Drills for Tennis Players Transitioning to Padel

Tennis players have a head start in padel — but also carry habits that can hold them back. This guide provides specific drills to retrain the muscle memory that matters most, organised into a progressive 6-week programme.

Why Tennis Players Need Specific Drills

Coming from tennis, you already understand racket sports fundamentals: reading the ball, footwork, and competitive mindset. However, several deeply ingrained habits work against you in padel:

Expert insight (Mauri Andrini, former world champion): “Forget the power strategies and accept a patient, strategic approach. Padel rewards control, not force.”

Category 1: Grip Retraining

Drill 1.1: Continental Grip Wall Rally

Stand 2 m from the back wall. Rally against the wall using only the continental grip (the “handshake” grip). Alternate forehand and backhand without changing grip. Start at a slow pace and increase gradually.

• Goal: 50 consecutive hits without changing grip
• Focus: Feel the natural wrist angle for both sides
• Duration: 10 minutes per session

Drill 1.2: Grip Check Volley

With a partner at the net, exchange volleys. After every fifth hit, check your grip — it should still be continental. Tennis players unconsciously rotate toward an eastern forehand. Reset if needed.

• Goal: Maintain continental grip throughout 3-minute volley exchanges
• Focus: Awareness over automatic rotation

Category 2: Wall Play Fundamentals

Drill 2.1: Back Glass Read and Return

A partner feeds balls that bounce off the back glass. Your job is to let the ball bounce, read the angle, and return it with a controlled shot. Start with slow feeds and progress to harder ones.

• Goal: Return 8 out of 10 feeds with control
• Focus: Patience — let the glass do the work; do not swat at the ball
• Key tennis fix: Resist the urge to volley before the glass rebound

Drill 2.2: Side Wall Redirect

Stand near the side wall. A partner feeds balls into the wall at various angles. Practice redirecting the rebound cross-court. This builds the spatial awareness that tennis players lack.

• Goal: Consistently redirect side wall rebounds into the opposite court
• Duration: 15 minutes, alternating sides

Drill 2.3: Double Bounce Reading

A partner feeds deep shots that hit the back wall and then the side wall (or vice versa). The drill trains you to read complex trajectories — a skill that doesn’t exist in tennis.

• Goal: Track the full ball path without panicking
• Focus: Position yourself after the second bounce, not the first

Category 3: Compact Swing Drills

Drill 3.1: Short Backswing Rally

Play a baseline rally with your partner but limit your backswing to no more than 45 degrees. Place a cone or bag behind your shoulder as a physical barrier. If you hit the cone, the backswing was too big.

• Goal: Maintain rally quality with half the swing
• Focus: Wrist and forearm control, not shoulder rotation

Drill 3.2: Close-Quarters Volley Exchange

Both players stand 3 m from the net, exchanging rapid volleys. The short distance forces compact movements. No full swings possible — only touch, angle, and placement.

• Goal: 30 consecutive exchanges
• Focus: Soft hands, quick racket preparation

Category 4: Serve Adjustment

Drill 4.1: Target Box Serves

Mark four target zones in the service box (wide, T, centre, deep). Practice the underhand serve aiming for each zone in sequence. Focus on placement, not pace.

• Goal: Hit each zone 3 out of 5 times
• Focus: Slice and kick serve variations, not speed
• Key tennis fix: Accept that the serve is a placement weapon, not a power weapon

Drill 4.2: Serve and Rush

Serve and immediately move forward to the net with your partner. The drill trains the post-serve transition that is natural in padel but foreign to baseline tennis players.

• Goal: Reach the net position before the return crosses the net
• Focus: Synchronised movement with partner

Category 5: Soft Shots and Touch

Drill 5.1: Chiquita from the Baseline

Stand at the back of the court. A partner at the net feeds volleys. Your goal is to play chiquitas — soft, low balls at their feet. The drill fights the tennis instinct to hit hard from the back.

• Goal: 7 out of 10 chiquitas land below net height at the opponent’s feet
• Focus: Soft grip pressure (3/10 on the “squeeze scale”)

Drill 5.2: Drop Shot Touch Exchange

Both players at the net, exchanging drop shots that barely clear the net. The drill builds the soft touch that tennis players often lack.

• Goal: 10 consecutive drops that bounce within 1 m of the net
• Duration: 5 minutes per set

Drill 5.3: Lob Accuracy

From the back of the court, lob over two net players toward the back wall. Aim for the lob to land in the back third of the court. Tennis players tend to hit lobs too flat and too fast.

• Goal: 6 out of 10 lobs land in the back third without being smashed
• Focus: Height over speed; arc over power

Category 6: Volley Retraining

Drill 6.1: Punch Volley Elimination

Play volleys with a partner, but any volley with a full swing (arm extending past the shoulder) loses the point. This eliminates the tennis “drive volley” that is counterproductive in padel.

• Goal: Win 5 points using only compact punch volleys
• Focus: Block, redirect, place — do not drive

Drill 6.2: Low Volley at the Net

A partner feeds low balls from the back. You stand at the net and practise volleys below net height. Continental grip, open racket face, step forward into the ball.

• Goal: Return 8 out of 10 low feeds into the court
• Key tennis fix: In padel, the low volley is defensive, not an approach shot

Category 7: Overhead Adjustment (Bandeja and Vibora)

Drill 7.1: Bandeja Shadow Swings

Without a ball, practise the bandeja motion: arm at shoulder height, slice downward with the continental grip, follow through across the body. Do 3 sets of 20 repetitions.

• Focus: The motion is different from a tennis overhead — it is a slice, not a flat hit

Drill 7.2: Controlled Bandeja Rally

A partner lobs from the back. You hit bandejas aiming for the side glass, keeping the ball in the court. No power smashes — only controlled bandejas.

• Goal: Land 7 out of 10 bandejas in the opponent’s half without them bouncing over the glass
• Key tennis fix: The bandeja replaces the overhead in most situations

Category 8: Positioning and Movement

Drill 8.1: Net-to-Back Shuttle

Start at the net. A partner lobs. Sprint back, play the ball off the glass, then immediately return to the net. Repeat 10 times. Trains the constant forward-backward movement unique to padel.

• Goal: Complete 10 cycles without losing ball control
• Focus: Recovery speed and transition footwork

Drill 8.2: Pair Movement Sync

Play practice rallies where both partners must always be on the same horizontal line (both at the net or both at the back). If one player is forward and the other back, the point is lost.

• Goal: Play 10 consecutive rallies maintaining pair alignment
• Focus: Communication and spatial awareness

6-Week Progressive Programme

Each session: 15 min warm-up + 30 min drills + 15 min match play.

10 Common Mistakes Tennis Players Make in Padel

Expert Quotes

“Padel is a new sport — treat it as one! Don’t assume your tennis skills will transfer automatically.” — The Padel School

“It is much easier to build technique from scratch than to fix bad habits accumulated over years.” — Mauri Andrini, Hello Padel Academy

“The glass is your friend, not your enemy. Learn to use it and you’ll unlock a whole new dimension of play.” — Catherine Rose, The Padel Paper