100 Games of Padel

 Score :  4-6 1-6 4-6 Rating: mismatch Venue: Playtomic Barn - 60 min competitive game Report: Me up against two significantly higher ranked players and playing with a significantly lower ranked partner that I hadn't played with before. I'm rated midway between intermediate and beginner and that's what we had in the match. Tough tough match and the score flatters my side perhaps. There wasn't much in the way of rallies (as seem by the amount of games we got through) and I am not even tired after the game. Randomly, I tried a "willy" after getting surprised with a good return after my serve but it was a massive fail. I did do a successful backhand boast which I struggle with usually . Overall I didn't play bad. It was a 3.6 roentgen performance. But I was just unable to drag my team into contention.  I did play on the left and had no issues with backhand serve return all match. And some of my lobbed serve returns into the corner were excellent. the fact tha...

Score :  2-6 6-2 2-2 Rating: tactics and fun Venue: The Local - 60mins on the premier court Report: Played 2 sets with rotating partners. Just managed to get 2 and a bit sets in as the rallies were quite long. First set I was with one guy who is a good defender but fragile confidence. We were up against a steady lefty and a guy who is a really aggressive and good attacker. So we found that we were defending like mad but still losing the point. Closer than the score though. Second set I was with steady lefty and we had a ball. Just really good fun and atmosphere. Top for me were some of his backhands down the line, serving Australian style and some of my reading of the game. I poached the good attackers serve twice in a row as he was constantly returning flat and cross court. Then I stood my ground and got a point from his parallel return. Was great to be in someone's head. Also a absolutely special block volley at the net from a vibora going to the corner. I reacted quick enough th...

  Score :  fast fours 4-0 4-0 3-4 Rating: Control Venue: The Local - 60mins on the Sandy court Report: Really good session where rallies went on for ages. We just managed to get the equivalent of 6-0, 6-3 fit into an hour due to the length of the rallies and playing full Deuce. We had 3 players of approximately the same level and 1 that was a little lower hence the disparity of the scores. We managed to get to 3-3 in the last mini set but I got broken on my serve which was a bit annoying. I wonder if I try too hard and change my serve or something, it wasn't bad, just not the guaranteed fuss free hold that it had been for the previous hour. The player that's currently slightly behind played well with me but has very fragile confidence, it was all about keeping the energy up and focusing on the positive. I got fridged a bit at times but his defending was stalwart. I was playing on the right mainly and had some lovely volley/drop shot hybrid at an acute angle towards the fence f...

 Excellent coaching session with 3 others so lots of gameplay and always on court. Focused on tactics, taking the net, lobs and vibora/Bandejas Just what I needed tbh and the others really enjoyed it also. The feedback from the coach was that I'll get more payoff from tactics than technique just now. I have the habit of switching opponent too early. My main thought for myself was conditioning again. I was constantly 1 step too short for Bandejas. Maybe improve my anticipation but ideally I need to be a bit faster around the court.

Score : 2 sets (6-2) and (6-3) Rating: Flow State Venue: The Local - 60mins Covered but low sun giving problems Report:  Playing with usual partner at usual place with work folks in "El Classico". It's called that as we had some great matches every 2 weeks or so during 2025. Unfortunately, this time one of the other opponents couldn't play but he arranged a capable stand in. Game was closer than the scores suggest but we weren't really troubled, both our opponents tended to trend towards an unforced error which absolutely suited my "1-0 to the Arsenal" current style. They also play Padel as tennis so lots of topspin forehands from the baseline which I can deal with now. My serving was great all match, left them tangled up in knots next to the glass and came in clutch in a few games where we were love-30 down before 2 or 3 cracking serves brought it back. Attacking still felt tepid but I had some lovely blocks at the net for their tennis forehands. Very f...

 Score 6-3 6-4 Then fast fours 4-1 1-4 Rating: Redemption Venue: Playtomic Barn - 90mins Covered but windy and cold (7c) Report: Playing with my usual partner and it was an honour, he won the game. We swapped sides so I was playing on the right and him on the left which is something we discussed after a bad loss before Christmas. 0-3 down after 15 mins and it was looking shaky but he put the game on his back and we rallied to win the set 6-3. Our opposition hadn't played together but you wouldn't have thought so they were very slick with really tricky serves and returns, the first few games flew past with lots of unforced errors from me.  Id had a headache and was feeling lethargic all day (match started at 8pm) but At 0-3 I managed to refocus and start playing the simple shots. "If the shot is hard then play simple" was the watchword. My lobs were again my weapon to reset the point and allow us to get back in and my partner to finish. I also had one service game wher...

  Score : 2 sets (6-2) and (6-7) Rating: Nice Flow Venue: The Local - 60mins Covered and, again, a bit chilly and damp. Report: nice friendly game with work folks. There was a bit of spice as we split into intermediate/improver pairs then swapped after the first set. Plus points my lobs were on point again. None hitting the glass, vast majority being behind the service line. Is it greedy to want to be so comfortable in other shots? Second set I helped carry us to the brink of winning the set, just failed at the end for reasons outlined below. I had some really nice tactical rallies from the net where I was building a point rather than reacting all the time. Just a nice flow about my game, not that I am unhurried but my reading of the ball is getting better so less energy lost to demented running Things to work on Be a better partner.  The person I was playing with in the second set is always looking for the cloud around the silver lining. There's lots of negative self chat fro...

Score : Fast fours of various configs Rating: Great Fun (for all) Venue: The Local - 60mins Covered and a bit chilly and damp. Report: nice relaxing friendly game with work folks. Swapped teams frequently and kept score but it didn't really matter. Plus points my lobs were on point. None hitting the glass, vast majority being behind the service line. My absolute go to shot Played on the right the entire time as I think that's where I am best at Some nice backhand returns from serve and forcing myself to hit flat returns. Oh and groundstrokes were good. Things to work on Can't finish my dinner. Honestly, I need to be more aggressive at net when it's a slam dunk winner opportunity. Too many unforced errors when playing with a less experienced player, felt like I was pushing too much and lost some crucial points at the wrong time.  Overheads! My lobs were so good that I was bottling Bandejas and just letting it bounce before lobbing it up. It's too passive albeit there...

Score 6-0 6-0 6-2 Then (6-2 and 6-3) Rating: Great Fun (for me) Venue: Playtomic Barn - 90mins Covered but very very cold (-3c) Report: So I've not played over the Christmas holidays and boy have I missed it.  Setup a match with people around the same rating as me that I hadn't played with before which is always a strangely nervous thing. Luckily they were all sound. The way the teams set up meant I was partnered with a guy who had experience of the tactics and unfortunately our opponents were always being sucked into no man's land. In saying that, I played really well for me. Lobs were on point, very few unforced errors, serve was good without being incredible.  Partner A also played really well, some buttery soft backhand volleys down the line from the right hand side. And communication was great throughout. A++++ would partner again. After 3 pretty quick sets we swapped teams and, although I felt like a dickhead doing it (as I am not good enough to give advice), I pointe...

Simply put, I've got the Padel bug and my resolution for 2026 is to play 100 games.  I've set this up to chronicle my adventures. Enjoy