Blog/Padel Strategy
PADEL STRATEGY - DOUBLES POSITIONING

Padel Doubles Positioning:
Beginner Mistakes
and How to Fix Them.

Five positioning habits that quietly cost new padel pairs points every single set - and the simple fix for each.

The short answer

Most beginner padel positioning mistakes come down to one thing: playing padel like tennis. Staying back, leaving gaps, and moving as two individuals instead of one unit all give up the net - and padel is a game the net-dominant team almost always wins.

Fixing your positioning is less about athleticism and more about habits. Here are the five that matter most.

The 5 mistakes

1
Staying back at the baseline
Tennis habits die hard, but padel is a net-dominant sport. The pair that gets to the net first and stays there wins most rallies. If you find yourself camping near the back wall out of comfort, you are giving your opponents the court.
2
Leaving the middle open
The middle of the court is the highest-percentage target for opponents because it splits two players and creates hesitation over who takes the ball. Partners who stand too wide leave a gap neither of them can cover in time.
3
Not moving together
When one partner shifts to cover a wide ball, the other must shift too - maintaining the gap between them. Beginners often move individually, which opens up either the middle or the sideline depending on which way the ball goes.
4
Poaching every ball at the net
Crossing over to take a shot that belongs to your partner looks aggressive, but it leaves your side of the court completely empty. Trust your partner to take their side unless they clearly cannot reach it.
5
Standing side by side instead of adjusting depth
Good padel pairs are not always level with each other. When your partner is stretched wide or pulled off the net, you should drop back slightly to cover the gap they leave, rather than holding a rigid line.

Why the net matters so much in padel

Unlike tennis, padel walls let defenders retrieve shots that would otherwise be winners. That changes the entire strategic calculus - a big groundstroke from the baseline is far less dangerous in padel because it can be chased down off the back wall. What is genuinely hard to defend is a well-placed volley or smash from close to the net, because there is no time to react.

This is why the standard padel game plan for both pairs is the same: get to the net as fast as possible after your serve or return, and stay there as a team.

A simple positioning drill

Practice moving as a pair without a ball first. Stand at the net together, roughly shoulder-width plus a metre apart. Have one partner call out a direction - left, right, or lob - and both players shift together, maintaining the same gap between them. Do this for a few minutes before you ever hit a ball, and the habit starts to feel natural during real points.

The goal is that neither player has to think about where the other one is. You move as a single shape that shifts across the court.

Keep your focus on court position, not the score

One less obvious way beginner pairs lose focus on positioning is by getting distracted keeping track of the score, especially with star point on the line at 40-40. Scorepion handles the scoring from your wrist, so you and your partner can keep your eyes on the court instead of arguing about whether it is 30-40 or 40-30.

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Common questions

Where should padel doubles partners stand?
Both players should stand at the net whenever possible, roughly level with each other and each covering their own half of the court, moving together as a unit rather than as two individuals.
What is the biggest positioning mistake in padel?
Staying back near the baseline out of habit from tennis. Padel is a net-dominant game, so retreating and staying there gives up that advantage.
Should padel partners move together?
Yes. Partners should shift left and right together based on where the ball is, keeping a consistent gap between them so neither the middle nor the sideline is left open.
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