What are the benefits to keep our low elbow or more simply said, close of our body for Achievement of our shots au paddle ? 

We have already talked about it in other articles, to have a good time playing padel, you don't need technical particular.

But at a time of tighter matches, we will try to make the difference to try to come away with victory. Power is a solution, but so is control. And you will see that the simple action of the elbow can lead you to victory.

Before you get into it, experiment. If you decide to throw a stone or throw a ball, do you think you will throw it further with your arm straight or with your arm bent?

So the answer is simple. If you play padel with your arm outstretched, you will certainly have power, but little control and mastery.

At the bottom of the track

Be careful not to misunderstand us. The idea is to perform a pala preparation with an elbow close to our body, striking is another subject. So when you prepare your forehands, backhands and window hits, remember to keep your elbow close to your body. What will this enable? To be more precise and therefore to place the ball in areas that are more difficult for your opponents to manage. For lobs, which are the shots that must be worked on in training, it's the same thing. The further you are from the ball and you have to stretch your arm when setting up, the less precise you will be, so in this situation it will be better to play a defensive lob. 

For the other shots, the same. Think of tennis players who are at the end of their race, off the court and who are going all out. In padel, these shots are useless except to give a free point or a clear opportunity to the opponents to go on the attack. So what is the solution? To keep as counterattack balls those that are close to your body, where you can prepare with a close elbow.

paula josemaria left-handed backhand after glass 2022

At the net?

For volleys it's a bit the same thing except that this time, in addition to being close to the body, the elbow must point towards the ground. This allows you to be precise but also and above all to place your pala above your arm. This action allows you to give better spin to the ball and finish the shot correctly. And for low balls you tell us? Use your legs and flex. And if it's too difficult, do as with all complicated balls to negotiate, accept the opponents' nice shot and look for a simple area.

alix-collombon-volee-2023

And for high balls?

This technique had to have its flaws. For certain high balls like vipers or certain smashes, it is interesting to prepare not with the elbow close to the body but pointing downwards. Doing this allows you to properly place the pala above the arm for a clean, clear and fluid movement.

Melissa Martin Vibora Wilson

The service in all this?

We haven't forgotten it of course. The serve is a move that is sometimes forgotten during training but which cannot be done away with, otherwise the offensive will quickly be lost.

Some people persist in wanting to achieve it quickly when very often it is when it is played with finesse that it is the most destructive. So arm bent and impact with an elbow close to the body to gain precision and above all gain spin. You can of course prepare by raising your arm very high behind you, but remember that only champions can be precise and powerful at the same time.

Before raising your elbow for your after matches, learn to lower it and work with preparations close to the body. Perhaps you will lose power but you will see that you will be more precise and that you will therefore be able to have a more complete game. Go!

Julien Bondia

Julien Bondia is a padel teacher in Tenerife (Spain). Columnist and advisor, he helps you play better through his tutorials and articles on padel tactics/techniques.

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