You’re starting padel and feel like you’re plateauing? 9 times out of 10, it’s the same 10 mistakes blocking beginners from progressing: defensive positioning, bad serve, wrong shot choices, lack of communication with partner.
Here are the 10 most common beginner mistakes in padel — and more importantly, how to fix them immediately. Read each point, identify which ones you make, and focus on 1-2 fixes per session.
- Mistake 1: Staying at the back of the court
- Mistake 2: Hitting too hard
- Mistake 3: Bad serve
- Mistake 4: Ignoring the glass walls
- Mistake 5: Bad (or no) lob
- Mistake 6: Zero communication with partner
- Mistake 7: Hitting smash too hard
- Mistake 8: Wrong racket for your level
- Mistake 9: No warm-up
- Mistake 10: Playing too soon against better players
Mistake 1: Staying at the back of the court
The #1 beginner mistake — and the most penalizing. Padel is won at the net, not at the back. As long as you stay behind, your opponent at the net controls the point and finishes it with a smash.
Fix: as soon as your pair sends back a deep enough ball, move to the net diagonally. And stay there, even if the first ball is tricky. You’ll win 3× more points in a month.
Mistake 2: Hitting too hard
The beginner hits as if playing tennis. In padel, power loses. A powerful ball always comes back via the glass or fence, and the opponent just picks it up.
Fix: hit at 60% of your max power. Prioritize placement and consistency. A well-placed shot at 50 km/h tires the opponent more than a missed shot at 100 km/h.
Mistake 3: Bad serve
The padel serve must be underhand, below the waist, slow and deep. Many beginners serve too hard thinking they’ll ace — the ball ends in the opponent’s glass and gifts the point.
Fix: serve at 50% power, ball bouncing short in front of opponent, and target the area just past the service line. You miss less, you push your opponent to error.
Mistake 4: Ignoring the glass walls
The glass walls are your best allies. When a ball comes deep at you, don’t play the impossible smash — let the ball hit the glass behind you, then hit on the rebound. You’ll have time to position, the angle is wider, the shot more controlled.
Fix: specifically train glass exits. It’s the move that takes you from “tourist” to “player who knows”.
Mistake 5: Bad (or no) lob
The lob is the essential defensive shot in padel. It lets you push opponents off the net and regain initiative. Without a lob in your game, you suffer the entire match.
Fix: work a basic lob — not spectacular, just deep and placed between the two opponents. Target a high trajectory (3-4 meters) that lands on the baseline. See our complete lob guide.
Mistake 6: Zero communication with partner
Padel is played in pairs. If you don’t talk, you play the same balls, you let center balls pass, you block each other in coverage.
Fix: say “me” out loud as soon as you take the ball, “you” when it’s for your partner. Discuss tactics before each service game. These 30 seconds of communication are worth 10 solo training sessions.
Mistake 7: Hitting smash too hard
The smash is the star shot — but also the most missed by beginners. Hit too hard, it ends in the opponent’s fence or ricochets off the side.
Fix: first learn the placed smash (via bandeja), not the power smash. The bandeja is a side half-smash that keeps pressure without risking the fault. It’s the most used smash among pros.
Mistake 8: Wrong racket for your level
Playing with a Bullpadel Vertex used by Paquito Navarro? If you’re starting, this racket makes you lose points: too powerful, too demanding, narrow sweet spot. Your tendon will suffer before you progress.
Fix: play with a suitable racket. For a beginner: round shape, EVA soft foam, 360-375g, low balance. See our complete padel racket buying guide.
Mistake 9: No warm-up
Padel intensely stresses the wrist, elbow, and shoulder. No warm-up = epicondylitis or tendinitis almost guaranteed within 3-6 months.
Fix: 5 minutes of warm-up mandatory before each match: wrist, shoulder, hip rotations, 2 minutes of controlled exchanges mid-court before playing the first serious point.
Mistake 10: Playing too soon against better players
Playing against players two levels above is counterproductive. You spend the match chasing balls without time to build a shot. You don’t progress — you get discouraged.
Fix: 70% of your games against players at your level or slightly above. Only 30% against better players to test yourself. You progress in close matches, not in 6-0 losses.
Conclusion: where to start?
If you had to fix one thing first, target mistake 1 (move to the net) and mistake 2 (hit less hard). Together, they transform 80% of your game.
Focus on 1-2 fixes per session for 4 sessions. You’ll feel the difference in level within the month.