Tips to Improve Your Padel Backhand Serve

Tips to Improve Your Padel Backhand Serve

As any padel player knows, the serve is one of the fundamental elements of the game. It’s the only moment in which we have absolute control over the ball, and it’s the perfect opportunity to start the point with an advantage. In this article, we’ll focus on improving our backhand serve, which can be a real weapon if we know how to execute it properly.

1. Get the Right Grip

The first step to mastering the backhand serve is getting the right grip. Unlike the forehand serve, where we can use a continental or Eastern grip, the backhand serve requires us to use a grip that’s in between the two. The most common grip for the backhand serve is the V grip, which consists of holding the paddle handle with our index finger extended down the back of the handle, forming a V with our thumb.

2. Find Your Rhythm

The backhand serve is all about finding our rhythm. We need to find the right timing and pacing to generate the power and spin that we want. One technique that can help us with this is to bounce the ball a few times before serving. This helps us get into our natural rhythm and feel more comfortable with the ball.

3. Use the Correct Stance

The correct stance is fundamental to hitting a good backhand serve. We need to position ourselves sideways to the court and keep our weight on our back foot. Our front foot should be slightly turned inward, and our paddle should be pointed towards the back fence. After tossing the ball, we need to step forward with the front foot and transfer our weight onto our front foot to generate power.

4. Work on Your Toss

The toss is another crucial element of the backhand serve. We need to toss the ball high enough to give us time to get into position, but not so high that it drifts away from us. The toss should be slightly in front of us, and we should release the ball with a gentle upward motion to give ourselves the best chance of hitting it cleanly.

5. Focus on Your Follow-Through

Finally, we need to focus on our follow-through. After hitting the ball, we should continue our swing and extend our paddle towards the target. This helps us generate spin and control the direction of the ball. A good follow-through also helps us maintain balance and avoid injury.

Conclusion

Improving our backhand serve is all about practice and repetition. By following these tips and dedicating some time to training, we can turn our backhand serve into a real weapon on the padel court. Remember to keep your grip, find your rhythm, use the correct stance, work on your toss, and focus on your follow-through, and you’ll be hitting better backhand serves in no time!