How to Film Your Padel Match for the Best Analysis Result
The quality of a video analysis depends on the footage you feed it. The good news: you don't need an expensive camera – a smartphone is plenty. What matters is position, orientation and a few minutes of setup. Here's the checklist that lets the AI track ball and players reliably.
The right position: elevated, behind the court
The best spot for the camera is behind the court, centred and elevated – on a stand, a railing or a mount on the fence above head height. From there:
- The whole court is in frame, including both baselines and the side walls.
- All four players stay visible at all times, even when they move up to the net.
- The ball stands out against the court surface instead of a busy background.
The higher the angle, the better the analysis can compute positions on court – it makes a real difference for the heatmap and distance covered.
Landscape, stable mount, light
Three things to check before the first serve:
- Landscape: always film horizontally. It's the only way to fit the full 20-metre court into the frame.
- Stability: clamp the phone into a tripod or fence mount. Shaky footage makes ball tracking measurably less accurate.
- Light: indoors, avoid pointing straight into the ceiling lights; outdoors, keep a low sun behind the camera. Even lighting helps detection more than extra resolution.
1080p at 30 frames per second is enough – a consistently sharp, steady video beats 4K every time.
The three most common mistakes
These are the mistakes we see most often in uploaded videos – all three are easy to avoid:
- Filming too low: at eye level behind the glass, players block each other and court depth is almost impossible to estimate.
- Filming too close: if the far team's baseline is cut off, the analysis loses entire phases of the rally.
- Using zoom: digital zoom costs image quality and distorts the perspective. Move further back and film without zoom instead.
If your video ticks these boxes, you can upload it right away – the first analysis is free.
Frequently asked questions
Is a phone camera good enough for padel video analysis?
Yes. Any recent smartphone at 1080p and 30 fps delivers enough quality. Position, stability and light matter more than the camera itself.
How high should the camera be?
As a rule of thumb: at least above head height, ideally 2 to 4 metres. The higher the angle, the more accurately positions and running paths can be computed.
Can I film from the side of the court?
We advise against it. From the side, players frequently block each other and mapping to the court becomes inaccurate. Behind the court, centred and elevated is the standard.