In-depth analysis of the out of the Wall and the

Counterattack
Today we are going to talk about the Out of the walland the Counterattack, focusing the article on advanced and improvement level students, and we

are going to analyse this aspect, from a TECHNICAL and TACTICAL point of view, as well as other aspects to take into account from the padel

instructor's point of view.

(Photo: www.zonadepadel.es)

First of all, we are going to detail at what moment we can make this stroke and when we should do
it:

▪ We must launch a COUNTER-ATTACK with a OUT OF THE WALL as long as we are hit with a lob that has a lot of exit from the wall and
enough

height to be able to get in behind the ball and be able to hit a good shot.

▪ We will never "take a gamble" when we are hit with a lob that goes just over the wall; we will then look for other options, such as hitting

another lob or shooting an easier ball halfway up the wall.

Let us now begin to analyse the WALL DOWN from a TECHNICAL point of view:

▪ First of all, it is a technical gesture of great Breadth, that is to say, we must bear in mind that it is characterized by a WIDE PREPARATION and a

WIDE ENDING.

▪ Another key to this shot is to prepare the paddle well upwards, so that the trajectory of the ball is downwards.

▪ On the other hand, it is essential that the ball stays in front of the body, in order to give the ball more speed and, at the same time, to be able to

direct it where we want it to go.

▪ The transfer of body weight must not be forgotten, we must "load" the shot well behind and then transfer the weight forward, to give

consistency and speed to the shot.

▪ We must also take into account ANTICIPATION, that is to say, the paddle must be prepared well in advance, in order to be able to perform

the technical gesture in the best conditions.

▪ Finally, remember that the position of the FEET is very important; they must be wide apart, so that the balance of the body does not suffer,

because as it is a very wide stroke, we could become unbalanced if we do not maintain this open position of the feet.

Watch now the video tip of the Padel Pro Academy "La Dehesa" about the out of the

wall: Let us now turn to the TACTICAL aspect:

▪ As we have already mentioned before, we are talking tactically about the counter-attack, that is, prior to the out of the wall, we have been "taken

out" from the net, from the attacking position, and now what we want to do is to "take it back", that is why we talk about counter -attack.

▪ The main OBJECTIVES of the out of the wall are:

▪ Well, to make the opponent's volley difficult, so that they leave us an easy ball that allows us to make a good lob to get back to the net.

▪ Well, put the ball at the back of the court, to catch the net directly.

▪ Or, win the point. But this should never be the first option, otherwise we will fail more than we should.

▪ Continuing in this line, the most recommended DIRECTION for the out of the wallis CENTRE, as it is the most reliable direction and will allow us

to shoot a cross-court ball, which will give us more court width and therefore, less failure rate.

▪ Throwing to the BODY is another option, to make the opponent's volley more difficult and also to look for the FEET, to be able to catch the net

if they leave us a high ball.

▪ NEVER play with the out of the wall!!! Don't give it 100% speed! Otherwise, you will miss more balls than you sink and therefore lose the

match. There are more aspects to take into account in the Out of the wall and the Counterattack, for example, the COMPANION of the one who is

going to hit, what does he do, these are his functions:

▪ Of course, and in normal conditions, the "passive" partner must go down to the defence position with which he is going to hit, so as not to leave free

and easy holes for the opponents, who in normal conditions, will go up to the net.

▪ Another very IMPORTANT thing is the INFORMATION that must be given to the partner, as the partner will at some point stop looking at the

opponents to dedicate himself only to his stroke. The partner must indicate what the situation is on the other side of the court and the

information must be CLEAR, BRIEF and CONCISE, as we have little time. IMPORTANT! WE MUST NEVER TELL THE PARTNER

WHAT TO DO, WE ONLY HAVE TO INFORM HIM OF WHAT IS THERE, THE ONE WHO DECIDES WHAT TO DO IS THE ONE

WHO HITS.

And now, let's look at some situations that create confusion around Out of the wall and Counterattack:

▪ What to do if the other team does not go up? It may happen that we are going to make a out of the wall and the other team does not go up, or

only one goes up and the other stays behind, well, in this situation, what you should do is throw the ball to the one who stays be hind (if both stay

behind, to one of them, preferably to the cross court, so that we have more time to go up to the net) and go up to the net, which is the main

OBJECTIVE of

this game.

▪ When the ball goes to the centre, who goes? Assuming that we are talking about two players, the ball that goes to the centre is taken, in

normal conditions, by the forehand player; but this is not absolute, that is, it depends on many factors, for example, if the backha nd player has an

infinitely better backhand drop shot than the forehand player, the latter will go; or if the ball is closer to or within the space of the backhand player,

but the forehand player has a deadly forehand drop shot, the latter will go. That is why we say that it depends, but as a general rul e, at equal

distance, the forehand player, otherwise, the one who is closer, except on special occasions.

As an inherent aspect of this, let us now look at the opposite side, the VOLEA to the out of the wall. When we are counter-attacked with a down the

wall, we have to take into account several aspects:

▪ The ball, as a general rule, is going to come quite FAST, so sticking too much to the net would be a mistake, as we would not have time to react and

we would almost certainly miss the volley.

▪ On the other hand, the volley should be very SHORT, it already brings speed, so we would only have to give it DIRECTION, deep if possible,

to maintain our position at the net.

▪ In terms of pairing, try to cover the LOGICAL DIRECTIONS of the ball, i.e. the shortest ones, and leave the less likely or more difficult ones

"free".

Finally, it is time to talk about the TEACHING PROGRESSION of this technical gesture and its tactical application:
▪ First of all, we must begin by working on hitting TECHNIQUE from the static position, remembering all aspects of the stroke, waiting

position, ready position, impact and finish, and refine all of this well before going into more material. You need to do cart and ball throwing drills

with several repetitions.

▪ Next, and continuing with the progression, and remember that we are with advanced and improvement level groups, we must adapt the exercises to

the real game situation, making compositions of different shots, from when we are at the net, working on the volley, until the ball is thrown to

us and we are going to go down the wall. The exercises, for example, will be based on fixing the students at the net, making several volleys and

then sending them a lob to go down the wall.

▪ Several concepts should be explained and analysed here: how to move, how to turn the body, how to anticipate, etc.

▪ Then it is time to perform BALL CONTROL exercises, mixing all the concepts; for example, a good exercise is, in pairs, one goes down for

the ball, makes a out of the wall and in the opposite direction in cross goes up and both continue playing the point.

▪ To finish the progression, for example, the same exercise as above can be carried out, but with all four players playing. Thi s is where tactics

in pairs, positioning on the court, etc. come into play, aspects that the instructor must emphasise and explain very well in class.

Well, we hope you liked the article and that you have learned something new today about the Down the Wall and the Counter Attack, a very nice

shot that padel players like to do a lot.