Your first game of padel

Almost everyone who walks into a padel venue for the first time is quietly worried about the same three things: that they will not know the rules, that they will be the worst one there, and that everyone else will have done this before. Here is exactly what happens on a first session, so none of that is a surprise.

You do not need to prepare anything

Turn up in whatever you would wear to the gym and trainers you can move in. That is the whole kit list. Rackets are £3 to hire at reception and free if you are a member, balls are £7 a tube, and nobody is going to look at your shoes. The single most common thing we hear after a first session is that people wish they had stopped overthinking it and come down sooner.

What the court is actually like

A padel court is about a third the size of a tennis court and fully enclosed in glass and mesh. That enclosure is the whole trick. In tennis, a ball past you is the end of the point. In padel, it comes off the back glass and you play it again. Rallies last much longer, and a beginner can stay in a point with someone far better than them.

It is always doubles, so there are four of you and you cover a quarter of the space between you. You will not be chasing the ball into corners on your own.

The rules, in about ninety seconds

There are really only four things you need before you walk on.

• Serve underarm. Bounce the ball, hit it below waist height, diagonally into the opposite box. No big first serve to learn.
• The ball must bounce before it hits the glass. Straight onto the glass off your racket is out.
• You can use your own back wall. Let it bounce, let it come off the glass, then hit it. This feels wrong for about twenty minutes and then becomes the best part of the game.
• Scoring is the same as tennis. 15, 30, 40, game. If you have ever watched Wimbledon you already know it.

Everything else you will pick up as you go, and whoever you are playing with will fill in the gaps. If you want it properly laid out, we have a full rules guide.

What the first twenty minutes feel like

Honestly? Slightly chaotic, and more fun than you expect. The first few points are everyone finding out how the ball comes off the glass. You will let a ball go that you could have played, and you will swing at one you should have left. Both are completely normal and both stop happening quickly.

By about twenty minutes in, something clicks. You start anticipating the rebound instead of reacting to it, and the rallies get longer. That is the point most people decide they are coming back.

Coming on your own

You do not need three friends who already play. Our mix-in sessions are built exactly for this: you sign up alone and we pair you up on the day. Partners rotate every round, so you play with and against everyone there rather than being stuck with one pairing for ninety minutes.

The format is called an Americano. Nearly everyone at a mix-in has turned up by themselves, which removes the awkwardness almost immediately. It is also the fastest way to improve, because you are constantly adjusting to different partners.

Coming from tennis or squash

You will have a head start on hand-eye coordination and a few habits that will actively work against you. Tennis players tend to take huge swings, which does not work in a space this size, and they tend to treat the back wall as a boundary rather than a tool. Squash players adapt to the walls faster but have to unlearn the wrist action.

Neither is a problem, it just takes a session or two. We have written the comparison properly in padel vs tennis.

Booking your first session

Book the court and split the cost between the four of you, from £7 each off-peak. Off-peak is Monday to Friday, 7am to 3pm. Pick 60 or 90 minutes. For a first go, 60 is plenty and 90 is better if you already know you will enjoy it.

We are at 6 Spencer Road, Blyth, NE24 5TG, with free parking, open seven days a week. There is a bar and cafe for afterwards, which is where most of the actual socialising happens.