Padel partner communication: calls you both understand

Agree what your calls mean before you play, then give short, early information your partner can use. Start with who will take the ball and where the opponents are. Keep shot-by-shot coaching for a conversation between points, when you can both listen.

Suppose a lob sends you towards the back glass. Your partner shouts “back”. Do they mean the opponents have stayed back, or that you should move backwards? You make a hurried guess. The ball was difficult enough without a vocabulary exam.

That is the problem to solve together. A confident voice helps little if the two players hear different instructions. You do not need a professional pair's running commentary. You need a few words with shared meanings, and enough time to act on them.

Check the meaning before the first point

Ask your partner what they want to hear when they are turning away from the net. They may want the opponents' positions; they may already feel overloaded and want only the simplest calls. Have that conversation while you can look at each other.

The Padel School recommends using the warm-up to agree sides, an initial plan and communication cues, including the information a partner will give before an overhead. That is a useful place to begin, rather than introducing a new system halfway through a tight game. See its partner warm-up guidance.

Try a small meaning check. One player says a call; the other explains what they would do or what picture they would form. Swap roles. If “up” means “the opponents are at the net” to you and “let's move forwards” to your partner, choose different words before either meaning costs you a rally.

Keep the conversation narrow. You are agreeing how to share information, not settling every possible tactical problem. If you also need to decide who covers a particular space, use the positioning guide's section on middle balls, then give that agreement a clear call.

A small call sheet to adapt together

The examples below are suggested agreements, not official terminology or a universal script. Use words that are easy for both of you to hear and say. Change any that clash with a habit you already have.

You can shorten a phrase once its meaning is settled. With a new partner, the extra word in “both back” may be more useful than an impressively brief “back”. There is no prize for using the fewest syllables while saying two different things.

When one player cannot see the opponents

Imagine your partner following a lob towards the glass while you can still see the other pair. That is a useful moment to report where the opponents are. Give the information you can see, rather than watching your partner and guessing what the opponents might do.

The Padel School's communication guidance recommends agreeing the vocabulary and giving the call while the player is preparing their swing. It specifically warns against waiting until the ball is about to be hit. Read its explanation of partner calls.

For example, suppose both opponents have stayed near their baseline. “Both back” gives your partner a picture of the space ahead. They still choose a shot that fits their balance, contact and ability. Calling “smash!” would add your proposed shot without knowing exactly how comfortable they are beneath the ball.

If one opponent moves forward, identify that player using your agreed system. Left and right can work, but specify whose view you mean. A distinctive shirt can be easier for a new pair; two identical club shirts rather spoil that plan.

Give the call early enough to be useful and keep looking. If the picture changes while your partner still has time to respond, a brief update may help. Avoid a stream of guesses as they swing. The guide to recovering after a lob covers the pair's movement; the call should support that movement, not replace it.

Who takes the ball through the middle?

Suppose a slow ball arrives between you. Both players hesitate, then both step in. Agreeing “mine” is useful only if one of you claims it soon enough and the other understands that the claim has been made.

Discuss the awkward situations before play: a high ball between you, a low ball you can both reach, or a ball that forces one player across. Your side of the court, handedness and the particular ball affect the discussion. Avoid making “the forehand always takes it” a substitute for looking at the situation.

In a practice rally, send a manageable ball into the shared space. Have one player claim it and the other leave room. Swap the person making the decision. If you keep arriving together, slow the exercise down and settle who is responsible in that example before adding pace.

Calls do not guarantee a safe path. If you are already crowding each other, avoid forcing a swing through your partner's space. Finish the point safely, then fix the agreement. A late shout should not become a contest over who was louder.

Use the gap between points for decisions

During a rally, your partner needs information they can use immediately. Between points, you can ask a question and agree a change. In her communication article, Kristina Clément recommends defining a system beforehand and using conversations between points to encourage each other and adapt tactics. Read Clément's coaching guidance.

Suppose your partner has missed two difficult overheads. “Why are you doing that?” invites an argument about the last shot. Try a specific question about the next one: “Would you like me to call their positions earlier?” They might say the calls are fine and the ball was too far behind them. You have learnt something without appointing yourself head coach.

Ask before offering technical advice. A partner may welcome a simple reminder, or prefer to leave swing changes for practice. Agree one change you can recognise on the next point. Several instructions delivered as the server gets ready are unlikely to leave much room for a reply.

If the difficulty is anger, nerves or a running argument, use the separate guide to handling partner tension. Adding more tactical vocabulary to an irritated conversation may give you more words to disagree about.

Repair a bad call without replaying the argument

A useful repair names the confusion. In an imagined rally, you call “back”, intending to describe an opponent. Your partner retreats because they hear a movement instruction. Afterwards, try: “I meant they were back. I'll say ‘both back’ for them and ‘let's go back’ for us.”

That changes something both players can check. “You weren't listening” gives you no shared correction, and “I'll talk more” may produce more of the same uncertainty.

If your call was wrong, say so plainly. You can own “I called it too late” without promising you will never make another mistake. Agree the next wording, then return to playing. Save the detailed discussion for after the match if it keeps restarting.

Try the call-and-explain check in practice

This is a suggested practice exercise, not a tested training programme or a measure of playing level. Start with conversation, then use gentle feeds only when you both know the task. Keep normal awareness of the other people on court.

1. Picture the lob. One player describes following a lob while both opponents stay back. The other gives the position call. Ask the receiver what they understood. Did they picture the opponents or hear an instruction to retreat?
2. Picture a split pair. Name which opponent is near the net and which remains back. Check that both players identify the same person. Reverse the description after changing ends so an unnoticed left/right assumption has a chance to appear.
3. Feed the shared ball. Use a slow, comfortable feed between you. Agree who claims it, hear the call, then give that player space. Stop and reset if the task feels crowded.
4. Check after a short rally. Ask whether the call arrived while there was still time to use it. Choose one wording or timing change, then try that situation again.

With a regular partner, keep the calls that already work and change the confusing one. With rotating partners in an Americano, agree a basic vocabulary each time you pair up; the Americano generator can organise the rotations, but it cannot tell your next partner what you mean by “up”.

At your next session, begin by asking: “When you turn towards the glass, what information would you like from me?” Listen to the answer, agree the words and try them during the warm-up.

Sources

Coaching guidance checked on 4 November 2026. The call sheet, imagined situations and practice exercise are PadelFormat editorial suggestions; they have not been tested as an intervention and carry no promised match outcome.

• The Padel School: You Must Talk With Your Partner. No publication date displayed.
• The Padel School: How to Warm Up With Your Padel Partner Before a Match. No publication date displayed.
• Kristina Clément, Padel Magazine: On the same wavelength as your partner?. Page displays 15 June 2017 and 14 August 2018.