How to film a padel match on your phone

The one rule: the whole court in frame

Any analysis can only judge what it can see. A shot played outside the frame doesn't exist for the recording, no matter how good it was.

Hence the first and main requirement: the entire court has to fit in frame, back glass included. The urge to zoom in for a closer look is understandable, but it works against you — a close-up looks good and tells you nothing, because it loses half the game.

Easy to check: set the phone down, open the camera, make sure both back walls are visible. If only one is, move further back or higher up.

Height matters more than distance

The most common mistake is filming from ground level with the phone on a bench. From there players block each other: the front one hides the back one, and half the rallies turn into a mess of silhouettes.

A metre or so above court level solves almost all of it. Ideally from the stands or an upper level if there is one. If there are no stands, anything that lifts the phone above head height will do.

If you have to choose between further away and higher up, choose higher. Distance costs you detail but keeps the shape of the game; a low angle loses the game itself.

Angle: from the side, not from behind

Filming from behind the back wall feels logical — that's how broadcasts look. But from that end depth reads poorly: you can't tell whether a player is at the net or mid-court, and position is half of what's worth analysing.

A side angle, roughly level with the net, gives you both positions and the movement of both pairs. It's the better option whenever you have the choice.

What barely matters

Resolution. Ordinary quality is plenty. The difference between 1080p and 4K barely shows in the analysis, while the file gets three times heavier.

Frame rate. 60 fps brings no visible gain over 30. Slow motion is worse still: it distorts the tempo of the game.

How new the phone is. A five-year-old camera films well enough. The angle decides far more than the sensor generation.

Small things that ruin a recording

Filming into the sun: players become silhouettes. If the sun is low, film from the side it shines towards, not into it.

Moving the camera during play. Holding the phone and panning after the ball is the worst option: the image jumps and the court boundaries keep shifting. A tripod, a case with a stand, or just a stable surface all work better.

Cuts and edits. Continuous footage always beats an edit — from removed pieces there's no way to reconstruct what happened between rallies.

Filming one game 'as a test'. The longer the recording, the more clearly repeating mistakes show up — and those are the most useful thing an analysis can give you.

Short checklist

Whole court in frame, both back walls visible. Phone above head height. Side angle, level with the net. Camera still. Sun behind you. Film the whole match, not one game.