Here's the thing nobody tells you in your first months of padel: most points aren't won by better shots. They're won by better positions. Padel is a net game — the team standing at the net wins the large majority of points at every level, because from the net you hit down and volley early, while the team at the back can only defend and look for a way forward. The whole sport, underneath the bandejas and chiquitas, is a fight for those three meters of court next to the net.
Once you see the game that way, positioning stops being abstract. There are exactly two places worth standing, one zone to avoid, and a handful of rules about moving between them. This guide covers all of it.
The two positions: attack and defense
The attacking position is roughly 2.5 to 3 meters back from the net — not touching it. From there you can volley anything driven at you, and you still have time to track a lob back with a bandeja instead of watching it sail over your head. The pair stands slightly staggered: the player on the ball side a half-step closer to the net, the partner a half-step back and toward the middle, covering the cross-court angle.
The defensive positionis near the back glass — close enough that balls bounce past you into the wall and come back to a comfortable height, far enough that you're not jammed against it. From here you absorb pressure, keep the ball in play, and wait for the lob or chiquita that lets your team take the net back.
The core habit:at any moment in a point, you and your partner should be in one of these two positions — both at the net, or both at the back. If you can't say which one you're in, you're in the wrong place.
No man's land: where points go to die
The transition zone — the strip of mid-court between the service line and the net position — is where club players lose more points than anywhere else. Stand there and every decent shot from your opponents lands at your feet: too short to play off the glass, too deep to volley comfortably. You end up scooping half-volleys off your shoelaces with no time and no angle.
The zone itself isn't the problem — you have to cross it every time you move from defense to attack. The problem is campingin it. Move through it with purpose while the ball is traveling, then split-step into one of the two real positions before your opponents make contact. If you get caught mid-court as they're about to hit, stop, get low, and defend the feet — then keep moving on the next ball.
Move as a pair: the invisible rope
Imagine a rope about three or four meters long tied between you and your partner. When one of you moves, the rope drags the other along: forward together, back together, and — just as important — sideways together. When the ball is on your partner's side, you shift toward the middle; when it's on yours, your partner shifts toward you. The pair slides as a unit toward the ball side of the court.
Why? Because at club level, most winners don't paint the lines — they go straight through the gap in the middleof a pair that isn't shifting together. The side glass helps you defend the alleys; nothing helps you defend a hole between two players. Cover the middle first and make opponents beat you with the harder, riskier shot down the line. This is the positional foundation for the tactical plays in our 7 patterns every beginner should know.
Left side or right side?
In a right-handed pair, the two sides play different roles. The right side is the consistency role: you take more balls off the glass, keep rallies alive, and set the table. The left sideis typically the finisher: the left player's forehand faces the middle of the court, so they take most of the overheads through the center and hit more of the put-aways. That's why the more aggressive or stronger player in a pair usually ends up on the left.
But choose honestly, not by ego. The left side means more responsibility on high balls — if your overhead game isn't there yet, you'll donate points from the "stronger" side. Play a few matches on each side and count which one wins your team more points. Left-handers flip the logic, and a righty-lefty pair can put both forehands in the middle, which is its own advantage.
When to advance, when to retreat
You don't take the net by wanting it — you take it behind the right ball. The two classic green lights are a deep lob that pushes your opponents to the back glass, and a good chiquita— the soft, low ball at the net player's feet that forces an upward volley. Both buy the time you need to cross no man's land while your opponents are hitting a defensive shot. A weak, floating mid-court ball is a red light: advance behind that and you'll arrive just in time to eat a drive at your ankles.
Retreating has a rule too. When a lob goes over your head beyond bandeja range — the zone where you can still cut it off with a controlled overhead — don't stretch for a miracle smash. Turn, retreat together with your partner, and rebuild from the back glass. Giving up the net for one ball is a small loss; leaving one player stranded up front while the other runs back is how you lose the next three points.
Let the glass do the work
Good defensive positioning is really about trusting the back glass. Players coming from tennis lunge at every deep ball before it passes them — and hit rushed, cramped shots from an impossible position. In padel, the wall is your second chance: let the deep ball go by, let it rebound off the glass, and play it as it comes back toward the court, with more time, a better height, and your body moving forward instead of backward.
That only works if you're standing in the right place — near the glass, side-on, watching the ball all the way. It takes reps on a real court to trust it, and courts with good glass and honest bounces make learning faster; our guide on how to choose a padel club covers what to look for. Once the rebound becomes your friend, defense stops feeling like panic and starts feeling like patience — which is exactly the mindset that wins the net back.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I stand in padel?
In one of two places: about 2.5–3 meters back from the net when your team is attacking, or close to the back glass when your team is defending. The mid-court strip between them — no man's land — is where balls land at your feet, so pass through it but never wait there.
Which side should the stronger player take?
In a right-handed pair, usually the left — the left player's forehand covers the middle and finishes most overheads, so it's the finisher's side. The right side rewards consistency. But the honest answer is the side where each player wins the most points: try both and count.
Why do we keep losing points at the net?
Usually one of three things: standing too tight to the net so every lob clears you, leaving a gap in the middle by not shifting together, or advancing behind a weak ball that lets opponents hit at your feet. Hold 2.5–3m off the net, move as a pair, and only come in behind a deep lob or a good chiquita.
How do I practice positioning?
Play practice sets where position is the only thing you grade yourself on — not winners, not smashes. After every shot, ask: am I at the net, at the back glass, or stuck in between? Book a court near you and dedicate a session to it.