What is the Australian serve in padel?

Padel players who are just starting out in this sport may not yet be familiar with all the types of serves in padel. One of the serves we are going to explain today is called the "Australian serve."

This term comes from tennis, more specifically from doubles.

It is a tactical movement in the serving position, which will allow the serving pair to maintain their forehand and backhand positions throughout the game.

Australian Serve by Teo Zapata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spdWwCIPLN8

Imagine we are in the serving position, and it's my turn to serve, as I am a backhand player. Since the first serve of each game must be made from the right or forehand side, I would find myself having to "become a forehand player" at that point. The same would happen on all even points, and the same would happen to my partner on odd points.

For this reason, this way of playing was invented, which will allow us to always be on "our side," regardless of the point being played, or whose turn it is to serve.

What would be done is the following: the player closer to the net, that is, the one not serving, will always maintain their position (they will move a little more to one side or the other depending on where their partner is serving), and the player serving will position themselves on the side corresponding to the point being played, but will always go up to the net on their natural side (more to one side or the other depending on where they have to serve, but always on their side).

Factors to consider in the Australian serve

However, using this serving method does not offer only advantages, and some people are hesitant to implement it due to a series of factors.

One of them is the fear of not reaching the net position before the ball is returned to us when serving on the opposite side to which we play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KGLszlMAEk

For this, it is highly advisable to direct our serve towards the center of the court, as from that position it will be much more difficult to return to the unprotected side of the court, and we will even "tempt" the opponent to hit their shot there, which will surely lead to many errors.

It is also important to execute the serve correctly, shifting the weight from the back leg to the front leg, in order to help us move towards the net. We must also get used to moving forward behind the ball. And, of course, it is essential to control the speed of our serve, trying to make them very deep and slow, so that the ball floats, and gives us plenty of time to reach our position at the net.