[Saturday, October 25, 2025 08:57]
Padel FAQ: Return on a long, fast slice serve
Do you have a question about padel? Thanks to our "padel man," Yannik Mann, we have the answer! Let's start with Torsten, who doesn't know how to return a long, fast slice serve. Our padel man, Yannik, has some advice and tells Torsten and you how best to defuse this currently unreturnable "weapon." Blocks, half-volleys, and the right footwork are the recipe for success. Find out more!
Torsten's question
"We have a new court and are playing with great enthusiasm and joy. One teammate has a 'deadly' weapon that we can't seem to neutralize. He hits a slice with a lot of pace, deep into the back corner of the service box. The ball barely rises. What can be done? Theoretically, we could let the ball hit the back wall and then return it, right? That's not working very well at the moment. Blocking or letting the ball drop doesn't work either, because the glass wall is in the way. What can be done?"
The Padelmann answer
"That's a very good question, which I'll gladly answer briefly and concisely. Get your racket as close and low to the glass wall as possible and play the ball in front of the glass as a low block, or play the return as a half-volley off the glass. If they're playing with a lot of backspin, you definitely have to get involved.".
The footwork for this usually involves moving your foot forward from the side wall, so that you are standing sideways. With a lot of backspin, the ball won't return from the back wall.
I hope this helps you, but we will gladly address the question again in our next Murmelcast - The Padel Podcast ."
Our "paddleman"
Yannik Mann
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