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Outdoors, the sun is behind you. Does it change your serve?
Sun behind you: draw the lob and smash. The high balls are hard for them and easy for you.
You are serving with the sun low behind you, in the returner's eyes. How do you use it?
Sun behind you: draw the lob and smash. The high balls are hard for them and easy for you.
Why
Outdoors, the sun affects one shot: the overhead. A player looking into the sun to judge a lob or hit a smash is guessing. When the sun is behind the serving pair, the return lob is hit toward the sun, the returner cannot easily judge its depth, and the serving pair's overheads are hit with the sun behind them. So the serve is designed to produce lobs: deep and wide, into the glass, and the pair at the net smashes and bandejas without squinting. When the ends change, the opposite applies: lob less, drive more, and keep the overhead exchanges short.
What this means at your level
Beginner
When the sun is behind you, be happy to be lobbed. When it is in your eyes, hit fewer lobs and more low balls.
Intermediate
At the change of ends, say the plan out loud: "sun end, we smash" or "sun in our eyes, we drive". It stops the pair forgetting.
Advanced
The sun moves. A plan that was right at the start of the set may be wrong at 4-3. Look up at each change of ends.
Common questions
You are serving with the sun low behind you, in the returner's eyes. How do you use it?
Serve to draw the lob, then smash. Sun behind you: draw the lob and smash. The high balls are hard for them and easy for you. Outdoors, the sun affects one shot: the overhead. A player looking into the sun to judge a lob or hit a smash is guessing. When the sun is behind the serving pair, the return lob is hit toward the sun, the returner cannot easily judge its depth, and the serving pair's overheads are hit with the sun behind them. So the serve is designed to produce lobs: deep and wide, into the glass, and the pair at the net smashes and bandejas without squinting. When the ends change, the opposite applies: lob less, drive more, and keep the overhead exchanges short.
Why not serve harder. They cannot see it coming?
The serve is underarm and they can see it fine. The sun matters for high balls, not low ones.
What should a beginner do here?
When the sun is behind you, be happy to be lobbed. When it is in your eyes, hit fewer lobs and more low balls.
How does this change for an advanced player?
The sun moves. A plan that was right at the start of the set may be wrong at 4-3. Look up at each change of ends.
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.
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.