How to Know If a Ball is In or Out?

Video Transcript

Hi guys, Sandy from the Padel School here. In this video today we’re going to solve an argument that happens a lot at the club and recreational level, and that is whether the ball is in or out when it bounces near the glass.

So you’re either new to Padel and you’re not really sure how to call it when it does go near the glass, or you play a lot of social or recreational tournaments and it’s something that you get into a lot of arguments over this because you don’t really know what to look for if the ball is in compared to whether it’s out and so in this video we’re going to try and help you with that decision.

Now before I forget, please click subscribe if you haven’t already, because the more people that subscribe, the more Padel players will be able to see this content, helping their game but also growing the sport.

So even if you’re new to Padel, you probably already know that if the ball hits the glass first that’s considered out. If it hits the ground first that’s considered in, and if the ball goes towards the nick, this is where everyone has a difficulty because they can’t tell if it’s ground or glass first.

So we’re going to look at two main areas to tell you. The first is trajectory and the second is going to be spin.

So when it comes to trajectory, we’re going to talk about the angle of the ball when it goes in towards the glass, compared to the rebound. So these are general guidelines, if there’s a severe amount of spin on that ball it might be slightly different but most of the time you can stick with this, where if the ball goes in towards that nick and it comes out at a lower angle than when it goes in, that usually means it has hit the back glass first.

So if that ball comes in and it bounces and it comes above the angle that it’s gone in, that usually means it’s hit the ground first.

So for example if a normal ball comes in maybe waist high and it dips down and it bounces up above that waist height, then you’ll know that that ball’s gone in. If it hits that glass and it comes along at say knee or ankle height you know that’s probably hit the glass first.

So when we’re looking at spin we’re going to talk about again a general guideline. If there’s a serious amount of topspin and slice on that ball that might mean that there’s a slightly different reaction but for the majority of balls it’s going to react like this.

Now hitting the two surfaces means that it’s going to create friction on the ball and cause a spin. So when that ball goes into the nick and it hits the glass first. It actually creates a spin almost like it’s going to be topspin from this side rolling forward towards the net. So when that ball goes and hits the glass, not only does it stay low, it also goes with a lot top spin, and that’s why it goes so quickly towards the net. If it hits the ground first, it comes up but also it has a kind of slice or backspin on the ball which holds that ball up.

That’s why it slows down a little bit when it hits the ground first. So these two types of spin that you’ll see from that are often good indicators whether that ball has gone in or out.

A couple of areas where it can be difficult to tell, one of which is the side glass. So if they’re serving into this side glass and you’re in the return position, you don’t have a lot of space to see the spin, so you have to really rely on the trajectory of the ball.

So if you get into this good return position and that ball bounces fast off here, you know that it’s probably going to hit the side glass first if it’s an unusual balance that comes away towards your knee or ankle. If you get in this position and that ball just bounces up a bit like it should do normally, then you probably know that it’s going to hit the ground first.

The other area where it can be really difficult to tell is with the fence. Already the rebound is quite irregular with the fence, so when the ball goes in it can be difficult to judge, but if the ball is going in and it hits the fence low, that usually means that it shoots out towards the middle of the court and it goes fast around ankle height, and normally if it hits the ground first it will bounce up a little bit more, but sometimes you do have it where it hits the ground, then hits the fence and shoots out as well, so you’ve just got to do your best to judge that when you see it.

When it comes to using your judgement, you also want to consider the playing situation. So when that ball goes in towards the nick, and you get into a good position to hit the ball and it bounces up and it is playable. you should probably play it. Give the benefit of the doubt and continue the point. If you’re getting into a good position and that ball bounces and shoots away, it usually means that it’s hit the glass first and therefore it will be out.

Now the Spanish translation for the ball that lands kind of right in the middle and goes up, they call it the egg, don’t ask me why. But when it does that, you should probably try and play if you can because at the end of the day you’re wanting to create an atmosphere of good sportsmanship amongst the group. Now if you do call it out and there is a big argument, then I would probably recommend taking the high road and saying, let’s play a let. And if you’re in the lucky position where you’ve got a referee, then you can let that be their decision.

If you are new to Padel, I’ve got a whole starter series that I’m going to put on this side of the screen, where we go through basic shots, basic tactics and it will be a really good start point for you getting into the game.