Book a court and borrow a racket
Book a 60 or 90 minute slot. Most UK venues hire rackets and balls for a few pounds. Padel is played in pairs: take three friends or join an open match.
THE FIRST GAME
How to play padel,
from nothing to your first game
How to play padel is a short lesson. The court is small, the serve is underarm and the glass keeps the ball alive, so most people rally within ten minutes. This guide takes you from booking a court to your first game.
- Always four players
- Underarm serve
- Tennis scoring
- 60 to 90 minutes
SIX STEPS
How to play padel
in six steps
All six fit inside one 60-minute booking.
Learn the grip and the ready position
Hold the racket with a continental grip: shake hands with the handle so the V of your thumb and index finger sits on top. Knees bent, weight forward, racket in front of your chest.
Serve underarm
Bounce the ball behind the service line and hit it at or below waist height, diagonally into the box across the net. Aim deep, not hard.
Rally with the bounce-then-wall rule
The ball must bounce on the floor before it touches a wall. Hit the opponents' glass on the full and you lose the point.
Get to the net
Padel is won at the net. After a good serve or a deep lob, both partners move up together and stop about two metres from it, rackets up.
Keep score
Tennis scoring: 15, 30, 40, game. Six games win a set, and the best of three sets wins the match. Call the score before every serve.
PADEL BASICS
Everything you need
before your first padel game
Padel is a racket sport played in pairs on an enclosed 20 m by 10 m court with glass walls that keep the ball in play. It uses tennis scoring, an underarm serve and a solid racket with holes in it. The LTA counted 1,000,000 players and 1,825 courts in Britain in May 2026. This page covers how to play padel. The full padel rules are on their own page.
Four shots for your first padel game
- The underarm serve. Bounce, hit below the waist, diagonal into the box. Details on the padel serve rules page.
- Forehand and backhand. Short backswing, contact at hip height in front of you. The court is small.
- The volley. Punch, do not swing. Firm wrist, step in, aim deep.
- The lob. Lift the ball high over the net players, deep towards the back glass. It wins you the net.
Where to stand
Two positions. Baseline: defend a step inside the back glass with groundstrokes and lobs. Net: attack about two metres from it, level with your partner, with volleys. Move as a pair: when your lob pushes the opponents back, both go forward. When a lob goes over your heads, both go back.
Two rules people get wrong
The ball must bounce before the wall. If your shot hits the opponents' glass or fence before their floor, you lose the point. After the bounce it can hit any wall and stay in play.
The serve must bounce. The server bounces the ball before hitting it, and the receiver must let it bounce before returning it. A serve that lands in the box and then hits the metal fence is a fault. The glass is fine.
How to play padel off the back glass
Do not run at the glass. Let the ball bounce, wait for it to hit the glass, turn sideways as it comes off, and hit it as it drops in front of you. You have more time than you think.
The basic tactic
Get to the net, and when you lose the net, lob to take it back. That covers most of padel at every level. Keep the ball in and let the other pair make the mistakes.
How scoring works
Points go 15, 30, 40, game. Six games win a set, a tie-break is played at six games all, and a match is the best of three sets. At 40-40 clubs play either advantage or a single golden point, so agree which first.
How to book a court in the UK
Most British clubs book through an app. Playtomic is the most common, MATCHi serves many of the larger operators, and some clubs use their own website. Pick a 60 or 90 minute slot and split the fee four ways. Off-peak weekday slots cost much less.
How to find players
You do not need three friends. The booking apps run open matches: one player books, three strangers of a similar level join. Clubs run beginner evenings and Americano nights, where you change partners every round. Padel AI has an Americano organiser if your club does not.
Etiquette
Arrive early, warm up with the other pair, call the score before each serve and call your own lines. Leave on time.
How to get better
Take a couple of lessons early: the 30 short lessons in the app start at the rules. Film one match, because you cannot feel your own footwork, and a video analysis will name your weakest shot. Beginners sit at 1.0 to 2.0 on the 1.0 to 7.0 scale, and the padel level page explains each step. When you buy, use the beginner racket guide. The LTA Padel beginner guide and the FIP Rules of Padel are worth ten minutes.
DAY-ONE KIT
What you actually need
Padel for beginners needs very little kit. Only the shoes matter.
A racket to borrow
Hire one from the club. If you buy, choose a round shape with a soft core: it forgives off-centre hits.
BORROWShoes with a herringbone sole
Padel shoes and clay-court tennis shoes share a zig-zag tread that grips the sand on artificial grass. Running shoes do not.
THE ONE THAT MATTERSPadel balls
Slightly less pressure than a tennis ball, so slower off the glass. Clubs usually provide a tube.
ASK THE CLUBComfortable clothing
Anything you would run in. Outdoor courts in Britain are cold, so bring a layer.
Grip tape
Makes a hire racket less slippery and a thin handle thicker. Not needed on day one.
OPTIONALPADEL TIPS FOR BEGINNERS
Five things every beginner
does wrong
Running at the glass
The ball is coming back to you, so moving in leaves no room to swing. Stop, let it pass, turn, hit.
Standing in no-man's-land
Balls land at your feet between the service line and the net. Be at the back or at the net, and cross quickly.
Smashing everything
Beginners miss more smashes than they make, and the glass returns the rest. Play a controlled overhead deep into a corner.
The wrong grip
A frying-pan grip works for one forehand and fails for every volley and wall shot. Learn the continental grip on day one.
Ignoring the lob
You will not hit through two people at the net. A high lob over their heads is safer, and it gives you the net.
YOUR FIRST MONTH
Four weeks from nothing
to a real match
Two sessions a week is enough to learn how to play padel.
| Week | Focus | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Grip, underarm serve, keeping the ball in | You rally ten balls in a row and most serves land in the box. |
| Week 2 | The back glass: bounce, wait, turn, hit | You let balls come off the glass and return half of them. |
| Week 3 | Volleys and moving to the net as a pair | You reach the net together after a lob and win points there. |
| Week 4 | The lob, scoring, a match with strangers | You lob under pressure, call the score and finish an open match unaided. |
FAQ
Questions from
first-time padel players
Is padel easy to learn?
Yes, as racket sports go. Most people learn padel well enough to rally in their first session and play a match by their third.
Can I play padel if I have never played tennis?
Yes. Tennis players swing too big and struggle with the walls. If you have played nothing, you have no habits to unlearn.
Do I need my own racket to start padel?
No. Almost every UK club hires rackets for a few pounds. Borrow at first, then read the beginner racket guide before you buy.
What shoes do you wear for padel?
Padel shoes or clay-court tennis shoes, which have a herringbone tread that grips the sand on artificial grass. Avoid running shoes.
How long is a game of padel?
A match of two or three sets takes 60 to 90 minutes, so UK clubs sell 60 and 90 minute slots. A one-hour slot is about one set for beginners.
Is padel good exercise?
Yes. A session is 60 to 90 minutes of short sprints and changes of direction, and rallies last longer than in tennis.
How much does it cost to play padel in the UK?
Court hire is per court. In 2026 most UK clubs charge roughly £30 to £60 an hour, more in London. Split four ways that is about £8 to £15 each.
What level am I in padel?
A beginner is 1.0 to 2.0 on the 1.0 to 7.0 scale that British clubs use. The padel level page describes each step, and a Padel AI scan of one match puts a number on every shot.
KEEP READING
More guides
worth reading
Play your first game,
then find your level
Thirty short lessons from the rules up, and a scan that finds your real level after one match.