Por Tres
Also known as: out of the court(term used as-is across languages)
A "por tres" (or "por cuatro") is a smash hit so the ball bounces on your side, rebounds high off the back glass, and flies out over the court fence — an unreturnable, crowd-pleasing winner.
Named for clearing the roughly three-meter fence, the por tres is padel’s most spectacular finish: a flat, powerful smash angled to make the ball bounce, kick off the back wall, and leave the enclosure. It is high-risk — a poorly hit one sits up for the opponents — so it is chosen only on a clearly attackable ball. The term is kept in Spanish across languages.
Example
On a short lob, the player smashes flat so the ball bounces, rockets off the back glass, and clears the fence for a por tres.
Related terms
- SmashA smash is a powerful overhead hit downward to finish a point. In padel it is often played to bounce the ball off the glass and out of the court (a "por tres" or "por cuatro").
- VíboraA víbora is an aggressive sliced overhead — Spanish for "viper" — hit with sidespin so it stays low and kicks awkwardly off the side glass, more attacking than a bandeja but more controlled than a smash.
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