Incoming lob, don't panic

Bandeja? Bajada? Which one?

They lob you. You backpedal, the ball goes over your shoulder, and the point already feels gone. So you swat at it off the wall and hand them a free volley.

Whoever owns the net usually wins, and a good lob takes the net from you. Nothing says it gets to keep it.

The shot that attacks from defense is the bajada, Spanish for coming down, which is what the ball does before you hit it. A hard, downward drive, taken high and out in front, usually off the back glass. Less often, a lob dropping short near the service line works the same way.

Here’s why it works:

It cancels their best shot. The lob only wins if you’re stuck behind it with a bad return. A good bajada can turn into a strong offensive statement.
It’s offense from the wrong end of the court. Most of what you hit from the back is a reset or trying to survive the pressure. This one you have some time to set it up properly.

First, make sure it’s on

Where the lob lands picks the shot for you. Short, step under it and smash. Deeper, hold the net with an overhead, a víbora or a bandeja. Only when it’s travelling past you into the glass are you in bajada territory.

Shot selection zones for an incoming lob: smash short, víbora mid court, bandeja deep, bajada against the back glass

Even then, two things take it away:

You’re crowded. If the ball dies close to the wall and you end up on top of it, there’s no room to swing. Lob it back and wait for a better one. A shank costs more than the lob does.
It never gets up. If the ball comes off low and never climbs into your strike zone, there’s nothing to hit down on. Push it back flat and low, or play a chiquita, soft to their feet, and drag them forward.

When it’s on: height, then commitment

Get your racket up early, before the ball reaches the glass, and take it at the highest point you can handle, out in front. Let it drop to your waist and your attack becomes a rally.
Point the ball with your free hand, and keep pointing. It works like a cursor: you mark where the ball will arrive, so when it drops to your hand you’re hitting a target you already set. It turns your shoulders too, which is where the power comes from.
Swing down through the ball, then read what you got. One that lands deep and stays low has earned you the net, so go, and your partner goes with you. One that sits up hasn’t. Following a poor bajada in is a slower way of getting lobbed again.

The question stops being how do I survive this. It becomes where do I want to be two shots from now, and the rest is in how to hit a bajada off the back glass.

What we’re watching: Premier Padel Pretoria

Premier Padel Pretoria P1 artwork, players in front of the Union Buildings and the South African flag Artwork: Premier Padel.

Premier Padel Pretoria runs through Sunday August 2 in Pretoria, South Africa. If you’ve assumed the tour sits behind a paywall, it doesn’t.

The finals weekend, July 31 through August 2, streams free in the US on Red Bull TV, no subscription needed. Through the rest of the week, Premier Padel’s own YouTube channel carries selected matches.

South Africa is six hours ahead of the East Coast, so check start times first. Then watch what the pros do right after they get lobbed off the net. That’s the bajada, and it’s the most repeatable thing you can steal from them.

On our radar: Nike is circling padel

Two scenes from Drake's New Jersey padel retreat: a player mid-swing behind the NOCTA banner, and Drake on court with the pros Photo: @el4set / @dbook, NOCTA Manor 2026.

A free pro tour is one sign the sport is growing. Here’s another.

On July 21, Drake hosted a private padel retreat at an estate in New Jersey. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker were there, and so were Juan Lebrón and Agustín Tapia.

Three rackets carrying a Nike swoosh were reportedly on court, in models called Command, Attack and Balance. Nike has announced nothing since. No launch, no date, no price, no player signed, nothing you can buy.

Nike doesn’t put its logo on a padel racket for one weekend and walk away. Whether those frames ship or not, the swoosh turning up on a court at all is the tell.

So read it as where the sport is going, not a reason to wait. The best padel rackets for 2026 are the ones you can put in your bag today.

Court of the week

Ballers Philadelphia, 1325 N Beach St, inside a 100-year-old former power plant. Three indoor MejorSet courts sit in the Turbine Hall under 50-foot ceilings, which leaves the high ball fully in play. Lob it, and the roof isn’t deciding the point.

The Turbine Hall at Ballers Philadelphia, indoor padel courts inside a former power plant Photo: Ballers Philadelphia.

It’s a social sports club, so padel shares the building with pickleball, squash, soccer, golf simulators and a bar. Built for staying after your match, not scanning out the second it ends.

Doors open 6:00 AM weekdays, 7:00 AM weekends, closing at 10:00 PM, booking through PlayByPoint. That early open puts a session before work genuinely on the table. See Ballers Philadelphia.

See you next Sunday.

Padelkin