Padel for Beginners: 10 Tips That Actually Work

Most beginner tip lists are full of generic advice. "Watch the ball." "Stay positive." "Have fun." Useless.

These ten tips are specific, opinionated, and tested across hundreds of beginners we've watched come up the curve. None of them require new gear. Several of them require you to actively suppress an instinct you brought from another racquet sport.

1. Get to the net. Stay there.

The team at the net wins approximately 70% of points at the recreational level and 80%+ at the amateur level. There is no instruction more valuable than this one. As soon as a rally allows it — usually after the return of serve — you and your partner should be at the service line, then a step inside it.

The single biggest mistake beginners make is staying on the baseline because that's where the ball is bouncing comfortably. The back of the court is where you defend, not where you win.

2. Lob more than you think you should

The lob is padel's most underrated shot. A well-placed lob over the heads of the net team forces them to either let the ball reach the back glass (giving up the net) or hit a defensive bandeja overhead (still ceding initiative).

A good rule of thumb for beginners: when in doubt, lob. You will lose nothing by hitting a defensive lob into your opponent's back court. You can lose the point by trying a difficult passing shot.

3. Use the wall

Most beginners panic when a ball is heading toward their back glass and try to volley it before it bounces. Don't. Let it bounce on the floor first, then play it off the back wall as it comes back to you. The wall serves the ball up at a friendly height. It's the gift padel gives you.

The pattern: ball lands behind you → you turn and shadow it as it heads to the wall → as it comes off the wall, you're set up with a comfortable contact point.

4. Hit at the body, not the alley

In doubles, the gap between two opponents is the highest-percentage target. Most beginners aim for the wide alley because it looks like an obvious winner. The alley is the lowest-percentage target — your opponent is usually in position to cover it, and you have to be precise.

The body — specifically, the hip of the player at the net — is uncoverable at speed. They can't decide if it's a forehand or a backhand fast enough to play it cleanly.

5. Stop swinging hard

Padel rewards control, not power. A 70% pace ball into the right spot is 10x more effective than a 100% pace ball that mishits or sails long. Watch good amateur players: their swings are short, controlled, almost choppy. Watch bad amateur players: full takebacks like a tennis groundstroke. The bad players miss often.

Cut your backswing in half. Make contact in front of your body. Follow through short.

6. Communicate "yours" and "mine"

The most common avoidable point in beginner padel is two players going for the same ball and either missing it together or getting in each other's way. The solution is to call every ball that's between you and your partner.

"Mine" if you're taking it. "Yours" if your partner should. Loudly. Every time, even if it feels obvious. Aerial balls between players are where this matters most.

7. Watch your partner, not just the ball

When the ball is on your opponent's side, look at where your partner is and where they're moving. If your partner just moved to cover the right side, you need to cover the left. The teams that win at every level are the ones that move as a unit, two steps in the same direction at the same time.

The simplest version: if your partner is at the net, you should be at the net too. If your partner steps back, you step back.

8. Take the ball early at the net

When a slow ball is coming toward you at the net, the instinct is to wait for it to come closer. Don't. The earlier you take it, the less time your opponents have to recover. Step forward, take it on the rise, punch it at their feet.

This is the single drill I'd give every beginner: stand at the service line, partner feeds you medium-pace balls, you punch each one with a short controlled volley directly at their feet. 50 reps a session. Your win rate will climb noticeably within a month.

9. Learn the bandeja before the smash

Beginners want to learn the smash because smashes look exciting. The smash is a low-percentage shot at every level — most "smash" attempts at recreational level either go into the net or get returned. The bandeja is the shot that actually wins points.

A bandeja is a defensive overhead with a slice contact, hit to land mid-court on the opponent's side. It lets you maintain your net position when your opponents lob you, instead of stepping back to defend (which gives up the net) or going for a winner (which is the smash trap).

We have a full piece on the technique: Bandeja Shot Explained.

10. Play with better players whenever possible

You will improve faster losing 6–1 against a good team than winning 6–4 against a similar team. Better players force you to hit shots you wouldn't otherwise have to attempt. They expose the holes in your game in a way that no amount of self-coaching can.

The hard part: better players don't usually want to play with beginners. The workaround is open play / mixers / ladder leagues, where the matchmaking system intentionally puts mixed-level players together. Most clubs run at least one a week. Show up.

Bonus: don't get a coach yet

This is contrarian. Most "improve at X sport" articles tell you to get a lesson immediately. For padel, my honest take: spend your first 5–10 sessions playing, then get a coach.

Reason: a coach in your first session can tell you what to do, but you don't have enough on-court reps to know which adjustments matter to your game specifically. After 5–10 sessions, you'll have specific patterns you keep losing. Bring those to your coach. The lesson will be 3x more useful.

Drill recommendation

If you can pick one drill to do every week:

The cross-court ground stroke rally. You and your partner stand on opposite ends of the court, diagonal corner to diagonal corner. Hit cross-court forehand to forehand for 10 minutes straight. No winners. Goal is keeping the ball in play with controlled depth.

This drill builds the foundation of the entire game. Most points start with cross-court exchanges. If you can sustain a cross-court rally with a good partner, you can survive the opening of any point.