This exercise is the fourth progression in learning the technique of the forehand from the back of the court. After developing the complete movement and beginning to apply it on easy balls, the player now focuses on their positioning in relation to the ball.
The objective is to correct a common mistake where the player hits with the arm too close to the body because they have not maintained enough lateral distance from the ball.
This progression uses two lanes to force the player to physically maintain this space when playing the forehand, first on a down-the-line shot and then, as a variation, on a cross-court shot.
Technical objectives:
4️⃣ This exercise is the fourth progression in the session for learning the forehand from the back of the court.
The first progression focused on developing the correct racket preparation position for the forehand from the back of the court, the second worked on the complete movement without a ball, and the third introduced the first forehand shots on easy balls.
➡️ All the progressions from the session dedicated to forehand technique from the back of the court are available here: [LINK]
The objective of this fourth exercise is to work on the lateral distance between the player and the ball at the moment of contact.
❌ A common mistake among beginner players is to play the forehand with the arm too close to the body, without leaving enough space to perform the movement correctly.
✅ The setup of the exercise therefore forces the player to maintain sufficient distance from the trajectory of the ball.
Setup:
The coach uses cones to create two parallel lanes facing forwards, each approximately one metre wide, at the back of the court.
1️⃣ For a right-handed player, the first lane, on the left, represents the player’s movement area.
2️⃣ The second lane represents the area where the ball is struck with the racket.
The player’s feet must never enter this second lane. This constraint forces the player to maintain the correct lateral distance from the ball.
The players position themselves behind the first lane. The coach stands nearby to feed the balls by hand.
How the drill works:
The coach feeds an easy ball by hand into the second lane.
The player enters the first lane and moves forwards without ever stepping into the area reserved for the ball.
The player then hits a forehand down the line, maintaining the lateral distance created by the two lanes and applying the technical elements developed in the previous progressions.
⏩ After hitting the shot, the player sprints out through the front of the lane, then returns to the back of the line.
Video credits: 👉 CLASES DE PADEL · PROGRESIONES Golpe de DERECHA 🎾 desde fondo PISTA ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Padelarte.com – YouTube
Variation: performing the same drill on a cross-court forehand
Once the player is comfortable with the drill on a down-the-line shot, the coach adjusts the position of the cones to angle both lanes towards the diagonal.
The drill works in exactly the same way: one lane is reserved for the player’s movement, while the second is reserved for contact with the ball.
The coach feeds the ball into the second lane, and the player adjusts their movement to hit a cross-court forehand, again without stepping into the lane reserved for the ball.
This variation maintains the same technical objective of keeping the correct lateral distance from the ball, while applying it to a different direction of movement and shot.
➡️ To continue learning the forehand technique from the back of the court, the next progression is available here: [LINK]
➡️ The full session and all its progressions are available here: [LINK]
For a group of 2 to 6 players:
With several players, they form a line behind the first lane.
The players take turns: the coach feeds a ball into the second lane, the player enters their lane, hits a forehand down the line, then sprints out through the front before returning to the back of the line.
For the variation, the coach angles both lanes towards the diagonal and the players repeat the same sequence, this time hitting a cross-court forehand.
The next player begins their repetition as soon as the area is clear.