Category: Beginner guides

How to Build a Padel Court

An outdoor Padel court.

Padel is a major sport worldwide, and it has exploded in popularity across the United States since 2022. Courts are now available in most major cities, including Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago.

Often known as padel tennis, it’s a popular social sport that individuals of all ages and skills may enjoy.

You may be unsure about the best method to follow when planning to create a padel court or start a club. This post will show you how to accomplish it one step at a time — covering everything from permits and planning approvals to choosing the right dimensions, materials, and surface, all the way through step-by-step installation and long-term maintenance.

Padel courts will almost certainly require a building permit. However, this depends on the nation and region. Before you begin, make sure to verify with your local authorities.

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Kids Padel: Get them to share your interest in playing Padel

Young girl learning Padel by doing kids drills. Image source: tenisgimeno.com.

Padel is a competitive sport that helps children learn a new skill, gain confidence and make friends on and off the court.

It brings many benefits like physical coordination and balance and is a fun activity that can boost self-esteem. The question is, what is the best age to introduce children to the sport?

Let’s look go over the basics and benefits of playing Padel. We’ll look at how to find your local padel court, how to motivate children and get them into sports, and the Padel rules for beginners.

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How to warm up for Padel (Beginner’s Guide)

Two girls inside a gym perhaps warming up for a Padel game. Photo by Meghan Holmes.

You’ve booked the court, you’ve got your racket, and your partner just texted that they’re five minutes away. But before you step into that glass box and start swinging, there’s one thing that separates smart padel players from the ones nursing a shoulder injury by week three: a proper warm-up. With padel growing fast across the US — from purpose-built clubs in New York and Austin to pop-up courts in suburban tennis facilities — more players are learning this lesson the hard way.

Padel is a deceptively explosive sport. The glass walls, the low-bounce ball, and the fast net exchanges mean your body goes from zero to full effort in seconds. Without a proper warm-up, you’re asking cold muscles and stiff joints to handle hard sprints, sudden lateral changes, and overhead smashes. That’s a recipe for an injury that’ll keep you off the court for weeks.

This guide covers everything: the off-court dynamic warm-up you should do before you pick up a racket, the structured on-court ball warm-up, how long to spend on each phase, and what to do at the end to cool down properly. Let’s get into it.

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What Is a Tiebreak in Padel?

Padel is highly similar to tennis. There are few distinctions, like how a padel court (33 x 66 feet) is 1/3 of a tennis court.

Tennis is checkers, while padel is chess.

Lee Sponaugle, President of All Racquet Sports

But tennis and padel rules are essentially the same. If you need a full refresher on the basics, check out our beginner’s guide to how to play padel.

Following that, the tiebreak games are also the same. If both teams tie at 6-6 in a set (six games), the tiebreak winner wins with a 7-6 score.

Let’s learn more, shall we?

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Padel vs Tennis: Key Differences Every Player Should Know

If you come from a tennis background, padel probably caught your eye because it looks familiar. Two sides of a court, a net in the middle, a fuzzy yellow ball. But step onto a padel court and you will quickly realize these are two very different sports. From the enclosed glass walls to the solid rackets, padel has its own identity, its own tactics, and its own learning curve.

In this guide, we break down every major difference between padel and tennis so you know exactly what to expect before your first match.

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The Ultimate Guide to Positions in Padel

Mixed padel match in a green grass Padel court indoor behind the net

Positioning is the invisible skill that separates club players who win from club players who struggle — and the good news is it’s entirely learnable. You don’t need a better forehand or a harder smash. You need to understand where to stand, why to stand there, and how to move with your partner as a unit. Master that, and everything else in your game gets easier.

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Highlights from the Global Padel Report (2023)

Global Padel Report 2023 by Playtomic and Deloitte. Image source: Playtomic.

About a month ago, Playtomic and Deloitte (Monitor Deloitte) released their yearly “state of padel”-report called Global Padel Report.

It’s the second consecutive year Playtomic partner with Monitor Deloitte to release the report which normally is a fantastic read for all players following the sport closely.

Read the 2022 summary

The report focuses on the growth of the sport both from a leisure and professional perspective and also showcases the growth of the sport as an industry.

In the introduction of the report, Pablo Carro, the Co-Founder of Playtomic writes:

We are very certain about the fact that Padel has become a global sport, showcasing robust annual growth and promising signs of real traction in key-markets that will drive us to a 6 billion industry in 2026.

Pablo Carro (Co-Founder Playtomic) & Elena Martin (Senior Manager Monitor Deloitte)

That’s a phenomenal number. The report actually doesn’t mention whether this is euro (€) or dollar ($), but regardless it showcases the strength of the traction that Padel has gotten in a wide array of countries.

I’ll break down the key points from the report in a digestible manner in this post. Feel free to add your commentary or questions and I’ll get back to you.

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Best Padel Rackets For Beginners: Top Picks for New Players (2023)

Diving into the exciting world of padel? Choosing the right racket is crucial for beginners to ensure a comfortable, enjoyable, and injury-free experience on the court.

As a novice, it’s essential to understand the key features that make a padel racket suitable for beginners, such as control, balance, and maneuverability.

In this article, we’ll guide you through what to look for in a beginner’s racket and reveal our top picks for 2023, with the Adidas Adipower Ctrl 2023 standing out as the best overall choice for newcomers to the sport.

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X-Grip Padel vs. Hesacore: Which Is Better?

Less vibrations. Better control. Superior comfort. All true for the padel player that tries the Bullpadel Hesacore Tour Grip. Image source: BullpadelSport on YouTube.

Great grips changes the entire padel game. You may not think much of it, but the wrong grip will throw you off guard, decrease power, and make you prone to error.

Whether you are an amateur or professional, using a grip is an added help for a better game. The most known ones are X-Grip and Hesacore grip. The question is, which one should you use?

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How do you change a Padel Grip? (Quick Tutorial)

Adidas Padel Racket V70 Light. Image by Lisa Van Dorp.

Funnily enough, many padel players are beasts on the court with excellent skills and backhand serves — but they don’t know how to change padel overgrips.

It’s understandable, really. Because, in many cases, padel players don’t do it themselves. Or worse, they rarely replace them.

The use of grip sprays and gels is also becoming more common. We recommend the 4on totalgrip spray, it’s an incredible product.

Let’s change that today. You’ll start changing padel overgrips by yourself in no time and see the value of what a fresh padel grip can give you on the court!

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