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Your lob is good, but your partner has not moved. Do you go?
Say "up!" and go together. If your partner does not move, neither do you. Never split the pair.
You hit a deep lob and start forward, but your partner is still standing at the back. What now?
Say "up!" and go together. If your partner does not move, neither do you. Never split the pair.
Why
A good lob is only worth the net if both players take it. If one advances and one stays, the pair is split front and back, and the opponents have a diagonal gap to hit through and a lone net player to lob. The fix is not to go alone. It is to talk. A short call as you hit the lob ("up!" or "go!") tells your partner what you saw, and if they still do not move, you match them and stay back. Winning the net a moment later, together, is worth more than winning it now, alone.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Every time you hit a good lob, say "up" out loud. Your partner will learn to move with the word.
Intermediate
Make the call before the ball lands, so your partner is moving while it is in the air. Late calls produce late partners.
Advanced
If your partner consistently does not advance, the problem is trust in the lob. Show them the depth for two games and they will come.
Common questions
You hit a deep lob and start forward, but your partner is still standing at the back. What now?
Call "up!"; if they do not come, stay level. Say "up!" and go together. If your partner does not move, neither do you. Never split the pair. A good lob is only worth the net if both players take it. If one advances and one stays, the pair is split front and back, and the opponents have a diagonal gap to hit through and a lone net player to lob. The fix is not to go alone. It is to talk. A short call as you hit the lob ("up!" or "go!") tells your partner what you saw, and if they still do not move, you match them and stay back. Winning the net a moment later, together, is worth more than winning it now, alone.
Why not go anyway. You earned the net with that lob?
Half a pair at the net is a target. The diagonal between you and your partner is wide open.
What should a beginner do here?
Every time you hit a good lob, say "up" out loud. Your partner will learn to move with the word.
How does this change for an advanced player?
If your partner consistently does not advance, the problem is trust in the lob. Show them the depth for two games and they will come.
Puzzles like this one
Both of them are at the net. What is the highest-percentage ball?
Only the lob moves a net pair backwards. Everything else invites them forward.
intermediateYour partner got pulled wide. Where do you stand?
The pair moves like one body. When your partner is pulled wide, you take the middle.
beginnerYou have served. Where do you go?
In padel you serve in order to get to the net. Serve, then go.