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What is a chiquita and what is it for?
Chiquita: soft, low, to the net player's feet, so they volley up while you walk in.
You keep hearing about the chiquita. What is the shot, and what does it do?
Chiquita: soft, low, to the net player's feet, so they volley up while you walk in.
Why
The chiquita is a slow, low ball with slice, played from the back to land at the feet of a net player, usually just inside the service line. It forces them to volley from below the net, which means hitting upward, and while the ball travels the back pair advances together. It is the second way to move forward from the back, alongside the lob, and it works best against pairs who have drifted slightly deep to handle lobs. It is not a winner; it is a shot that produces a weak volley, and the weak volley is what you attack.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Try it once a game: a soft ball that lands just over the net at the net player's feet. Then walk forward with your partner.
Intermediate
Weight of shot is everything. Too soft and it sits up as a drop shot; too firm and it is a volley. Practise landing it a metre inside the service line.
Advanced
The chiquita and the lob from the same preparation is the combination that beats good net pairs. If they cannot read which is coming, they cannot set their depth.
Common questions
You keep hearing about the chiquita. What is the shot, and what does it do?
A soft, low ball to the net player's feet. Chiquita: soft, low, to the net player's feet, so they volley up while you walk in. The chiquita is a slow, low ball with slice, played from the back to land at the feet of a net player, usually just inside the service line. It forces them to volley from below the net, which means hitting upward, and while the ball travels the back pair advances together. It is the second way to move forward from the back, alongside the lob, and it works best against pairs who have drifted slightly deep to handle lobs. It is not a winner; it is a shot that produces a weak volley, and the weak volley is what you attack.
Why not a small lob that just clears the net player's racket?
A small lob is a smash. The chiquita stays low and lands at the feet.
What should a beginner do here?
Try it once a game: a soft ball that lands just over the net at the net player's feet. Then walk forward with your partner.
How does this change for an advanced player?
The chiquita and the lob from the same preparation is the combination that beats good net pairs. If they cannot read which is coming, they cannot set their depth.
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.
beginnerYou have served. Where do you go?
In padel you serve in order to get to the net. Serve, then go.
advancedThey are camped at the net and you cannot lob. What now?
If you cannot lift it over them, make them lift it for you. The chiquita is a slow ball at their feet.