Playing padel for the first time: what actually happens

Padel is one of the few racket sports where a complete beginner can hold a rally in the first half hour. That is most of its appeal, and it is why almost nobody arrives having read the rules first.

What you need to bring

Indoor shoes with a clean, non-marking sole, comfortable clothes, and water. Rackets are usually available to hire at the venue, and hiring one for the first few sessions is the sensible order of things: padel rackets differ in weight and balance far more than they look, and buying before you know which end of the range suits you is how people end up with a racket they do not enjoy.

Balls are normally included in the court price or sold at the desk. You do not need a padel-specific outfit, a bag, or anything else on day one.

How a session is organised

A court is booked as a block, typically ninety minutes, and the price is for the court rather than per person. Four players is the normal format; two is possible but covers a lot of ground each. Most venues let you book online and some run open sessions where they put groups together, which is the easiest way in if you do not already have three other people.

Many places offer a beginner's hour with a coach. It is the fastest possible start, because the two things that take longest to learn on your own are exactly the two a coach fixes in ten minutes.

The two rules that matter on day one

Serve underarm, after one bounce, diagonally, below waist height. And the walls are in play: a ball that bounces on the floor first and then hits the glass is still live, and playing it off the back wall is normal rather than clever.

Everything else — scoring, which is the same as tennis, and the finer service rules — you will pick up in the first game from whoever you are playing with.

Choosing where to go

For a first session, pick somewhere with rackets to hire, a covered court so the weather cannot cancel it, and a coach available if you want one. The city rankings on this site list what each venue actually offers, and the ordering is by Ranked Score rather than by anything a venue can buy.