Padel bandeja

What is a bandeja in padel?

A bandeja is an overhead shot played with slice and control rather than power. Its job is defensive-aggressive: when the opponents lob over your team at the net, the bandeja lets you play the ball before it reaches the back glass and send it back deep, so you can stay at the net instead of retreating. The name is Spanish for "tray", after the flat, tray-like racket position as you prepare.

LTA Padel's coaches describe the bandeja as the most common overhead in padel and the antidote to the lob, and note that it accounts for 69% of overheads in the women's game. It is the first overhead to learn, and at club level it is far more useful than a smash.

When should you hit a bandeja?

Use the bandeja when you are at the net and the opponents lob a ball that you can reach above your head, but you cannot comfortably finish. Typical moments:

• A lob that would land between the service line and the back glass, and you can reach it while moving back.
• A ball that is high but not short enough to smash out of the court.
• Any time you are off balance or moving backward: control beats power then.

If the lob is very deep and high, it is often better to let it bounce and play it off the back glass, then lob again. If the lob is short and you are well balanced near the net, a smash or a more aggressive víbora may be the better choice.

How do you hit a bandeja, step by step?

1. Turn early. As soon as you see the lob, turn your body side-on to the net, facing the side wall, and move back with short side steps or a crossover step.
2. Racket up like a tray. Bring the racket up above your head with the face slightly open, as if you are holding a plate you want to catch food on, which is the image LTA Padel's coaches use. Point your non-racket hand at the ball for balance and tracking.
3. Let it drop to the right height. Contact the ball as it falls to roughly eye height, in front of your body, not directly overhead. LTA's cue is to hit the ball when it would be in line with your glasses.
4. Swing high to low and across. Cut across and under the ball so the racket comes across your body rather than straight down as in a tennis smash. The finish wraps around you, like a scarf.
5. Recover forward. Use the momentum of the shot to step back toward the net, level with your partner.

The cutting swing puts underspin on the ball, which keeps the bounce low and the rebound off the back glass soft, so your opponents struggle to attack it.

Where should you aim the bandeja?

Aim deep, landing beyond the service line, so the opponents have to play the ball near or off their back glass. LTA's coaching drill makes this the rule: the bandeja must land beyond the service line for the point to count. The classic targets are:

• Cross-court into the back corner, where the ball meets the back glass and side glass, which is the most common and safest choice.
• Down the middle, to create doubt between your opponents.
• Toward the side glass of the opponent with the weaker backhand, once your control is reliable.

Avoid hitting the bandeja hard. A fast ball rebounds off the glass with pace and comes back to the opponents as an easy shot, and it does not give you time to recover your position.

How is a bandeja different from a smash or a víbora?

What are the most common bandeja mistakes?

• Hitting it like a tennis smash. Too much power and a straight-down swing send the ball off the back glass into your opponents' hands.
• Late preparation. Turning and lifting the racket late forces contact behind your head and spoils the slice.
• Contact too high or too far behind you. Let the ball drop to around eye height, in front of you.
• Aiming short. A bandeja landing in front of the service line sits up for the opponents to attack.
• Staying back after the shot. The point of the bandeja is to keep the net. Step forward again with your partner.

How can you practice the bandeja?

Shadow first. Practice the turn, tray position and across-the-body finish without a ball until it feels natural, then do it with a partner feeding gentle lobs from the other side.

Defend the net, from LTA Padel. Two players at the net, two at the back. The back pair feeds a lob; the net pair must play a bandeja that lands beyond the service line, and then the point is live. Swap roles every two points; first team to 10 wins.

Target corners. Place a towel or cones in the opponents' back corners and count how many bandejas land deep in the corner from ten feeds. Progress by having the feeder vary the lob depth so you must move.

How do you progress after the bandeja?

Once your bandeja reliably lands deep and you recover to the net, learn to vary direction and pace, then add the víbora for slightly short lobs. Combine both with sound net positioning; our intermediate strategy guide shows how the bandeja fits into holding the net, and the lob explains the shot you are answering.

Sources

• LTA Padel, Improve your padel overheads: the bandeja and the smash (technique cues, the "defend the net" drill and the 69% figure), checked October 11, 2026.
• LTA Padel, Master your lobs, checked October 11, 2026.

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