A park or a ground with a grown-up

Padel at home

A racket, a ball and a wall at home; the full game on a walled court, in pairs.

3 cards at home 3 for a park or court 2 for the club

What should we practise today?

Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.

Where are you?

Who is playing?

Start a session

New to padel? The game in a minute

Read this once before the first card.

The game in short: Padel is a racket sport played in pairs on a small court surrounded by glass walls and wire mesh, with a net across the middle. The racket is short and solid, with holes, and the ball is like a softer tennis ball.
How a point is played: The serve is hit underarm, after a bounce, diagonally into the far box. In a rally, the ball must bounce once on the floor of the other side; after that bounce it may hit the walls, and the other pair can return it after it comes off the glass. Players may also play the ball off their own walls to send it over. A point is lost when the ball bounces twice, goes into the net, or hits the other side's wall or mesh before bouncing on their floor.
How a match is won: Scoring is the same as tennis: 15, 30, 40, then the game; six games win a set, and a match is usually the best of three sets.
Rules children break first: Serve underarm, hitting the ball at or below the waist.
Your shot must land on the floor before it touches the other side's walls.
Wait for the ball to come off the glass instead of hitting it too early.
Wear the racket's wrist strap.
At home you need a wall: Bouncing the ball on the racket, rallies, letting a ball rebound off a wall before hitting it, and the serve; then lobs, overheads, volleys and moving as a pair at a club court.

Words you will hear (23, in plain language)

Padel racket: A short, solid racket with no strings and many small holes.
Wrist strap: The cord on the racket handle worn round the wrist so the racket cannot fly out.
Glass: The glass walls behind and beside each pair; the back glass is behind you.
Mesh: The wire fence that makes up the rest of the walls.
Service line: The line the server stands behind, and the box the serve must land in.
Underarm serve: A serve hit after a bounce, with the racket below the waist.
Rally: Shots going back and forth until the point ends.
Ready position: Standing facing the net, knees bent, racket in front, ready to move.
Split step: A small hop as the other player hits, so you can move either way.
Home base: The spot you go back to after each shot.
Transition area: The middle of your half, between the back and the net.
Volley: Hitting the ball before it bounces, near the net.
Lob: A high shot over the opponents' heads to the back of their court.
Bandeja: A controlled overhead hit with backspin, to keep the net position.
Vibora: A faster overhead with side spin.
Bajada: An attacking shot hit after the ball comes back off the back wall.
Chiquita: A soft, low ball to the feet of opponents at the net.
Rulo: A hard overhead hit with topspin.
Drop shot: A soft shot that lands just over the net.
Double wall: A ball that hits two walls, such as the back and side glass, before it is played.
Doubles: Two players on each side.
"Mine": The calls partners use so they do not both go for the same ball.
15, 30, 40, game: The tennis way of counting points in a game.

Try it, nothing to buy

Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.

The cards, level by level

Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.

Basic 3 cards · show· hide Racket and ball control, simple strokes with a short swing, the underarm serve and letting the ball rebound off the glass. Playing off the back glass and the volley come early in padel.

Move on when the child meets the self-checks on b1 to b3.

Intermediate 3 cards · show· hide The lob, the bandeja (a controlled backspin overhead), the bajada (an overhead off the back wall), the volley, the vibora (a spinning overhead, later than the bandeja) and the chiquita (a soft attacking ball at the opponents' feet), plus when to move from the back to the net with the partner.

Move on when the player controls direction and moves forward with the partner.

Advanced 2 cards · show· hide The vibora with side spin, the chiquita, the rulo, the drop shot, points played off two walls, changing pace and spin, and reading the game in every part of the court. Rating numbers vary by club and organisation; follow the order of shots.

Teaching this at home

More space and a second person. A grown-up can run every card.

You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.

Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.

How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.