The short version. The víbora is a bandeja with venom: more pace and sidespin, aimed into the opponents’ side glass so the ball bounces, hits the wall and skids away low. Use it when the lob gives you time and you want to win the point, not just keep the net.
Bandeja or víbora?
| Bandeja | Víbora | |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | Keep the net | Win the point or force a weak reply |
| Spin | Slice | Slice plus sidespin |
| Pace | Moderate | Higher |
| Target | Deep, corner or middle | Deep, into the side glass |
| Risk | Low | Medium |
The swing
The preparation is the same as the bandeja: turn side-on early, racket up. The difference is the contact and the follow-through.
- Contact a little further to the side and slightly lower than a bandeja, around the side of your head.
- Swing from high to low and across the back of the ball, so you brush its side as well as its back. This is where the sidespin comes from.
- Accelerate through the ball. The víbora needs racket-head speed.
- Finish low and across your body, then recover to the net.
Where to aim
The classic target is cross-court into the side glass, deep in their half. The ball bounces, hits the wall and keeps travelling sideways, which is very hard to return with control. Played from the left, as most right-handers do, it heads naturally into the opponents’ right-hand side glass.
When to use it
- When the lob is not quite deep enough, so you are hitting from around the service line with time to set up.
- When the opponents have not recovered their position after lobbing.
- Sparingly, when the score allows it. A missed víbora gives away a point; a missed bandeja usually just gives away the net.
Common mistakes
- Swinging too flat, which turns it into a weak smash that bounces up off the glass.
- Too much sidespin, not enough forward speed: the ball lands short and slow.
- Aiming for the line. Aim a metre inside the side glass and let the spin take it there.
If you are still mastering the overhead, start with the bandeja. If you want to finish the point outright, read about the por tres.
Quick answers
Is the víbora harder than the bandeja?
Yes. It needs more racket-head speed and more precise contact, and a mistimed víbora usually goes into the net or sits up. Learn the bandeja first.
Where should a víbora land?
Deep, near the side glass on the opponents’ side, so it bounces and then hits the side wall and skids away.