Sandy FarquharsonFounder at The Padel School | Elevating Padel Players' Performance

One of the biggest myths in padel? 👇🎾

16 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this solo commentary, Sandy Farquharson challenges the common perception that professional padel players constantly chase high‑risk, line‑hugging winners. She argues that, contrary to highlight‑reel moments like Tapia’s smashes, top players predominantly execute percentage shots—bandejas and víboras—well within the service line and the court’s interior. Farquharson references a recent webinar with members that highlighted this safe shot selection strategy. The key differentiator between various pro tiers (qualifiers, main‑draw players, and elite stars such as Tapia, Coello, Yachingalan, Gemma, and Delphi) is not raw power but how long they can sustain this low‑risk play before opting for a risky winner. Players who can string together 40‑60 safe shots before taking a chance demonstrate superior accuracy and pressure handling, making risk management the true competitive edge.

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And I think there's a myth, or there's a perception, that the pros play close to the glass. They play shots that are high risk because it's high reward. And you always see the highlight reel of Tapia hitting a smash that kicks out or running out the court. And so there's a perception that the pros play winners close to the lines. But I challenge players, next time you watch Premier, watch where the ball bounces. Like, the pros are playing their volleys, their bandejas, their viboras. We recently did a webinar on this with our members talking about the shot selection, they are playing the ball well within the lines. They're playing their bandejas and vibras inside the service line, well inside the box. They are not taking any risks on that, and actually they are playing the percentage ball all the time. And what the difference is between even pro levels in qualifying, for example, to main draw, to Tapia Coello, is how long will they do that before they take a risk. Like Yachingalan, Tapia Coello, or Gemma and Delphi, they will play 40, 50, 60 shots before they go for a risky shot, and they are just that much more accurate. They just can hit it with that much more pressure on the ball, but essentially it comes down to, to risk.