“We lost because of my partner.”
Most regular padel players have heard that sentence. Some of us have said it. It may even occasionally contain a grain of truth. But it is rarely the whole truth — and that is excellent news.
Because the moment we stop treating a defeat as somebody else’s fault, we open the door to one of padel’s most satisfying adventures: discovering what we can improve, one rally, one conversation and one well-intentioned mistake at a time.
Knowing your true level is not about judging yourself harshly or attaching your identity to a number on an app. It is about clarity. It helps you find enjoyable, balanced matches; choose the right things to practise; work well with partners; and notice the progress that might otherwise go unseen. Padel is wonderfully social and gloriously fun, but a little honest self-awareness makes it even more rewarding.
The deceptively difficult question
“What level are you?”
It is among the first questions padel players ask, and among the hardest to answer. We want a simple label: something that will guide us to the right match, the right competition and perhaps the right partner. Yet a padel level is not really a fixed trait. It can change according to your partner, opponents, format, conditions, surface, fitness, confidence and whether it is 5–5 in a deciding set in an important competion.
A player who looks unstoppable in a familiar social game may struggle in a new club, alongside a different partner or against a pair who lob with purpose and defend patiently. That does not mean the player has suddenly become “bad.” It simply reveals the many moving parts of this extraordinary sport.
There are plenty of attempts to make levels easier to understand. Booking platforms such as Playtomic and MATCHi have their own ratings. Regional products serve specific communities. Federations run competition classifications for each country, while specialist initiatives such as Pango Sports (which I cofounded), PadelRank and PadelLevels offer rating-specific approaches. For the professional tour, the International Padel Federation (FIP) creates official ranking points through its eligible sanctioned tournaments (e.g. Premier Padel).
All can be useful in their own context. The complication is that they do not all speak the same language. And none captures all your padel (as an amateur). A 3.5 in one system may have little relationship to a 5.5 somewhere else. And, crucially, padel results belong to a pair, while a rating generally tries to assess one individual.
That is why your number should be a useful signpost, but never a verdict.
A more cheerful reality check
Instead of beginning with an app or a label, try something both fun and revealing: watch professional padel. Better still, watch it live if you can. Television can flatten the speed, court coverage, recovery, communication and sheer quality of decision-making. Watching the top women’s game is particularly valuable as a reference point: the patterns are wonderfully clear, the tactics are rich and the level remains an inspiring — rather than absurdly distant as with the pro men — benchmark for ambitious club players.
Look at a rally of around 20 shots. I suggest that you watch carefully this point many times. You can take this 20-shot rally for example with number 1 seeds Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea against the number 3 seeds Ari Sanchez and Andrea Ustero.
Now ask yourself: how many of those shots could I play at the same quality?
Not merely touch the ball. Not occasionally produce a similar-looking stroke in a lesson. Could you execute it with comparable control, placement, pace, spin, disguise and tactical purpose — while recovering your position, communicating with your partner and preparing for the next ball?
That final distinction is the liberating one. Padel is not a gallery of isolated strokes. A point is a journey: a sequence of decisions, adjustments, transitions and shared problem-solving.
You might look at a professional bandeja, vibora, defensive lob or chiquita and think: “I can do that.” Maybe you can — and that is worth celebrating. The more useful follow-up is: can I do it late in a long rally, under pressure, from the awkward position, to the right target, while helping my partner hold the correct shape on court?
If the answer is “not yet,” you have not failed a test. You have found a beautiful next step.
Five places to explore
A joyful assessment looks beyond the scoreboard. Here, then, are five dimensions worth considering.
1. Your usable repertoire
Padel has a wonderfully expressive (hispanic-infused) vocabulary: bandeja, vibora, bajada, gancho, rulo, kick smash, flat smash, fake smash, chiquita and many more. But the goal is not to collect shots like trophies (or even to pronounce them all correctly).
Ask: which shots can I use reliably in a match? Can I choose the right one for the ball I receive? Can I adapt when I am tired or late? A kick smash that appears once in a coaching basket is fine, but a kick smash that works in a tense match is another level.
Variety matters because it creates options. Options create uncertainty. And uncertainty makes opponents uncomfortable.
2. Your partnership
Padel may be played with a furry yellow ball, but it is built on a relationship. The best pairs communicate clearly, reset quickly after errors and help each other out emotionally. They do not need long tutorials between points; they share concise information, encouragement and intent.
Give yourself a score out of 10. At zero, communication is absent, negative or confusing. At five, it is constructive but disappears under pressure. At 10, you and your partner adjust calmly, understand one another’s needs and make decisions together. Watch (listen) how the pros do it!
A good question after a match is not “Who made the mistakes?” It is: “How did we help each other play our best?” That small shift can transform both performance and enjoyment.
3. Your pressure game
What happens when the score becomes important? At game point, golden point, set point or match point, do you still make the best decisions? Or do you rush, freeze, play too safely or attempt a heroic winner from the wrong place?
Again, score yourself from 0 to 10. The aim is not to become emotionless. It is to develop habits you can trust when your heart rate rises: a reliable return target, a calm breath, a short conversation with your partner, a simple first-ball plan.
Courage in padel is often quiet. It is the willingness to play the intelligent shot when adrenaline is urging you to do something spectacular.
4. Your physical readiness
You do not need to train like a professional to enjoy club padel. But your physical condition shapes the game you are able to play. Acceleration, mobility, balance, strength, recovery and durability all influence your shot selection and tactical freedom.
If your lob is erratic late in the match, if your legs no longer carry you through transition, or if your overheads deteriorate after an hour, that is useful information. A little extra mobility work, strength training, recovery or match-specific conditioning can unlock more pleasure on court — not merely more wins.
5. Your learning habits
Many players plateau not because they lack talent, but because they only play. Matches are magnificent, but they do not always give us enough repetitions to change a habit.
Try arriving at a practice session with one intention. It might be: “Today I will defend cross-court with height and patience,” or “Today I will call every switch early,” or “Today I will use a safer bandeja target.” One clear focus turns court time into purposeful play.
And remember: technique is not always the fastest solution. Sometimes the issue is positioning, anticipation, shot choice, fitness, communication or simply attempting too much at the wrong moment.
Turn honesty into enjoyment
The value of an accurate self-assessment is that it replaces vague frustration with a friendly plan.
- If you can rally comfortably but repeatedly lose the net, work on transition and lob quality before chasing a bigger smash.
- If you strike the ball beautifully in practice but tighten at 5–5, build routines and repeatable patterns for pressure points. Breathe into the moment.
- If you shine with one partner but struggle with another, explore role clarity, positioning and communication.
- If you dominate quick social formats, enjoy it — then test your level in longer matches, with unfamiliar opponents and different partners.
The question is not whether you are “good enough.” You are already good enough to enjoy padel. The question is what kind of player you would like to become, and how much that journey matters to you.
Perhaps you play for friendship, laughter and exercise. Wonderful. Perhaps you want to win your club championship, represent your county or pursue a national ranking. Wonderful too. The ambition can differ; the joy can remain the same.
Improvement asks for effort, repetition, feedback, a willingness to make mistakes and, above all, humility. Not the gloomy sort of humility that makes us smaller, but the energising kind that says: “I can see where I am. I can see what comes next. Let’s have a go.”
So, before blaming your partner, changing your rating or buying the latest racket, watch the best. Look at your own game with curiosity. Pick one area to develop. Speak to your partner. Practise with a purpose.
Then step on court and enjoy the next point. That is where your real level — and your next breakthrough — will reveal itself.
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