How padel competitions work in the Netherlands

The four KNLTB team competitions, how the padel rating works, how to enter tournaments, and what to do if you are not a club member.

Competitive padel in the Netherlands runs through the KNLTB, the Dutch tennis and padel federation, which keeps its padel information on nlpadel.nl. The system is built for ordinary club players as much as for strong ones: there are classes for beginners, and nearly everything is organised through your club or padel centre.

Four team competitions a year

The KNLTB runs four team competitions, all carrying the name of sponsor AA Drink:

Voorjaarscompetitie (spring), played in April and May
Zomercompetitie (summer), played in June and July
Najaarscompetitie (autumn), played in September and October
Wintercompetitie (winter), seven match days spread over November to February

You choose a Friday evening, Saturday or Sunday competition. Friday is for players aged 15 and over; the weekend days are open to all ages, and there is a separate youth competition on Sundays. Depending on the season there are men's, women's and mixed formats, so check the competition page before you build a team. In summer 2026, for example, there was no separate men's doubles category.

A team has at least four players. Every competition is played for promotion and relegation, and a team's place carries over to the same competition the following year, so a team that wins its class in the autumn moves up in next year's autumn competition. The winter season also has an indoor-only variant, played in one open class without promotion, for clubs that have covered courts.

Your padel rating

Every KNLTB member gets a padel speelsterkte (playing level) and a rating. The playing level is a whole number from 9 for a beginner to 1 for a professional. It is fixed once a year, announced in November and valid from January to December, and it decides which tournament categories you can enter and where you sit in a team lineup.

The rating is a number with four decimals that moves after every official competition or tournament match. Since 2025 the formula looks at the games you win and lose, not just the result, and accounts for the gender mix of the pairs. You can follow both numbers in MijnKNLTB or the KNLTB ClubApp. The rating page explains the calculation.

How a club enters teams

You do not enter a competition yourself. You tell your club or padel centre that you want to play, and its competition coordinator (the competitieleider) registers the team. Teams are placed in a class using the average rating of their players, which is what keeps matches reasonably even. If you want to play for more than one team, ask your coordinator first: it may need permission (dispensatie) from the federation.

Ask about deadlines early. Registration closes well before each competition starts, and clubs often collect names some weeks before that.

Tournaments

Tournaments are entered individually, with a partner, through MijnKNLTB. Most tournaments run categories by playing level, from 9 up to 3. The top P100, P250 and P500 events award points for the national padel ranking list, and you can play only one ranking event per week. Many tournaments also include promotion categories where all levels play together and no ranking points are awarded.

Not a club member?

If you play at a centre without joining a club, the KNLTB sells a Spelerspas, valid for twelve months. It gives you a federation number, a rating and access to tournaments. For competition you still need a club or centre to put you on a team: the pass on its own does not get you in, and clubs can set their own conditions.

Not every match needs the federation. The KNLTB runs a Flexcompetitie in a number of regions through the KNLTB Match App, where you and your opponents agree the time and place yourselves, and results do not count toward your rating. Most clubs also run their own formats, such as ladders, social mix-in evenings and internal leagues sorted by level. These are the easiest way to get match experience before you commit a team to a full KNLTB season.

Where to start

Join a club or centre that enters teams, play a few social sessions to find partners at your level, and ask the competition coordinator which season has space for a new team. To find one, browse the clubs near you on this site.