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The words

Padel grew up in Spanish, so half of what gets shouted across a club court is Spanish even in London or Dubai. 42 terms, each with the original, a definition you could say between points, and the puzzle where it shows up on a real court.

Overheads From the back At the net Movement Formations Court Rules Formats Equipment

Overheads

Bandeja bandeja (“tray”): A controlled, sliced overhead hit from beside the shoulder on a lob that would otherwise push you off the net. It is not a winner: it lands deep, stays low, and buys you the time to get back to the net. The most important overhead in padel, and the first one to learn. See it on court →
Víbora víbora (“viper”): A faster, more aggressive cousin of the bandeja, hit with side-spin at a lower contact point and aimed to bounce into the side glass so the ball comes out low and awkward. Used on lobs slightly short of a full bandeja. See it on court →
Smash remate: The flat, hard overhead hit down on a short, high lob. In padel it is aimed to bounce and leave the court over the back glass, or to die off the side glass: a smash into the back wall at a playable height just comes back. See it on court →
Por tres / por cuatro remate por tres, por cuatro: A smash that bounces in the opponents' court and leaves it: “por tres” out through the side (over the three-metre wall or through the opening), “por cuatro” over the four-metre back glass. Both are winners because the ball left the court after bouncing in. See it on court →
Rulo rulo (“curl”): A topspin overhead that rolls over the top of the ball so it dips deep and kicks off the back glass. The aggressive option on a comfortable, medium-height lob that is too low to smash steeply; it needs time under the ball. See it on court →
Gancho gancho (“hook”): An overhead hit from behind the head with the arm bent, when the lob has got slightly past you: a hooking action that pushes the ball deep to stay in the point; the alternative to turning the shot into a bandeja.

From the back

Lob globo: The high ball over the net players, aimed to land in the last two metres before the glass. The shot that moves the opponents off the net and lets your pair take it. The most important shot in padel. See it on court →
Chiquita chiquita (“little one”): A soft, low ball with slice played from the back to land at a net player's feet, forcing them to volley upward while your pair advances behind it. The lob's quieter sibling. See it on court →
Bajada bajada de pared (“descent off the wall”): A firm, flat drive hit off the back-glass rebound of a deep lob, when the ball comes out at chest height. It turns a defensive position into pressure and is followed to the net. See it on court →
Contra-pared contrapared: Hitting the ball into your own back or side glass so that it rebounds up and over the net. Legal off your own glass (not the mesh) as long as it then lands in the opponents' court. The emergency shot for a ball that has beaten you to the wall. See it on court →
Salida de pared salida de pared (“exit off the wall”): Any shot played after the ball has rebounded off your own glass. The core skill of padel defence: turn side-on, let the ball hit the wall, and play it on the way out. See it on court →
Doble pared: A ball that hits two walls, side glass then back glass, or back then side, before you play it. Side-then-back comes out toward the middle; back-then-side runs forward along the sideline. See it on court →
Drive derecha / revés (forehand / backhand): A flat or lightly sliced groundstroke hit firmly and low. From the back against two net players it is the surprise, not the plan: most balls from the back go up. See it on court →
Cortada / liftada cortada (sliced), liftada (topspin): The two spins. A cortada is hit with slice: it stays low, floats on the lob and dies off the glass. A liftada is hit with topspin: it dips, kicks off the wall, and is the exception in padel rather than the rule. See it on court →

At the net

Volley volea: The ball hit before it bounces, from the net position. Above the net: hit down and attack. Below the net: push deep and wait. Padel volleys are short, firm punches with a slightly open face and a touch of slice. See it on court →
Block volley volea de bloqueo: A volley with no swing at all, racket in front, firm wrist, that uses the pace the opponent gave you. The backhand block is the answer to a hard ball at the body. See it on court →
Half-volley bote pronto: The ball played just after it bounces, racket low and behind it. The transition shot for a ball at your feet as you move to the net; you play it and keep moving in rather than retreating. See it on court →
Drop shot dejada: A soft ball played to die just over the net. In padel it is only on when both opponents are deep against the glass and you have the ball above the net; in any other situation it hands them the net. See it on court →
Poach cruzar / robar la bola: The net partner cutting across to intercept a ball that was heading to their partner, usually the returner's repeated cross-court drive. Timed to the hitter's commitment, and the partner covers the space left behind. See it on court →
Contrapié contrapié (“wrong-footing”): Hitting behind an opponent who is already moving the other way. A player running to cover the cross-court cannot stop for the ball placed where they just were. See it on court →

