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Hello my little low-volley backhands,
Today, I felt like writing to you about a padel topic that I know inside out since I've mastered it in everyday life: "showing off usefully during a jumping bandeja", well, if I understood correctly.
What is the bandeja? Well, I'm going to tell you.
You, my average padel player, who didn't have the luck and talent to play in a P1000 final (like me), must first go through this step.
There are several styles of bandeja, here are the 3 most popular examples from their creators:
- The Boghossian: positioned at the service box line, complete body stiffness except for the arm that you whip out like a big slap ending up 5cm from the opposite glass, basically, you bet everything on talent, and a little on the racket. And yes, with a Hack 02 in your hands, the margin for error is even smaller.
- The Bisson: physically solid on your feet, precise, ready to fire, but you always take the ball a bit too high or a bit too low and it flies off as fast as a glass of water on the bar of a padel club. Of course, with a Wilson Pro Staff, otherwise it's just not the same...
And finally, the one that interests us all
- The Brulard: small adjustment steps, the perfect tilt of the racket, the arm tingling at the thought of unfolding, Vertex 03 in hand, head tilted slightly for the camera, wry smile, anddd bammm off it goes, cross-court or down the middle, because the Brulard is precise, deep, it even tickles the ugliest feet; in short, it's pure elegance of movement.
That's it, my padel amigo (3 years of Spanish in the heart of the Argentine pampas coaching Bela does help), you are now ready to hear if jumping is a mistake.
I'm not going to lie to you, it's a bit like choosing between a vintage Lheraud cognac and a coconut Malibu Pineapple; yes, ladies and gents, it's that famous choice between the purist and the workhorse, between Marta and Alejandra, between Veber and Revol, in short, a proper Corneille dilemma (Corneille the playwright, not the singer...)
The Bandeja, which in times of Covid can only be pronounced with a mask on, is THE padel shot:
- The purist will tell you that with this flat smash, by definition, you are more powerful by keeping your feet on the ground, you buy time on your opponent whom you pin to the back of the court thanks to the precision of the movement, and so you keep moving forward while staying low on your legs to try and finish the point, so why jump?
- The workhorse will reply that jumping allows you to: buy even more time against Pipa and Chouba, disguise your striking zones, optimize attacking angles and physical investment thanks to covering a shorter distance between the impact and zone 1 (net).
Not easy to patch things up between these two and yet, it is my duty to enlighten you (well, mainly because Editor-in-Chief Doc Gilant has been busting my balls for a week...)
So YES, my average Joe, let's go wild and jump proudly; yes, you whose execution speed is much faster in front of your 25cl Alpine blonde beer than in front of your opponents built like bleak fish, it's your right.
Go on, jump, my average Joe, and who cares if the self-righteous purist lectures you at the end of the match by giving you his coach's number and the address of his gym, because in the end, back in the day, he used to enjoy a Malibu Pineapple too ;)
My little chocolate bars, see you very soon for the next Esprit Padel Shop article, well, if Doc Gilant lets me babble on again after this one.
(big shout-out to our aforementioned friends and big kisses Alejandra)
Charles Alexandre alias El Carlito aka The body
