 |
The Zurdo
Monthly
|
|
Issue 03
August 2026
|
|
|
|
← For the 10% who dominate the game.
|
|
|
This month
Issue Three
is here.
This month we sit down with Matt & Ben — The Padel Men. Plus a fresh tactical tip, the latest from ZE, and every Zurdo result from two Premier Padel stops completed in July — Bordeaux P2 and Malaga P1. No filler — only what makes you sharper as a Zurdo.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Full interview · 5 min
Four questions. Two lefties.
Two angles, two perspectives.
|
|
Photo courtesy of Matt & Ben · The Padel Men
|
|
Zurdos · The Padel Men
Matt & Ben
The Padel Men
Two left-handers in the same pair. By Matt’s own maths that’s a 1% chance for whoever is on the other side of the net. Off court they’re best mates; on it, they’re a problem to solve.
Neither had touched a padel court before last November. Matt played tennis recreationally growing up — coached by Ben from about 15, then coaching alongside him from 16 until he turned 20 and, in his parents’ words, had to go and get a real job.
Ben’s route was longer. Tennis from the age of three: county number one, then East region, then top five nationally as a junior. He moved to Murcia at 13, earned a world ranking on the pro circuit at 15 and travelled it until he was 20, then switched to coaching — running the tennis programme at David Lloyd into his late twenties before a degree took him into languages teaching. Seven years without competitive sport. Then padel.
MBPM started as a bit of fun — filming matches, post-match chats in the car. It has become something more: a competitive pairing in local tournaments and a growing footprint online.
What they’re working towards is simple: get better, stay competitive. They want new people at new places, and great players to test themselves against — the improvement comes with it. And it helps that every match is time spent with their best mate.
|
Q1 · How can lefties gain an advantage?
“About 10% of people are left-handed — so there’s a 1% chance of facing two of us. Everything comes at you from a different angle, and the muscle memory is just irrelevant at that point.”
Matt · The Padel Men
|
|
Q2 · What’s your favourite shot?
“The forehand volley — I can really chop that downwards. And having my forehand in the middle, I can catch people out with angles they wouldn’t necessarily be used to.”
Ben · The Padel Men
|
|
Q3 · What do right-handed coaches overlook?
“They can teach you the technique and the basics. But what a lefty can gain from a point that a right-hander can’t — most of them have never had to think about it.”
Matt · The Padel Men
|
|
Q4 · Favourite way to disadvantage a righty?
“Slice it off the wall from a smash and it goes a completely different way to what they’re expecting. They often end up lobbing you to the wrong side, which is quite handy.”
Ben · The Padel Men
|
|
|
|
02 — Tactical Tip of the Month
|
Advantage Zurdo · Chapter 5.3 · Net Game
Forehand Middle Volleys
Your net superpower: the forehand volley points straight into the middle seam.
|
|
|
From the middle you own the seam. Three targets, one punch.
Your goals
|
Intercept middle balls. |
|
Pressure Opponent 1's backhand. |
|
Force weak lobs. |
|
Create chaos in the middle. |
|
Set up your partner. |
| Z1 |
Opponent 1's backhand |
Default · high % |
Target: punch it at their weakest wing and keep it there. Repetition breaks the wing down and the lob that comes back is short.
|
| Z2 |
Opponent 2's backhand |
Change-up |
Target: switch the pressure across when Opponent 1 starts covering. It stretches the pair and reopens the seam.
|
| Z3 |
Straight down the middle |
Chaos |
Target: the seam between the two of them, the moment both hesitate. Nobody's ball is everybody's error.
|
Technical keys
|
Racquet head above the wrist. |
|
Short backswing. |
|
Punch, don't swing. |
|
Aim for the seam between Opponent 1 and Opponent 2. |
|
Keep your chest facing the net. |
|
Take it onto the court
Your highest-value volley. Make it your default net pressure shot.
|
|
|
|
Featured eBook, product of the month, the Zurdo Register, Tribe Zurdo, and what's completing on the Premier Padel calendar.
|
|
Featured eBook
Advantage Zurdo — now €19
Left-handed padel tactics & strategy. €10 off for a limited time — now just €19. Read more →
|
|
|
Product of the month
ZE Embroidered Performance Jersey
Built for training and match day. Embroidered ZE mark, in Black and White. Shop now →
|
|
|
Community
The Zurdo Register is live
The only complete record of professional left-handed padel players on the planet — FIP ranking, Race-to-finals standing and career titles. One list. The 10% who play the angles no one else can see.
|
38
Zurdos
|
8
Countries
|
67
PP titles
|
15 Zurdas · 23 men · figures live from the register, updated 20 July 2026
|
|
|
Exciting news coming soon…
Tribe Zurdo
Your very own membership portal is launching very soon — free profile, free tips, product discounts and more. Watch this space…
|
|
|
|
On the calendar
Premier Padel — completing in August
|
P1 · South Africa
Pretoria P1
26 July – 2 August
|
|
|
P1 · Great Britain
London P1
3 – 9 August
|
|
Two P1 stops, two chances for the 10% to make the draw. Full Zurdo results land in Issue Four.
|
|
|
|
04 — Zurdo Tournament Results
|
Who made the draw, who went deep, and what their left hand had to do with it. Two Premier Padel stops completed in July — the full Zurdo Haul, women and men.
|
|
Bordeaux P2 · France · 28 Jun–5 Jul 2026
Bordeaux P2 Zurdo Haul
Women
Men
|
|
Malaga P1 · Spain · 11–19 Jul 2026
Malaga P1 Zurdo Haul
Women
Men
Every Zurdo run, stop by stop — from the monthly Zurdo Haul series.
|
|
|
05 — Premier Padel Zurdo Rankings
|
Tracking the 10% at the top of the game. The Season 26 Zurdo Haul — 13 of 24 Premier Padel stops played, Feb–Jul, and where the Race for the title stands.
|
|
Women
|
|
Men
Stop-by-stop runs and the full top-10 Race in the monthly Race to Finals carousel.
|
|
Know another Zurdo?
Forward this drop to the left-hander in your club who should be reading it.
|
|
|
The Zurdo Monthly |
← For the 10% who dominate the game.
You're getting this because you joined the 10% at zurdoelite.com.
Zurdo Elite
© 2026 Zurdo Elite. All rights reserved.
|
|
