▷▷Tips to play paddle tennis 1 vs 1

Surely you have wondered if it is possible to play paddle tennis 1 vs 1. But how? We have put together some tips for you.

Padel is only officially played with four people, two teams of two players each (doubles). Therefore, there is no professional singles competition. Both the women and men of the World Padel Tour play in the standard doubles format.

Play paddle tennis 1 vs 1 or with 4 people?

But why then can singles play tennis? This is due to a number of factors and no...it's the glass wall. The most important factors are:

• Padel court size (10 meters wide, 20 meters long)
• game speed
• Padel balls have less pressure and therefore do not bounce as much. This reduces the time needed to return the ball.

Combining the aforementioned factors, it is clear why it is not ideal to play paddle tennis in an individual format. A tennis court is 3.77 meters longer than paddle tennis courts and these extra meters make the game a bit slower. With paddle tennis, the balls travel less distance from racket to racket. This makes the game much faster and 1v1 returning the ball almost impossible. Especially when sent from corner to corner, the balls bounce less off the ground. Since the balls don't bounce as high, it's hard to get into position in time. Let alone several games in a row 😉!

But, how do you play paddle tennis 1 vs 1?

Good news, it's possible! It is not ideal and we do not recommend doing it in a competition way. It may happen that some of your regular doubles partners don't have time or drop out at the last minute... So there you are, just the two of you, already in the club and wanting to play a match.

Use only one side of the track

Make the field 50% smaller in width using the center line. Play by the normal rules on one side of the field. Of course, the ball is out when it lands on the "closed" part of the court. After all the odd games, just switch sides. Since in this format you always play with the cup to the left or to the right, you also learn to play both sides. Many players have a fixed side, but it's a good idea to switch sides from time to time. In this way, you also learn to touch the glass on the other side.
We almost forgot to serve, we do it in a "normal" way but vertically.

Play paddle tennis diagonally

Diversity is important in paddle tennis, as it is a dynamic sport. Each point is different and therefore it is useful to hit as many types of balls as possible. During a 1 vs 1 padel game you can easily create different situations. Whereas with tip 1 you only play vertically and naturally get on the net more often for a smash, this is not the case with tip 2. The goal is to only play "cross country". Also in this format the court is reduced to half, now it is played only diagonally. If the ball lands in one of the vertical pockets, it is out, otherwise the normal rules apply. The good thing about tip 2 is that it can now also be served normally. Serves from left and right. In this format you constantly change from back to right. This makes it especially good for practicing counter-attacking from both sides.

Play slow to improve defense

Many players think that they have to return all the balls with force, but it is no less true. In paddle tennis, it is equally important to get the rhythm out of a rally to be able to return to the correct position. This is achieved by hitting the balls slowly over the net, making it difficult for the opponent to play offensively. The idea of ​​a slow ball is that you play it at the opponent's feet. Therefore, the ball falls immediately after it has crossed the net. As a result, the opponent can only hit the ball up and cannot, for example, hit or play a cut ball. In this way, you will attack yourself again!

But how do you practice slow play with two people?

It's simple, you just need an object that acts as a "network". It can be a bench or a small table, be creative. As long as it's not too high, try to keep the net no higher than 50 centimeters. It is played in the back field on one side of the field and the "net" is placed in the center. The paddle tennis racket must not rise above the hip when hitting the ball, as it happens in the service. If the ball hits the glass or falls off the court, it is out. This is key for padel 1 vs 1.

Sources :

1. Flick Padel
2. Orven Sport