The back wall is what keeps so many padel rallies going. A ball that would beat you in tennis bounces, hits the glass and comes back to you. Under the FIP rules it stays live until it bounces a second time (Rule 12.3). The hard part is knowing which balls to let go, and where to be when they come back out.
Below: a let-it-pass rule by ball speed and height, two diagrams for corner balls, and a four-week drill block. Padelism makes clothes, not coaching plans, so every technique point below is credited to its source.
The let-it-pass rule
Start with the service line. The LTA calls it the decision line: bounce in front of it, play the ball; bounce past it, let it hit the glass. Our padel tips for beginners covers that in full.
The line tells you whether to let it pass. Speed and height tell you how.
| Ball past the service line | Let it pass? | Where to be | Where the idea comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast and low (a drive or a hard volley) | Yes | A big step off the glass, so the ball has room to come back out | LTA: a fast ball gives you more time off the wall. PadelPoint: too close costs you angle and reaction time |
| Slow and low | Yes, but come in | Much closer to the glass, because a slow ball won't come far off it | LTA back glass guide |
| Slow and landing right at the foot of the glass | No, it may not come back out | Move to it early and play it before it dies | Padel Addict: some balls have to be hit before they reach the wall. Tennis Warehouse: if it dies on or just before the glass, a back wall shot may be the way out |
| High and deep (a lob that bounces up near the top of the glass) | Yes | Turned side-on, racket up, waiting for it to drop | Padel Addict: if it comes out above waist height, go on the attack. The LTA's bajada is this shot |
| Close to the side wall as well | Yes | Read it first. See the corner section below | Padel Addict, Miguel Sciorilli |
Two things hold for every row. Once the ball is out of the glass, PadelPoint suggests making contact around hip height, not lunging at it early. And the LTA's point still applies: the ball is already heading back towards the net, so it needs a touch, not a swing.
Reading the corner: does it open or close?
The ball hits two walls, and if you guess the order wrong you're standing in the space it just left.
Miguel Sciorilli, a coach whose advice Padel Addict shared, boils it down to one read. If you're well placed and the ball passes close to your body, it hits the back glass first, then the side glass. It closes. If it passes further from you, it hits the side glass first, then the back. It opens. Close or far.
Then one move for each. Ball closes, move towards the side wall. Ball opens, move away from it.
Side glass, then back glass (it opens)
NET is this way
| |
|- - - - - - - - - - - - -| service line
| |
| Y --------> X |
| 1 |
| |
2 |
|____3____________________|
BACK GLASS
1 ball bounces on your floor
2 hits the side glass
3 hits the back glass
Y where you start
X where you play it
This usually comes from a very cross-court ball. Tennis Warehouse notes that a ball hitting the side wall before the back tends to come out towards the middle of the court, closer to your partner's side. So don't hug the corner. Turn, follow the ball round, and drift away from the side glass towards the middle. Padel Addict says playing it after both walls is more natural and less hurried than trying to hit it straight off the side glass.
Back glass, then side glass (it closes)
NET is this way
| |
|- - - - - - - - - - - - -| service line
| X |
| ^ |
3 | |
| Y |
| 1 |
|____2____________________|
BACK GLASS
1 ball bounces on your floor
2 hits the back glass near the corner
3 hits the side glass
Y where you start
X where you play it
This one travels further up the court, along the side wall it came from (Tennis Warehouse). Padel Addict says it arrives at the leg nearest the side wall. So you move towards the side glass and give yourself room to let it come forward. You can open up and play it on that side, or follow it with your body and hit at the end of its path.
For both, Sciorilli's order is the same: wall, then you, then the ball out in front of you. Keep the glass behind you and the ball ahead of you.
When it's already past you
If the ball has got behind you and won't come out, you can still play it into your own back glass so it rebounds over the net. That's legal (FIP Rule 14.1 b), as long as it doesn't touch the metal fence on your side (Rule 13.1 l). Padel Addict calls it a last resort, so treat it that way. Our guide to what the ball can hit has every surface ruled.
A four-week back wall block
Twenty minutes at the start of a booking, with one partner feeding from the other side of the net. Each week builds on the last.
Week 1: read, don't move. This is Sciorilli's first drill. Your partner feeds deep, cross-court balls into your corner. You stand still and call "opens" or "closes" before the ball hits the second wall. It can feel like a waste of a court, but Sciorilli calls this read the most important part of corner defence. Finish with ten balls off the flat back glass, where you're allowed to let it bounce once more on the floor after the glass, as the LTA's drill starts.
Week 2: first step only. Same feeds. Now you call it and take your first step: towards the side wall for a ball that closes, away from it for one that opens. No racket swing yet. Sciorilli says practising the movement is enough at this stage; the point is to link the read to the move.
Week 3: hit it. Racket back in. Turn side-on early, small quick steps, get low and swing low to high, as the LTA puts it. Keep the ball in front of you and let it get to around hip height. Take away the extra bounce on the flat back glass balls. Ask your partner to mix forehand and backhand corners without telling you which is coming.
Week 4: make it count. PadelPoint suggests putting cones on the other side as targets after a double wall. Put two down: one deep and cross-court, one at the feet of an imaginary net player. Then play points where the feeder is only allowed to attack your corners. Score a point for every double wall you get back over, and two if it hits a cone.
Then go back to week one for five minutes. If you call the corner right nearly every time, the block worked.
What you wear for it
All of this is footwork, and Tennis Warehouse's advice is simple: don't stay flat-footed. Our padel grip socks have non-slip grip to cut down movement inside the shoe, which helps on the quick changes of direction in the corner. They're £14, in UK 4-7 and UK 8-11, and the grip socks guide covers sizing and washing.
For before and after, our heavyweight tees are 100% cotton at 305 g/m2 with an oversized fit, so size down if you want a regular fit. They're £48, or any two for £90 in the 2 for £90 deal. Coming from tennis? Read tennis habits that lose padel points.
FAQ
How far from the back wall should I stand in padel? There's no fixed distance. PadelPoint suggests starting slightly behind the baseline, not too close to the glass. Then adjust: the LTA says come much closer for a slow ball, and give a fast one room to come out.
Who takes a corner ball that comes out into the middle? Agree it with your partner before the point. Tennis Warehouse notes that a ball hitting the side glass before the back tends to come out towards the middle, near the other player. Both Tennis Warehouse and PadelPoint stress deciding who takes which ball, so call it early and out loud.
How do I know if a corner ball will hit the side or back glass first? Watch how close it passes you. Coach Miguel Sciorilli's read: close to your body, it hits the back glass first and closes towards the side wall. Further away, it hits the side glass first and opens towards the middle of the court.
What should I do when a lob comes off the back glass high? Turn side-on, racket up, and wait for it to drop out of the glass. Padel Addict says if it comes out above waist height, attack it. The LTA calls that downward smash a bajada.
