What a Pista report looks like

At a glance

A shotA judgmentOne of your three fixes

• First serveServe7›

  Bounce, hit, side glass: the same rhythm on nearly every point, and the returner was jammed against the wall more often than not. Placed with intent, not just put in play. Twice you went at the body instead and got a floating return you could attack; do that more.

  7–8 · Reliable · Reliable and purposeful: placement and depth are deliberate, few errors.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  The first serve: underarm, struck after the bounce at or below waist height, placed to make the return hard, usually into the side glass or at the returner's body, while still going in reliably. Judge the bounce-and-hit rhythm, contact height, and whether it is placed with intent or just put in play.

  From behind your back glass: The server is the closest player to the camera, so contact height and the line towards the side glass are clear. Depth in the far box is compressed; use whether the returner is jammed or comfortable.

• Return off the side glassReturn7›

  Genuinely good. The wide serve comes off the glass, your feet are already turned, and you lob it or roll it back cross-court without rushing. This is the patience the backhand side is missing.

  7–8 · Reliable · Reliable and purposeful: placement and depth are deliberate, few errors.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  Returning a serve that reaches the side glass before the player can play it, which is the standard serve target. Letting the ball come off the wall, turning the feet to face its new line, and returning under control, usually with a lob or a low ball. A separate skill from the clean return because the footwork and timing are different.

  From behind your back glass: Only when the serve visibly hits the side glass. The near side glass is in frame, so the rebound and the player's feet are clear; the fault to look for is playing the ball before it has come off the wall.

• Forehand volleyVolleys7›

  Firm, in front, no backswing, and you put it deep to the middle. This is the volley that holds the net for your pair.

  7–8 · Reliable · Reliable and purposeful: placement and depth are deliberate, few errors.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  Forehand volley (volea de derecha) at the net: compact preparation, contact in front, a firm wrist, and control of height and depth. Covers both the attacking volley off a high ball and the low defensive block; the first volley on the way in is scored separately.

  From behind your back glass: The net is 10 m from the camera, so the swing shape (compact vs a backswing) and the contact point relative to the body are visible; face angle is not. Judge control by height over the net and by what the opponents can do with it.

• First volley on the way inVolleys7›

  You stop. That's the whole thing: split-step near the service line, low over the net, deep down the middle, and you keep coming. Better than your level.

  7–8 · Reliable · Reliable and purposeful: placement and depth are deliberate, few errors.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  The volley played from around the service line while moving forward, after the serve or after a lob. Often low, and usually the hardest volley in padel. Judge whether the player stops before contact, keeps it low over the net and deep, and keeps coming afterwards, rather than hitting on the run.

  From behind your back glass: Happens in the middle of the frame with the player side-on to the camera, so the stop-or-run and the contact height are clear. Mark not seen if the player never came to the net in the clip.

• Forehand returnReturn6›

  Compact, met in front of you, mostly deep down the middle. The misses came when you tried to do more with it, a couple of low cross-court drives into the net. The plain deep return was winning you the point anyway.

  5–6 · Sound · Sound in comfortable situations; errors cluster under pressure or on the harder variants.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  Return of serve on the forehand side: reading the serve early, compact preparation, and putting the ball back deep or at the feet of the incoming server. Which side of the court the player plays decides which return they hit most; score what is seen and mark the other side not seen.

  From behind your back glass: The returner stands right in front of the camera: preparation, contact point and balance are all visible. Judge depth by how far back the serving pair is pushed, not by where the ball lands.

• Forehand from the backFrom the back6›

  You let it come off, set your feet and lob or roll it back. Solid. When it comes fast you drift back onto the glass first and get jammed; see Defensive position.

  5–6 · Sound · Sound in comfortable situations; errors cluster under pressure or on the harder variants.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  The forehand from the back of the court, mainly the exit off the back glass (salida de pared): letting the ball come off, setting the feet, and returning it under control, usually as a lob or a low ball. Includes the direct forehand when the ball does not reach the glass.

  From behind your back glass: The best-filmed shot in the whole video: the camera sits behind the glass in question. Watch whether the player turns and waits for the rebound, or hits on the way to the wall, cramped.

• Second serveServe · Misses: short5›

  You have a real one, which puts you ahead of most players at your level: slower, sliced, into the middle of the box. It lands short of the glass though, and in the fourth game the returner stepped in and drove it at your feet as you came in. Keep the slice, add depth.

  5–6 · Sound · Sound in comfortable situations; errors cluster under pressure or on the harder variants.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  The serve played after a fault: safer, usually sliced to stay low, but still placed with purpose rather than pushed in. A different skill from the first serve: the question is whether the player has a real second serve or hits the same serve again more nervously.

  From behind your back glass: Only score if the player faulted at least once. Watch the change in pace and target from the first serve, and whether the returner is able to attack it.

• Backhand volleyVolleys · Misses: short5›

  Fine at chest height. Below the net the racket head drops under your wrist and the volley floats. It lands mid-court and sits up, and the opponents went to that ball on every big point in the last two games.

  5–6 · Sound · Sound in comfortable situations; errors cluster under pressure or on the harder variants.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  Backhand volley (volea de revés) at the net: early shoulder turn, racket head above the wrist, contact in front, and depth on the backhand side. Usually the weaker volley at amateur level, and the one opponents target.

