How to Hit a Bandeja in Padel
A bandeja is hit by turning side-on early, taking the ball out in front of the body with a high-to-low slice, and finishing with the racket across the body rather than all the way down. The ball goes deep to a corner or the side glass at a controlled pace, and the hitter moves forward to the net at once, which keeps the net pair in the point instead of handing the net to the opponents.
- Turn side-on early, meet the ball in front of the body, and slice high to low across it.
- Aim deep to a corner or the side glass at a controlled pace, not at full power.
- Move forward to the net straight after contact, level with your partner.
What Does the Bandeja Do in a Point?
The bandeja is padel’s controlled overhead: a ball hit out of the air, with slice, against a lob, with the aim of holding the net rather than ending the point. Bandeja is Spanish for tray, and the shot sits between a smash and a forehand volley. In padel, a pairs sport played on a fully enclosed court, the odds of winning a point are significantly higher when both partners are at the net, and the bandeja is the shot that keeps them there.
Professional finals show how much the shot is used and how seldom it loses the point. A 2020 analysis of 1,015 smashes from eight 2019 World Padel Tour finals counted the tray, which is the bandeja, as the most common smash type: 291 of the 522 men’s smashes and 339 of the 493 women’s. Dividing those counts gives about 56 percent of the men’s smashes and about 69 percent of the women’s, Racket Chronicle arithmetic from the study’s Table 1 counts. The point continued after 89.7 percent of men’s trays and 87.0 percent of women’s, with winners on 7.2 and 6.8 percent and errors on 3.1 and 6.2 percent.
The evidence has limits. Coaching guidance on the bandeja varies on details, most of all contact height. The one match analysis covers professional finals, counts the tray as a type of smash, and classes each smash by type, outcome, hitting zone and direction, with smash speed left unmeasured.
How Do You Hit a Bandeja Step by Step?
Turn first. Face the side of the court, move back early, and hold the racket above the head with the face open. Early preparation is the first step to an effective shot, and the racket position is often described as holding a plate to catch food on.
Meet the ball in front of the body, not beside it or behind it. Contact height is a coaching convention, not a measured figure. Coaching pages place it anywhere from shoulder height to just above the head, and the working height on this page is eye level to forehead level, in front of the body.
Swing from high to low, but do not let the racket travel all the way down as it does on a tennis smash. The racket finishes across the body, with the arm wrapping around the torso like a scarf, and that path puts underspin on the ball, which adds control and accuracy and makes the ball harder for the opponents to recover. The open racket face and the slice separate a bandeja from a flat smash, and the point of contact is lower than on the other smash types.
Keep the pace controlled. A bandeja played with a lot of power does not leave time to get back into position, so the shot takes speed off the ball and puts the effort into placement.
Recover at once. The momentum of the shot pushes the hitter forward to the net, level with the partner, ready to attack the next ball. The recovery is almost as important as the stroke itself. For a hitter on the service line, the net is 6.95 m (22.8 ft) away.
Where Should a Bandeja Land?
Deep is the first rule. The landing requirement in the defend the net drill is a ball that lands beyond the service line, which on the opponents’ half is the strip 3.05 m (10.0 ft) deep between the service line and the end wall (10 m from the net minus 6.95 m, Racket Chronicle arithmetic). The drill’s purpose is to keep the net pair in the point.
Useful targets are the corners, where the glass can slow the ball and make the next shot harder, and the middle, which pulls both opponents into the center of the back court. A straight-arm variation of the shot, the Bela bandeja, is aimed at the front panel of the side glass and the back part of the side fence at medium speed, which forces the opponents into awkward positions.
The plan marks the two corner targets and the middle target inside the deep zone, with the court drawn to the FIP dimensions. The target shapes are schematic; no source gives sizes for them.
Direction is split about evenly in professional play. In the 2019 finals the tray went down the line on 51.9 percent of the men’s attempts (151 of 291) and 49.9 percent of the women’s (169 of 339), and across the court on the rest. The study classes direction only as down the line or cross court, so it does not show how deep those balls landed.
For a hitter on the service line at the center, the plan-view distance to the far corner is 17.7 m (58.0 ft), the square root of 16.95 squared plus 5 squared (Racket Chronicle arithmetic). The end wall behind that corner runs 4 meters (13.1 feet) high, 3 m of wall and a 1 m fence, and under Rule 12.3 of the FIP Rules of Padel, review of application 01.01.2026, a ball that has bounced on the receiving side stays in play when it hits any part of the court.
