Padel terms: the glossary every new player needs

Most padel terms are Spanish, because the modern game grew up in Mexico, Spain, and Argentina. The words you'll hear first name shots — bandeja, víbora, chiquita, bajada — plus the walls and a few scoring quirks like the golden point. Here's what each one means and when it comes up.

Padel terms for the shots you'll hear every game

Bandeja ("tray"). A sliced overhead taken at roughly head height with a flat, controlled swing that lands deep in the opponents' court. You play it to answer a lob without surrendering the net — it's a holding shot, not a winner, and the bandeja is the first advanced stroke most coaches teach.

Víbora ("viper"). Same family as the bandeja, but hit with more racket-head speed and heavy sidespin, contacted slightly more to the side of the body. The ball skids low and kicks toward the side glass, which makes it the aggressive middle step between a bandeja and a full smash.

Remate (smash). The flat, full-power overhead. The rulo is a topspin variant that kicks high off the back glass. Padel also rewards smashing the ball out over the fence on purpose: if it bounces correctly in the opponent's court first, the point is already won, so where it lands afterward doesn't matter.

Globo (lob). Above beginner level this is the most-played shot in padel — a deep lob over the net players to push them back into their own court. If you take one thing from a padel glossary, take this: the lob here is offense, not a bailout.

Chiquita ("little one"). A soft, low ball hit from the back of the court so it dies at the feet of the players at the net. The chiquita padel regulars lean on rarely wins the point outright; it forces an upward reply you can then lob or attack.

Bajada ("coming down"). The ball has passed you, hit the back glass, and dropped back into play — the bajada is what you hit off that rebound, driven flat and low at the net players. Bajada padel exchanges are where a defending pair takes the initiative back.

Dejada (drop shot), petaca (a low, wristy flick struck from near the ground) and gancho (a hooked overhead played when the ball is already behind your shoulder) round out the shots you'll hear named on court.

Overhead	Contact height	Spin	What it's for
Bandeja	Head height, out in front	Slice, moderate	Neutralize a lob, hold the net
Víbora	Head height, more to the side	Heavy slice and sidespin	Pressure the return, skid off the side glass
Rulo smash	Above the head	Topspin	Kick the ball high off the back glass
Flat smash	Above the head, ball well positioned	Little to none	End the point

Wall and court terms

Pared is the glass wall; reja (or malla) is the metal mesh above and behind it. Salida de pared is the ball's exit off the glass after it bounces — reading the salida is most of what "playing the walls" actually means. Doble pared is a ball that touches two walls before you hit it, and pared-reja is one that comes off glass then mesh, which kills its speed and drops it short.

Contrapared is the reverse: you deliberately play the ball into the glass on your own side so it rebounds over the net. It's legal, and it's usually a last resort from deep defense.

Positions get names too. The player on the right is the drive side, the one on the left the revés (backhand) side, and fondo is the back of the court. Por tres (also called por cuatro at some clubs) describes a ball played around the outside of the net post rather than over it — legal as long as it lands in the correct court. You can only chase one down if your club's fence has a side opening and space to run outside the court.

Scoring terms: golden point, deuce, and the rest

Padel borrows tennis scoring outright: 15, 30, 40, games to six with a two-game margin, a tiebreak at 6–6, and matches over the best of three sets. Cambio de lado is the change of ends after every odd game.

The one real difference is the punto de oro, or golden point. At 40–40 a single point decides the game instead of playing advantages, and the receiving pair chooses which of them takes it. Golden point is standard on the professional tour and in most tournaments and leagues, but plenty of clubs still play traditional advantage scoring — worth asking before your first competitive match. A let on serve (ball clips the net and lands in the correct box) is replayed; if that same ball then hits the metal fence, it's a fault.

If you'd rather not relitigate the score three games later, Padel Scoreboard is a padel scoreboard app for iPhone and Apple Watch that tracks match scores. Golden points and tiebreaks stop being abstract once you're following real matches.

Format terms: americano, mexicano and club nights

An americano rotates partners every round and scores each player individually, usually to a fixed number of points per round, so everyone plays with and against everyone. A mexicano works the same way but pairs players by the current standings after each round, which keeps matches closer as the evening goes on. Both come up constantly in club WhatsApp groups, usually with no explanation attached.

Padel slang you'll hear across the net

Most padel slang is shouted Spanish, and it's mostly logistical. ¡Mía! means "mine" and ¡tuya! means "yours" — the two calls that prevent half of all partner collisions. ¡Pared! warns your partner the ball is heading for the glass and should be left to rebound, and ¡bota! or ¡sale! means let it bounce because it's going out. ¡Vamos! is the all-purpose shout after a good point.

FAQ

Why are most padel terms in Spanish?

The modern game was invented in Mexico and developed into its current form in Spain, then spread through Argentina long before it reached English-speaking countries. The vocabulary traveled with it, so English-language coaching kept the Spanish shot names rather than inventing new ones.

What does bandeja mean in padel?

Bandeja means "tray" in Spanish, named for the swing path — the racket moves through contact roughly the way you'd carry a tray. As a shot, it's a sliced overhead hit for depth and control so the pair at the net can stay there.

What's the difference between a bandeja and a víbora?

Both are sliced overheads played off a lob, but the víbora is hit harder, with more sidespin, and with contact further to the side of the body. A bandeja neutralizes; a víbora pressures and often skids awkwardly off the side glass.

What is a golden point in padel?

At 40–40, the next point wins the game — no advantages. The receiving pair decides which player takes the point. It's used on the professional tour and in most competitive formats, though some clubs and social leagues still play advantage scoring.

What does "por tres" mean in padel?

It names a ball played around the outside of the net post instead of over it, after the ball has gone out through the side opening in the court fence. The return counts as long as it lands in the correct court — you just need a club with that side opening and room to run outside the court.