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You are standing on the service line mid-rally. Good or bad?
The service line is where balls land at your feet. Be at the net or at the back, never in between.
You have drifted to the service line during a rally. The other pair is at the net. Is this a good place to be?
The service line is where balls land at your feet. Be at the net or at the back, never in between.
Why
The area around the service line is called no man's land for a reason: balls bounce right there, at your feet, and you are too far from the net to volley down and too far from the glass to use the wall. You end up half-volleying low balls up to a pair that is waiting to put them away. The rule is to pass through it, not stand in it, when you go to the net, go all the way; when you are pushed back, go all the way back. Two good positions, one bad one in between.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If you notice you are on the service line, move. Forward if the ball is high, back if it is low.
Intermediate
You pass through no man's land on the way to the net after a lob. Time it so you stop and split-step before their shot, not on the line.
Advanced
The one legitimate stop in no man's land is the pause after your chiquita or lob, waiting to see if they hit down or up. Stop, read, then go.
Common questions
You have drifted to the service line during a rally. The other pair is at the net. Is this a good place to be?
Bad: get either forward to the net or back to defend. The service line is where balls land at your feet. Be at the net or at the back, never in between. The area around the service line is called no man's land for a reason: balls bounce right there, at your feet, and you are too far from the net to volley down and too far from the glass to use the wall. You end up half-volleying low balls up to a pair that is waiting to put them away. The rule is to pass through it, not stand in it, when you go to the net, go all the way; when you are pushed back, go all the way back. Two good positions, one bad one in between.
Why not good. You can cover both the lob and the drive?
You can cover neither properly. The lob still goes over you and the drive is at your feet.
What should a beginner do here?
If you notice you are on the service line, move. Forward if the ball is high, back if it is low.
How does this change for an advanced player?
The one legitimate stop in no man's land is the pause after your chiquita or lob, waiting to see if they hit down or up. Stop, read, then go.
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.