  From behind your back glass: As for the forehand volley. Watch particularly for the racket dropping below the wrist on low balls and for a late turn on balls at the body.

• Remate (smash)Overheads · Misses: long · wrong shot for the moment5›

  When the lob is short and you're under it the smash is clean: flat at the feet, and one out over the back glass in the second game that the opponents didn't even chase. The misses were all the same ball: a deep lob smashed from behind your shoulder, into the back glass or long. The smash isn't the problem. Which lobs you smash is.

  5–6 · Sound · Sound in comfortable situations; errors cluster under pressure or on the harder variants.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  Any overhead hit to finish the point: the flat smash at the feet, and smashes aimed to bounce out over the back glass (por tres / x3) or side-then-back glass (x4). Judge getting under and behind the ball, timing of contact, and whether the finish is clean rather than which variant is attempted.

  From behind your back glass: Only when the player attempts to finish with an overhead. The jump and contact point are visible; whether the ball left the court at the far end usually is too, by the opponents' reaction.

• Side wallFrom the back5›

  Read well on the forehand side. On the backhand side you swing while still facing the net instead of turning to the wall, and the ball goes where the wall sends it, not where you want it.

  5–6 · Sound · Sound in comfortable situations; errors cluster under pressure or on the harder variants.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  Playing a ball that comes off the side glass (pared lateral): reading the rebound, moving the feet to face the ball's new line, and redirecting it back into play with control, usually cross-court or as a lob.

  From behind your back glass: Only when seen. The near side glass is in frame, so watch the feet. The fault is swinging while still facing the net instead of turning towards the wall.

• Globo (lob)From the back · Misses: short5›

  The height is there: you clear the net players every time. The depth isn't: under pressure the lob lands around the service line and comes straight back as a smash. Your lob is the shot that gets you back to the net, so this matters more for you than for most players.

  5–6 · Sound · Sound in comfortable situations; errors cluster under pressure or on the harder variants.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  The lob (globo): height, depth and what it achieves. Does it clear the net players and push them back, or sit up to be smashed? Includes the defensive lob under pressure and the attacking lob used to take the net.

  From behind your back glass: Height is on the vertical plane and clear. Depth is compressed by the camera; judge it by whether the opponents have to retreat past their service line and by what they can do with it.

• Backhand returnReturn · Misses: late contact · short4›

  The serve to the T. The racket isn't back when the ball bounces, so you're pushing at it with the wrist and it sits up mid-court for the server to volley. Both opponents were serving there by the end of the clip; they'd noticed.

  3–4 · Limited · Gets it in play, but the technique limits it; breaks down under any pace or pressure.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  Return of serve on the backhand side: early shoulder turn, a compact block or slice, and control under time pressure. For a right-hander on the left side this is the wide serve, the one most amateurs struggle with.

  From behind your back glass: As for the forehand return: the player is nearest the camera. Watch whether the racket is back before the bounce and whether the ball is met in front of the body.

• Backhand from the backFrom the back · Misses: taken before the glass4›

  You don't trust the wall on this side. You face the net as the ball goes past you, then hit it before it reaches the glass, cramped and off the back foot. The two times you did let it come off, it was fine. You have the shot; you don't have the wait.

  3–4 · Limited · Gets it in play, but the technique limits it; breaks down under any pace or pressure.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  The backhand from the back of the court, mainly the exit off the back glass (salida de pared de revés) and the classic amateur weakness: turning early, letting the ball come off, and returning it with control. Includes the direct backhand when the ball does not reach the glass.

  From behind your back glass: As for the forehand. The tell is the shoulder turn: a player facing the net as the ball comes off the glass is already late.

• Double wallFrom the back · Misses: misread the glass4›

  Three or four in the clip, all in your corner. Twice you swung after the first wall at a ball that was about to come off the back glass towards you. Call it early, wait for the second wall.

  3–4 · Limited · Gets it in play, but the technique limits it; breaks down under any pace or pressure.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  Playing a ball that rebounds off two walls (doble pared, side-then-back or back-then-side): recognising it early, waiting for the second rebound, and still making a controlled shot.

  From behind your back glass: Only when seen. The corner is right next to the camera, so the rebound sequence is clear; judge whether the player waited for the second wall or panicked after the first.

• BandejaFix #1Overheads · Misses: late contact · short3›

  Not yet a shot. You back-pedal facing the net, take the ball behind your head and swing flat at it: a slow smash, not a bandeja. What came back was short and sat up, and the opponents took the net off you every time.

  3–4 · Limited · Gets it in play, but the technique limits it; breaks down under any pace or pressure.

  iWhat your coach looks for

  The bandeja ('tray'): a sliced overhead off a lob, arm extended to the side at shoulder height, hit to keep the net rather than win the point. Judge the shoulder turn, moving back behind the ball, contact beside and slightly in front of the body, and depth of the result.

  From behind your back glass: Played from mid-court with the player side-on to the camera: the footwork back and the contact point are visible. Depth is compressed; judge it by whether the opponents can attack the reply.

1 = not yet a shot10 = a weapon at your level