What Is Wrist Pronation In Padel Tennis And How Do I Play It

In the beginning, when I tried to play the smash in padel, I would always play a flat ser that would either go too far and be out; or it wouldn’t kick up enough to clear the 3m fence. I knew that I needed to add topspin to my smash to make it more effective, but I couldn’t seem to get past my flat smash. It turns out that I had to bend my wrist to get the topspin that I needed to hit the ball.

In padel, pronation is the wrist rotating from palm-up to palm-down. To increase your power and generate more kicks while smashing in padel, you should pronate your wrist.

What is wrist pronation, and how can you get it in the simplest method possible as a padel tennis player?

Wrist Pronation In Padel

You can use wrist pronation to turn your racket face from looking forward to facing down through the point of contact with the ball while playing the forehand.

Pronation on your forehand generates topspin by rolling the racket face over the ball in the area of contact. You can create a slice spin by pronating your wrist on the backhand.

Wrist Supination In Padel

On your forehand in padel, you use wrist supination to turn your racket face from looking forward to up when you contact the ball with your forearm.

Supinate your forehand to generate slice-spin by sliding your racket face under the ball. When playing a lob, you can also use it to hit the ball higher in the air. When playing a backhand, the ball will have more topspin if you supinate your wrist.

It doesn’t matter if you’re playing forehand or backhand in padel; you can pronate or supinate as you see fit. The direction in which your wrist pivots while playing the shot is referred to as “pronation” or “supination.”

With a low ball, pronation on the forehand makes it challenging to elevate the ball high enough to clear the net.

Pronation Of The Wrist In Padel Starts With The Right Grip

When playing padel, you must utilize the continental grip because it allows you to move your wrist the most. You may then modify the direction of your shots quickly by pointing your racket in different directions from the same hit. In this article that I created, you may get more information on the proper way to hold your padel racket.

Consequences Of Not Pronating When Playing The Smash In Padel

To avoid striking the ball with the racket’s spine or frame, you must pronate your wrist while holding the racket with the correct continental padel grip. Many players switch to a tennis forehand grip in this position so that their racket faces forward when they smash. While playing a smash, pivoting your wrist can be more complex than just letting go of the stick.

The problem with adjusting your grip is that you get into the habit of hitting a flat smash as I used to, which is a big problem. Learning how to pronate your wrist allows you to alter your smash to manage its trajectory better as you progress as a player.

Using the pronation of her wrist, Ana Catarina Nogueira can pivot her racket while she plays her smash.

When playing the flat smash, you will be unable to execute this because your grip will be different. Your racket face position will be confined to a single racket.

You can generate extra racket head speed with the ball in contact by pronating.

How To Practice Wrist Pronation For Padel

Practising pronating your wrist by throwing a ball into the glass and trapping it between your racket and glass face is the simplest practice drill for developing the sensation of pronating your wrist. Padel courts are not necessary for practising wrist pronation with this activity. As long as the wall you’re playing against is at least three feet high, you can do this.

After mastering the first practice, you can move on to the second one, which teaches you how to keep the ball in place against the wall. Also, this drill does not necessitate a padel court.

Step away from the wall and do the same motion you did when you were standing against the wall. Do a ball toss and hit it with a soft smash to bounce before the wall. Smash the ball in such a way that it comes back straight at you.

When you use your right hand, you will likely start by cutting the ball off to the left. While, when you use your left hand, you are more likely to slice the padel tennis ball to the right.

Practice, practice, practice. And you’ll soon master this technique.

Common Errors Preventing Wrist Pronation In Padel

When you play a smash in padel, the most common mistake is to change your grip. This will stop you from pronating your wrist. This can happen in one of two ways.

I used to do the first one, but now I don’t. During a tennis match, I stand at the net with my racket in front of me, ready to serve. Step back for your smash when you see the lob. Before the smash, I would change my grip, make a flat smash, and shift my grip back after the follow-through. My mistake wasn’t until I saw a video clip of myself making a mistake that came to my attention.

The second time this common mistake shows up is when a new player uses the wrong grip for their smash. They’ll then try wrist pronation, but if they can’t get it right on the first or second try, they’ll go back to what worked for them before, even though it’s hurting them.

So, start practising and learn how to better control the ball during all types of smashes by putting wrist pronation into your game.