The Globo: Why the Lob Is the Most Important Shot in Padel (Beginner Guide)

Ask a new player which shot wins padel and almost everyone says the smash. It's the loud one, the one that looks good, the one you want to hit.

They're wrong. The shot that actually wins points — the one I'd teach every beginner first if I could only pick one — is the quiet one going the other way: the lob. In padel we call it the globo, and learning to hit a good one is the fastest way to stop losing points you should be winning.

Why the lob matters so much in padel

Padel is won at the net. The pair standing at the net, volleying down, controls the point; the pair stuck at the back, digging balls off the glass, is on defence and usually loses. Simple as that.

So the whole game becomes a battle for the net. And the globo is how you win that battle from the back. A good deep lob sails over the net players' heads and pushes them back off the net to chase it — which means you and your partner get to move forward and take the net instead. One shot flips the whole point.

That's why the best beginners aren't the ones who smash hardest. They're the ones who lob well, take the net, and let the other team make the mistakes. It pairs directly with the other half of net play — moving as a pair so you actually hold the net once you've won it.

What a good globo looks like

The aim is simple to say and worth drilling: land the ball deep, in the last couple of metres before the back glass, high enough that the net players can't reach up and volley it.

Get it deep and they have to turn, chase it back, and play it off the glass — slow, awkward, and off the net. Get it too short and you've done them a favour: it sits up at perfect smash height and comes back at you twice as hard. Depth is everything. A lob that's a bit too high but deep is fine. A lob that's too short is a gift.

How to hit one: four simple keys

1. Get under the ball. Bend your knees and drop your racket head below the ball. You lift a lob, you don't hit it flat — the low-to-high swing is what sends it up and over.

2. Open the face. Angle the racket face slightly up to the sky. That open face is what gives you height; a flat face sends the ball low and straight into the net players' strike zone.

3. Swing long and smooth, not hard. A lob is about touch, not power. Think of a long, gentle push through the ball rather than a hit. Guide it up and let it float.

4. Aim for depth, follow through high. Pick a target deep in the court and let your racket finish high, up towards where you want the ball to go. A high finish almost forces a higher, deeper ball.

The most common beginner mistake

Hitting the lob too short. It's nearly always caused by tensing up and stabbing at the ball instead of swinging smoothly through it, or by trying to add power. Relax the arm, swing longer and slower, and aim deeper than feels natural — most beginners under-hit the globo, so err long. A deep lob that's a touch too high still wins you the net. A short one loses you the point. This is one of the classic traps we cover in the 5 biggest mistakes beginners make when starting padel.

When to throw one up

The globo isn't only for defence. Two moments to reach for it: when you're under pressure at the back and need time to reset and get back into position, and when you want to attack the net — a well-disguised deep lob is one of the best ways to push a net pair back and march forward yourself. Same shot, two jobs: escape trouble, or take control.

The bottom line

The smash gets the glory, but the globo wins the match. Learn to land the ball deep and high, use it to take the net, and you'll climb past players hitting far harder than you. It's the most important shot in padel, and the good news is it's touch and timing, not strength — anyone can learn it.

The quickest way to groove it is to have someone watch your contact point and your depth in person. Our coaches run group classes and private lessons at the Park where we drill exactly this — or grab a can of balls from the pro-shop, book a court, and practise lobbing to a deep target until it's automatic.

Read next

The Bandeja: The One Padel Shot That Keeps You at the Net — the globo wins you the net; the bandeja is how you answer the lob and keep it.

Written by Nicholas Woods — owner of Padel Park Hamilton & accredited padel coach.