Padel has a name for almost every shot, and most of them are Spanish. You'll hear them shouted in club sessions, in coaching videos and on match commentary. Play in Malaga or Madrid and you'll hear them in their original Spanish.
This page is the index. Every shot gets a card: its Spanish name, what that means in English, where on court you play it and how long it tends to take to learn. Where we've written a full guide to a shot, the card links to it.
How to read the cards
Zone is where you're standing when you hit it:
- Back: behind the service line, near the back glass.
- Middle: around the service line.
- Net: in front of the service line, close to the net.
Level is Padelism's rough guide, not an official scale:
- Day one. You'll hit it in your first session.
- First few months.
- Regular club player.
- Advanced. Lots of practice, ideally with a coach.
Definitions come from the LTA, the FIP rulebook and the padel glossaries listed in our sources.
Shots from the back of the court
Saque (serve)
Zone: Back · Level: 1 Underarm, after one bounce, into the diagonal box. The FIP rulebook calls it "el saque o servicio".
Resto (return)
Zone: Back · Level: 1 The return of serve. The FIP rulebook names it "el resto o devolución de saque". It has to bounce before you hit it.
Derecha or drive (forehand)
Zone: Back, middle · Level: 1 Your stock shot on your dominant side. "Drive" can also mean the forehand side of the court.
Revés (backhand)
Zone: Back, middle · Level: 1 Spanish for "reverse". Hit on your non-dominant side, and often used to mean the left side of the court.
Globo (lob)
Zone: Back · Level: 2 A high ball over the net pair's heads to push them back. The LTA says it should land past the service line and short of the back glass.
Chiquita
Zone: Back · Level: 3 Means "little". A soft ball from the back aimed at the feet of a pair at the net. The LTA says the idea is to force a weak upward volley you can then attack.
Shots off the glass
Salida de pared (wall return)
Zone: Back · Level: 2 Letting the ball go past you, rebound off the back glass, then playing it. The LTA notes it needs little pace because the ball is already heading back towards the net.
Contrapared
Zone: Back · Level: 3 "Against the wall". You hit the ball into your own back wall so it rebounds over the net.
Boast
Zone: Back, corners · Level: 3 Borrowed from squash. An angled shot off the side glass before it crosses the net. The LTA says it's often defensive, when the ball is tight in a corner. Coming from squash? Our padel vs squash guide covers what else carries over.
Bajada
Zone: Back · Level: 4 Means "descent". The LTA describes an aggressive downward smash from above head height, played after a lob bounces high off the glass.
Cuchilla
Zone: Back · Level: 4 "Blade", after the path of the racket. A more aggressive, more side-spun version of the bajada off the back wall.
Shots at the net
Volea (volley)
Zone: Net · Level: 1 Hit before the bounce. The LTA splits volleys into three by feel: block, push and fizz. It also says most points in padel are won at the net.
Dejada (drop shot)
Zone: Net · Level: 3 A soft drop shot, usually with backspin, that drops very close to the net.
Overheads
Bandeja
Zone: Net, middle · Level: 3 Spanish for tray. The LTA calls it the most common padel overhead: a sliced, controlled shot that keeps you at the net after you've been lobbed. Deep dive: The bandeja in five phases, with faults and drills
Víbora
Zone: Net, middle · Level: 4 Spanish for viper, after the way the spin makes the ball move. An attacking overhead at head or shoulder height with sidespin, so it kicks low and sideways off the floor and walls. Deep dive: The víbora, its glass targets and when you're ready for it
Gancho
Zone: Middle · Level: 3 "Hook". A defensive overhead to win the net back, like a bandeja but hit higher.
Remate (smash)
Zone: Net · Level: 2 Spanish for "finish", and in padel it usually means the smash. The LTA describes it as flat, fast and aggressive, played close to the net.
Por tres (x3)
Zone: Net · Level: 4 "For three". A kick smash, usually from close to the net, that hits the floor and the glass, then bounces out over the 3m side wall.
Por cuatro (x4)
Zone: Net · Level: 4 "For four". A flat smash from very close to the net, hit steeply into the floor so it clears the back glass, roughly 4m once you add the fencing on top.
Rulo
Zone: Net, often the left side · Level: 4 The LTA describes a lower-risk topspin smash hit diagonally at the fence, where it bounces unpredictably. Right-handers usually play it cross-court from the left.
Three names that cause mix-ups
Rulo. The LTA calls it a topspin smash into the fence. One US retailer's glossary calls it a kick serve aimed at the fence. If a coach uses it, ask which one they mean.
Salida. On its own, some glossaries use it for running off court to chase a ball that has left it (the glossary covers that). Salida de pared is the wall return. Different things.
Bandeja and gancho. Both are defensive overheads to hold or win the net. The difference is contact height: the gancho is taken higher.
For the words that aren't shots, like golden point or Americano, use our padel glossary.
Off court
Once these words are in your head, you'll catch them everywhere. Our heavyweight tees carry a few of the in-jokes. The Focus tee has WAS IT IN WAS IT OUT printed as an eye chart, for the ball nobody on court is sure about. Tees are £48, 100% cotton at 305 g/m2 in an oversized fit, and any two are £90 at checkout. Size down if you want a regular fit.
They're built for after the game, not the match itself. Still learning the basics? Start with our padel tips for beginners.
FAQ
Why are padel shots named in Spanish? Padel has been Spanish-speaking from the start. The first recognised court was built in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969. The game reached Marbella in 1974 and Argentina in 1975, and the FIP was founded in Madrid in 1991 by the Argentine, Spanish and Uruguayan associations. The full story is in our history of padel.
Is a remate the same as a smash? Yes. Remate is Spanish for "finish" and in padel it's used for the smash. Bandejas and víboras are also overheads, but they have their own names.
What do x3 and x4 mean in padel? They're shorthand for por tres and por cuatro. Both are smashes that leave the court. An x3 goes out over the 3m side wall. An x4 clears the back glass, about 4m including the fencing. Whether the other pair can chase it outside depends on the court, which our guide to what the ball can hit explains.
Is a chiquita the same as a drop shot? No. A chiquita is hit from the back of the court at the feet of opponents who are at the net. A dejada is a soft drop shot, usually with backspin, that drops very close to the net.
