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Signalling a poach before the serve: worth it?
A simple pre-serve signal, poach or stay, lets the server cover the line. It makes the poach safe.
Some pairs signal before the serve whether the net partner will poach. Is it worth the complication in club padel?
A simple pre-serve signal, poach or stay, lets the server cover the line. It makes the poach safe.
Why
A poach by the server's partner leaves the partner's side of the court open, and the server has to cover it. If the server does not know the poach is coming, they cannot cover in time and a good returner finds the gap. A hand signal behind the back before the serve: open hand for stay, fist for poach, or whatever the pair agrees: makes the coverage automatic. The system also lets the pair fake: partner signals stay, then makes a half-step toward the middle as the return is hit, which sends the returner down the line into the server. Two signals, agreed in the warm-up, and the serving pair becomes far harder to return against.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Once you and your partner are comfortable at the net, agree one signal: "I am going to the middle on this one." It is that simple.
Intermediate
Signal, then serve wide. A wide serve gives the poacher the cross-court return to intercept and the server time to cover the line.
Advanced
Vary the frequency by the returner. Against a returner who lobs, poach rarely. The poacher is the one who gets lobbed. Against a driver, poach often.
Common questions
Some pairs signal before the serve whether the net partner will poach. Is it worth the complication in club padel?
Yes: a simple signal lets the server cover the line. A simple pre-serve signal, poach or stay, lets the server cover the line. It makes the poach safe. A poach by the server's partner leaves the partner's side of the court open, and the server has to cover it. If the server does not know the poach is coming, they cannot cover in time and a good returner finds the gap. A hand signal behind the back before the serve: open hand for stay, fist for poach, or whatever the pair agrees: makes the coverage automatic. The system also lets the pair fake: partner signals stay, then makes a half-step toward the middle as the return is hit, which sends the returner down the line into the server. Two signals, agreed in the warm-up, and the serving pair becomes far harder to return against.
Why not no. The server can see the partner move?
By the time the server sees the partner move, the line is open and the return is in the air. The signal is what makes the coverage happen in time.
What should a beginner do here?
Once you and your partner are comfortable at the net, agree one signal: "I am going to the middle on this one." It is that simple.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Vary the frequency by the returner. Against a returner who lobs, poach rarely. The poacher is the one who gets lobbed. Against a driver, poach often.
Puzzles like this one
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intermediateYour partner got pulled wide. Where do you stand?
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