with a víbora or a smash. Playing a gentle bandeja here gives away a chance to finish the point.
• The lob has gone over you. If you have to lean back or jump backwards to reach it, the bandeja will float. Run back with your partner, let the ball come off the back glass and play a lob of your own to win the net back.

Footwork in detail

Good bandejas start with the feet, not the arm. For a right-hander:

1. Read the lob the moment it leaves the opponent's racket. Height and depth tell you early whether this is a bandeja ball.
2. Pivot on the right foot and turn your left shoulder to the net.
3. Side-step or cross-step back until the ball will drop just in front of your left shoulder.
4. Stop and set, weight on the back foot, before you swing. Hitting on the move is the main reason bandejas go long.
5. Transfer the weight forward through the shot, and let that forward movement carry you back towards the net.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• HEAD: beginner's guide to padel shots
• The Padel School: the víbora technique