Movement

Split step split / paso de ajuste: The small hop that lands both feet just as the opponent strikes the ball, so you can push off in any direction. Timed to their contact, not to where you are on the court. See it on court →
No man's land zona muerta / tierra de nadie: The area around the service line where balls land at your feet and you can neither volley down nor use the glass. You pass through it on the way to the net; you never stand in it. See it on court →
Transition transición / subida a la red: The move from the back of the court to the net, behind a lob or a chiquita. Both players advance together, split-step as the opponent hits, and continue or retreat depending on the reply. See it on court →
Net position posición de red: Two to three metres from the net: close enough to volley down, far enough to reach a lob. Not on the net, and never on the service line. See it on court →

Formations

Australian formation formación australiana: The server's partner starts on the same half as the server, and the server crosses to the other half after serving. Used to take away a returner's habitual cross-court lob. See it on court →
I-formation formación en I: The server's partner crouches in the centre of the net at the serve and breaks to one side as the return is hit, hiding the coverage from the returner. See it on court →

Court

Deuce side / advantage side lado del drive / lado del revés: The right and left halves of the court as you face the net. In Spanish they are named for a right-hander's shots: the right is the forehand (drive) side, the left the backhand (revés) side, even though the left-side player takes the middle on the forehand. See it on court →
Glass cristal / pared: The transparent walls at the back and part of the sides. After the ball has bounced on your floor, your glass is in play and the ball can be played off it. A ball that hits the opponents' glass before bouncing is out. See it on court →
Mesh malla / reja: The metal fence that makes up the rest of the walls. In play after the bounce like the glass, with a dead, unpredictable rebound, and on the serve, a ball that bounces and then touches the mesh is a fault. See it on court →
Cruzada / paralela cruzada, paralela: Cross-court and down the line. The cruzada is the long diagonal and the default direction from the back; the paralela is the shorter ball down your own side, over the higher part of the net, used as the surprise. See it on court →

Rules

Let let / repetición: A point or serve replayed. A serve that clips the net and lands in the box is a let; so is any point interrupted from outside (a ball from another court, a broken ball). A let on a serve replays that serve only. See it on court →
Golden point punto de oro: At forty all, a single point decides the game. The receiving pair choose which of them receives, and the server must serve to that side. The official default; competitions may use advantage scoring instead. See it on court →
Foot fault falta de pie: Touching or crossing the service line with a foot before the serve is struck. Both feet must be behind the line and at least one on the ground; a foot fault is a fault like any other, including on the second serve. See it on court →
Hindrance obstrucción / molestia: Anything that puts an opponent off as they play. Deliberate hindrance loses the point; accidental hindrance is a let. Calling to your own partner is neither. See it on court →
Match tie-break súper tie-break: A tie-break to ten points, win by two, played instead of a full third set when a competition's regulations say so. The default in the rules is a full deciding set. See it on court →

Formats

Americano: The social tournament format: partners rotate every round, matches are short and played to a fixed number of points, and each player's score is the sum of points won. The Mexicano variant re-draws pairs each round by current ranking. See it on court →
Level (1–7) nivel: The self-declared and match-adjusted rating used by booking apps to match players: roughly 1 to 1.5 starting out, 1.5 to 2.5 club beginner, 2.5 to 3.5 intermediate, 3.5 to 4.5 strong club, 4.5+ advanced and competitive. Self-declared levels run half a point to a point optimistic, which is why the Level Test on this site scores decisions rather than asking. See it on court →

Equipment

Round, teardrop, diamond redonda, lágrima, diamante: The three racket shapes. Round: sweet spot in the centre, balance in the hand, control. Diamond: mass in the head, power, small sweet spot. Teardrop: between. Beginners start round. See it on court →
Sweet spot punto dulce: The area of the face where the ball comes off cleanly with the least vibration. Big and central on a round racket, small and high on a diamond. Off-centre hits and a twisting racket are a sweet-spot problem. See it on court →
Balance balance (alto / bajo): Where a racket's mass sits. Head-heavy (high balance) for power on the overhead; head-light (low balance) for manoeuvrability, control and a happier elbow. Two rackets of the same weight can feel completely different because of it. See it on court →
EVA soft / hard goma EVA blanda / dura: The foam core inside the racket. Soft EVA absorbs vibration and gives a bigger sweet spot and more comfort; hard EVA gives more power to players who already hit the centre and more feedback on everything else. See it on court →
Overgrip overgrip / sobregrip: The thin wrap wound over the base grip to size the handle to your hand and keep it dry. Most rackets ship with a handle too thin for most hands; one or two overgrips stop the racket twisting on volleys. See it on court →