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Can you volley the return of serve?
The return of serve must bounce. It is the one ball in padel you are not allowed to volley.
The serve is floating slowly towards you and you could easily step in and volley it out of the air. Are you allowed?
The return of serve must bounce. It is the one ball in padel you are not allowed to volley.
Why
Everything else in padel can be taken out of the air, including the ball your opponents hit straight after the return. The serve cannot. If the receiver volleys it, the point goes to the serving pair. It is worth knowing not just as a rule but as a tactic. It is why the serving pair get a free two seconds to walk to the net, and why the return lob matters so much.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Stand behind the service line to receive so you are never tempted, and so a serve that kicks off the glass does not jam you.
Intermediate
Because you must let it bounce, your split-step timing on the return is different from every other ball: you are reading the bounce, not the racket.
Advanced
Note that the server’s partner may volley your return. That is why a low, dying return down the middle is risky and a deep lob is not.
Common questions
The serve is floating slowly towards you and you could easily step in and volley it out of the air. Are you allowed?
No: the serve must bounce before you return it. The return of serve must bounce. It is the one ball in padel you are not allowed to volley. Everything else in padel can be taken out of the air, including the ball your opponents hit straight after the return. The serve cannot. If the receiver volleys it, the point goes to the serving pair. It is worth knowing not just as a rule but as a tactic. It is why the serving pair get a free two seconds to walk to the net, and why the return lob matters so much.
Why not only if you are standing behind the service line?
Where you stand does not change it. The ball must bounce, wherever your feet are.
What should a beginner do here?
Stand behind the service line to receive so you are never tempted, and so a serve that kicks off the glass does not jam you.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Note that the server’s partner may volley your return. That is why a low, dying return down the middle is risky and a deep lob is not.
What do the rules say?
The receiver must let the serve bounce. Volleying the return of serve loses the point.
Puzzles like this one
You have served. Where do you go?
In padel you serve in order to get to the net. Serve, then go.
intermediateWhat do you do with the return of serve?
The return lob is how the receiving pair steals the net. Aim over the player who is still moving.
intermediateThey cannot play the side glass. Where do you serve?
Serve at the weakness you have found, not at the space you can see.