Padel Doubles Strategy: Win More Points Today

The golden rule: control the net

Every point in padel is a battle for the net. The team that stands at the net has the angles, the initiative, and the ability to finish points. The team stuck at the back is defending, reacting, and hoping for mistakes. Your entire strategy should revolve around getting to the net and staying there.

This doesn't mean rushing forward recklessly. Move to the net when you've hit a shot that puts your opponents under pressure — a deep lob, a well-placed chiquita, or a forcing groundstroke. If you come forward after a weak shot, you'll get passed or lobbed easily.

Once at the net, hold your position. Resist the temptation to retreat after every lob. If the lob is good, let the back player handle it. If you both retreat, you've given up the net for free.

Move as a unit

The most common mistake in padel doubles is drifting apart. You and your partner should be connected by an invisible rope, roughly 3 to 4 metres apart, moving laterally and forward/backward together. If your partner shifts left, you shift left. If they move to the net, you move to the net.

Think of the court as divided into two vertical halves. Each player is responsible for their half, but the overlap in the middle is shared territory. When one player covers a ball in the centre, the other adjusts to cover the vacated space. This constant, coordinated movement is what makes great padel teams look telepathic.

Communication is everything. Call 'mine' or 'yours' early and clearly. In the heat of a rally, hesitation in the middle costs points. Better to have both players going for the ball than neither.

Target the weaker player (respectfully)

In padel, you're playing against a team of two, and those two players are almost never equal. Identify which opponent is less comfortable — less consistent, slower to react, or weaker on a particular side — and direct more balls their way.

This isn't about being mean. It's fundamental padel strategy, used at every level from beginner to professional. The weaker player will make more errors, and under sustained pressure they'll often force their partner to overcompensate, disrupting the team's positioning.

The most effective way to target a player is to hit consistently to their backhand side, especially at the back of the court. Most beginners have a significantly weaker backhand, and balls into the backhand corner force difficult shots off the side wall.

Use the lob to reset

When you're under pressure at the back of the court, the lob is your best friend. A high, deep lob buys you time, forces the net team to retreat, and potentially gives you the opportunity to take the net yourself.

Don't lob mindlessly — vary the height, depth, and direction. A lob to the centre of the court creates confusion between the opponents. A lob down the line forces a single player to retreat and play a difficult overhead. Alternate between lobbying over the forehand and backhand sides to keep the net team guessing.

The counter to a good lob is a bandeja or vibora — so watch for opponents who handle overheads well and adjust your lob height and depth accordingly. Against strong overhead players, lower, faster lobs that are harder to smash can be more effective than high, slow ones.

The serve-and-stay strategy

After serving, your instinct may be to rush the net. Resist this in the early stages of your development. The serve-and-stay strategy means serving deep, staying at the back, and waiting for the right moment to move forward. You come to the net only when you've hit a shot that genuinely puts the opponent under pressure.

As you improve, you can transition to a serve-and-volley approach — moving forward immediately after the serve. But this only works if your serve is deep, consistent, and well-placed. A weak serve followed by a forward rush is a recipe for getting lobbed.

Tactical principles to remember

Play the point, not the shot. Each shot should set up the next one. Hit deep to push opponents back, then hit short to pull them forward, then lob over their heads when they're out of position. This sequence — deep, short, lob — is the basic tactical pattern that wins points at every level.

Be patient. Padel rallies are long by design. The walls keep balls in play, the court is small, and winners are rare. The team that makes fewer unforced errors almost always wins. Don't try to hit spectacular shots — try to make the right shot at the right time.

At Padel Tropical, our coaching sessions include tactical drills that teach these patterns through repetition. Strategy isn't something you think about — it's something you train until it becomes instinct.