What Mistakes Ruin a Bandeja?
Too much pace is the first mistake. A bandeja played with a lot of power does not give the hitter time to get back into position, so the shot works through placement and a reduced pace.
Swinging it like a tennis smash is the second. The smash finishes with the racket coming all the way down, and the bandeja finishes across the body. Technique, contact point and the purpose of the shot all differ from the tennis smash, and that gap is the hurdle for players who come from tennis.
A late turn and a late contact are the third. Moving back early and making contact in front of the body are two of the three key elements of the shot, and a ball met beside or behind the body gives up the second.
Staying at the back is the fourth. A quick recovery that keeps the net position is the third key element, and its aim is to avoid being attacked on the next ball.
How Does the Bandeja Differ From the Vibora and the Smash?
The smash is hit flat, with a lot of power, at the highest possible point. The bandeja is hit lower, with the racket face open and with slice, and holds the net instead of ending the point.
The professional data show the trade. Men’s flat smashes won the point outright 51.8 percent of the time and women’s 33.3 percent, but the opponents kept the point going against 43.9 percent of men’s and 63.1 percent of women’s flat smashes. Trays won the point outright on 7.2 and 6.8 percent of attempts and kept it going on 89.7 and 87.0 percent. A flat smash that clears the opponent can also come back into play off the back glass.
The vibora is the slightly more aggressive alternative to the bandeja: the ball is hit on the outside, where a bandeja is hit from underneath. The study sorted smashes into tray, flat, topspin and off the wall, so none of its figures describe the vibora.
How Do You Practice the Bandeja?
The defend the net drill is the practice. Two players stand at the net and two at the back of the court, and the back pair feed a lob to start the rally. The net pair must hit a bandeja that lands beyond the service line, which is the 3.05 m (10.0 ft) deep zone on the graphic, and then the point is live. The net pair are trying to keep the net and win the point, the teams swap roles every two points, and the first team to 10 points wins.
A bandeja that lands short of the service line fails the drill’s landing rule, so the deep zone is the check. The drill needs a partner to feed the lob, so it cannot be run alone.
How to Hit a Padel Bandeja FAQs
What is a bandeja in padel?
A bandeja is a controlled overhead hit out of the air, with slice, to answer a lob without giving up the net. The word is Spanish for tray. In professional finals it was the most used smash type, kept the point going on 87.0 to 89.7 percent of attempts and lost the point for the hitter on 3.1 to 6.2 percent.
What is the difference between a bandeja and a smash?
A smash is hit flat with a lot of power at the highest possible point and aims to end the point. A bandeja is hit lower with slice and a controlled pace and aims to keep the net. In the 2019 professional finals, 51.8 percent of men’s flat smashes were winners, against 7.2 percent of men’s trays, but the tray kept the point going 89.7 percent of the time against 43.9 percent for the flat smash.
What is the difference between a bandeja and a vibora?
A vibora is slightly more aggressive. It is hit on the outside of the ball, where a bandeja is hit from underneath, and the bandeja carries underspin and a controlled pace. The professional smash study has no vibora category, so no figure compares the two.
Where should you aim a bandeja?
Aim deep, beyond the service line, to a corner or the side glass. The middle is a valid alternative that pulls both opponents into the center of the back court. In professional finals the tray went down the line on about half of the attempts and across the court on the other half.
Should beginners learn the bandeja first?
A beginner can start on it at once: the shot asks for control and placement rather than power. It is described as easy to learn and perfect over time at any skill level. Other coaching material calls it one of the hardest shots to learn, especially for tennis players, so expect to spend time on it.
How do you practice the bandeja?
The defend the net drill uses two players at the net and two at the back. The back pair feed a lob, the net pair must land the bandeja beyond the service line before the point goes live, and the teams swap roles every two points to a first-to-10 finish. The drill cannot be run alone, as it needs a real lob from a feeder.
Sources
LTA Padel, “Essential tips on padel overheads, bandeja & the smash”
The Padel School tips: Bandeja Secrets, How To Hit A Bandeja Without Any Risk? and The Vibora Technique
International Padel Federation, “Rules of Padel,” Review of application 01.01.2026
