How to play padel — the absolute beginner's guide

What you need before stepping on court

A racket (clubs rent them for a few euros if you don't own one), padel shoes or any clean court shoes (no running shoes — they don't grip the surface and the lateral movement causes injuries), and three other people. That's it. You don't need lessons before your first session — most clubs will let you book a court and figure it out, though one beginner clinic at €20–30 is the fastest investment if you want to skip the floundering stage.

The grip — only learn one

Hold the racket like you're shaking hands with it, with the racket face perpendicular to the ground. That's the continental grip. It's the only grip you need for the first six months of padel. Forehand, backhand, volley, serve, smash, bandeja — all use the same grip. Tennis players who try to use eastern forehand grip end up with a broken backhand within a week. Learn continental, stick with continental.

The serve — underhand, into the diagonal box

Stand behind the baseline, one foot on either side of the centre line. Bounce the ball once on the ground in front of you. Hit it underhand — your contact point must be at or below your waist. The ball must land in the service box diagonally opposite. You get two attempts (first serve, second serve). The serve in padel is a setup, not a weapon — most beginners over-hit and lose easy points.

The basic rally — the first 10 shots of every point

After the serve, your team goes to the net. The receiving team stays at the back. The first goal is just to keep the ball in play. Hit it back. Don't try to win the point in three shots. The longer the rally, the more chances your opponent has to make a mistake — and at beginner level, almost every point is decided by a mistake, not a winner.

Using the back wall — the part everyone gets wrong

When a ball lands in your court and bounces off the back glass, it's still in play. You can hit it after the bounce off the glass. The instinct most beginners have is to swing at the ball as it bounces off the wall — wrong. Let the ball travel away from the wall, then hit it on its way back to you. Turn your body sideways, face the wall briefly, then come back into the shot. This is the single hardest part of padel for total beginners.

Scoring — same as tennis

Points: 0, 15, 30, 40, game. Tied at 40-40 (deuce): you need to win two points in a row, OR a single 'golden point' depending on the format (most clubs use Classic Golden Point or the new STAR POINT introduced in 2026). Six games wins a set, you need to win by two. Match is best of three sets. Tiebreak at 6-6 in a set goes to 7. Don't worry about the edge cases — your partner will help you keep score.

Court positioning — front and back, never middle

When you're at the net, stay close — within one metre of the net or just behind the service line. When you're at the back, stay deep — near the baseline so the back glass works for you. Standing in the middle (no-man's-land) is the worst position on the court. Volleys land at your feet, lobs go over your head, and you can't attack or defend. Make a decision: net or back.

Your first match — what actually happens

You'll mishit a lot of balls in the first 10 minutes. You'll over-hit serves. You'll swing too early on glass shots. You'll stand in the wrong place. By the end of the first set, you'll be having real rallies. By the end of the first match, you'll be addicted. The learning curve is steep at the very start and rewarding within a single session — that's why padel is growing so fast.

The 5 things that make beginners look better fast

1. Use the continental grip for everything. 2. Always serve and move forward to the net. 3. Don't try to smash every overhead — just get the ball in. 4. Lob the ball deep when you're under pressure (high and far). 5. Talk to your partner — call balls, share information. Doing these five things alone will make you look better than 70% of recreational players.

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