Gabby Adcock
Gabby Adcock is the “First Lady” of modern British badminton, a player whose tactical aggression at the net redefined England’s
Share the Post:
LTA Grade 2 Padel Tournament Review
Written by
For those interested, here’s my review of the LTA Grade 2 Padel tournament I played this weekend…
The Draw and The Players
In the draw, there were 5 players ranked in the UK top 10 over 50s. There were also 2/3 other players that were better than some of the top ranking players. There were 3 Racketlon players too.
So plenty of games to watch, observe and hopefully learn! Of the 4 matches my partner and I played, 2 had top-ranking players (and these were the ones we lost 😊)
We also stayed to watch the final, which was a cracking match. Great defence and good attacking shots made for long rallies with the advantage swinging this way and that. Shots that I thought would be outright winners were returned (eg deep, low attacking volley return off the glass back wall from as low as you can get)
I can’t think there were any aces but maybe 1 or 2 failed service returns, ie low error rate compared to our level. Several first-serve faults but no double faults.
Main takeaway for me from the final is how low to the net (and fast) the volleys were. I guess this means accuracy, but while under pressure. Also how few shots were played at higher than say 80% power. Most attacking shots played with say 50 to 70% power although I should be clear this means their power, not compared to me!
As with all sports, the best of the best are so good at anticipating where the next shot is going to be, so they move in fast to punish. The latter is not so easy for me to learn, but read on for the areas where I think I have more chance of improving…
How to Improve: My Takeaways
Develop a faster serve by using the first serve to go for a better serve. Better meaning faster, closer to the margins, (whether that’s centre line or glass) more spinny and these can be individually but preferably all of the above. I should probably be aiming to have my best first serve now, as my future second serve, ie still good
Try a backhand spin serve. At least 2 players used this to great effect.
Develop a controlled lob service return instead of using the (safer) easier option of mainly returning a foot over the net.
At my level, I think I use block volleys and attacking volleys. I describe a block volley as a reflex action that may use a bit of hand motion to take some pace off a fastball, whereas an attacking volley is more of a longer stroke and typically has a level or downward trajectory. Top players don’t seem to use block volleys as much. So I need to work on better return volleying of fastballs, especially on the backhand side.
To get to the volley, I was surprised at how some players would sprint to the net (rather than just move quickly to the net) but this links to reading and anticipating play.
No matter how good your volleying is, you can’t volley if you can’t get to the ball. The top players were good at playing ground strokes into spaces that we just couldn’t reach. Typically a service return cross court dipping into the cage or side glass.
This kind of outright winner didn’t happen much in higher level games, the movement and antipation generally meant a return was played, and rallies generally ended with returning errors (out or net).
Most smashes were sliced spinny smashes at mid pace which might have been due to the balls being wet and heavy – not easy to pop out a heavy ball.
My Tournament Summary
The boring overall summary would be to repeat the norm of “playing safe and reducing errors”. This is true, but at the highest level you have to understand that “playing safe” means great lobs and playing tight and fast over the net. Anything less and it’s not safe as it will be punished.
This can also be applied to any of the racket sports. Reduce errors and make less mistakes than your opponent and you will win the game.
Thanks to Dave, the organisers, my partner Andrew for tolerating my excessive enthusiasm (poaching some shots and of hitting shots that are going way out) and the veterans padel community for spirited competition.
If you are ever in South Wales and either want to try Padel for the first time or are a regular and just want a new opponent please come and join me at my club – The Kenfig Club. I hope to see you there!
