Book An Intro.
Whether you’ve had previous experience playing racket sports or not, Intro to Padel is our gateway to getting you started. This 1 hour coach-led session focuses on introducing you to the basics of the game.
You don’t need others to play with, these sessions are for anyone who is new to the sport. We cater for all abilities; no experience is necessary and all equipment is provided.
Book An IntroWhat You'll Learn
- Court positioning and where to stand
- How to hold the racket, and your basic groundstrokes, volleys, overheads and serve
- Using the glass and the cage, which is important to cover from the start
- The rules and how to score. You'll be playing a match by the end of the session
Padel Explained.
The Basics
Padel is often called a mix of tennis and squash. It's easy to learn, so it's fun for beginners, and because it's played in doubles it's sociable too.
Points are won through tactics and clever play rather than power, so it's less intense. Rallies last longer, though, so you still get a good cardio workout.
The Court
A padel court is a third of the size of a tennis court, at 20m by 10m, with 3m-high glass walls at each end and 4m-high mesh around the rest.
A net splits the court in two. The synthetic turf has a sand infill, which slows the ball after it bounces and makes it easier to hit.
Equipment
Padel rackets are solid, with a perforated face for airflow. At about 45cm long they're shorter than a tennis racket, which makes them much easier to control.
The balls look like tennis balls but are slightly smaller and less bouncy, so rallies are easier to keep going.
The Game.
- 1
Principles
Work as a team to outplay your opponents: hit the ball over the net so they can't return it. You lose the point if you serve two faults, the ball bounces twice on your side, you hit it into the net or out of the court, or it hits you or your partner.
- 2
Getting Started
A coin toss decides who serves first and which end you start. Each point starts with an underarm serve, bounced and struck below the waist, hit diagonally and alternating sides as in tennis. A serve that hits the wall or fence before the ground is out. You get a second serve.
- 3
The Scoring
Scoring is the same as tennis: 15, 30, 40 and game, with deuce and advantage. The first team to six games by two clear games wins the set, with a tiebreak at 6–6. Win two sets to win the match.
Your Questions.
We’ve answered some of the questions we get asked most.
5 questions match