Nederlands
Yes, the Ban-de-ja. This difficult Spanish word is a term used to name a low smash, that you play with some slice. The goal of this stroke is to make the ball bounce low, even after hitting the back wall. When played properly it is difficult for your opponents to return it easily.
Our team is comprised mostly by former tennisplayers, therefore, we are used to smashing the ball as high as possible. But at padel this is not effective because if the opponent reads the speed and direction of the ball correctly she will not have any difficulty to return it. And this is exactly what we trained last week. We started playing in pairs, training from the net, the one throwing balls with the hand and the other practicing the technique softly. We slowly made the exercises more intensive and complicated until we were able to use them in a match.
It was a good training where we learn this technique and we hope to use it in matches more often. Do you know this technique, or do you want to learn it in person? Then join us at the IX European Padel Championship, from 2 to 6 December in La Playa Rijswijk, where we will use this and others against the Portuguese and German Team. Cheer for Holland!
