This question usually turns up a few games in. You've had a laugh, you've hit a few good ones, and you've also spent half the hour picking balls out of the back corner. So how long until you're actually decent?
Honest answer: nobody has measured it, and any page that gives you a precise number is guessing. What I can give you is a set of milestones you can tick off, and a rough idea of how long each one takes depending on how often you play. I've been playing for about two and a half years, at clubs around London, Essex and Manchester, and these milestones are a simple way to judge where someone is.
What "good" means here
Not pro. Not tournament level. Good, for this page, means you can join an open game at your club and nobody has to go easy on you. You can rally, serve, defend off the glass, answer a lob and hold your spot at the net with your partner.
That breaks into five milestones. Each one has a simple test, so you know when you've got it.
The five milestones at a glance
These numbers are a rough guide, not research. Move faster if things click, slower if they don't. Both are normal.
| Milestone | Rough sessions | Once a week | Twice a week | Three times a week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Keep a rally going | 3 to 6 | 3 to 6 weeks | 2 to 3 weeks | 1 to 2 weeks |
| 2. Get your serve in | 5 to 10 | 5 to 10 weeks | 3 to 5 weeks | 2 to 3 weeks |
| 3. Use the back glass | 15 to 25 | 4 to 6 months | 2 to 3 months | 5 to 8 weeks |
| 4. Hit a bandeja | 30 to 50 | 7 to 12 months | 4 to 6 months | 2 to 4 months |
| 5. Hold the net | 50 to 80 | 12 to 18 months | 6 to 9 months | 4 to 6 months |
Sessions are counted from your first ever game, not from the milestone before. A session here means an hour or so of real play. Standing around waiting for a court doesn't count.
Milestone 1: keep a rally going
The test: you and one partner can keep a rally going on half a court for ten shots or more, without anyone smashing it.
This comes first because everything else needs it. The LTA's beginner page suggests exactly this drill: one of you at the net, one at the back, rally on half a court and count how long it lasts. Then try to beat it.
Most people tick this off quickly. If you've played tennis or squash, you might do it in your first session.
Milestone 2: get your serve in
The test: across a game, most of your first serves land in the box, and you're aiming deep rather than just patting it over.
The padel serve is underarm, hit below waist height after one bounce, into the diagonal box. The rules are on my one-page padel rules sheet. It isn't hard to get in. It's hard to get in with purpose.
The LTA's advice is placement over power, as deep in the box as you can. They also say the main point of the serve is to get you to the net. So the real tick is this: serve deep, then move forward without thinking about it.
Milestone 3: use the back glass
The test: when a ball bounces past the service line, your first thought is to let it come off the glass, and you get it back over most of the time.
This is where the time goes. The LTA calls hitting off the glass the biggest learning curve when you take up padel, and their back glass page calls it one of the hardest skills to master. Expect to look a bit lost here for a while. That is normal.
Their advice for beginners is to use the glass as often as you can, so it stops feeling strange. Don't try to hit it hard. Just clear it back over. If you've come from tennis, this is usually the milestone that takes longest, because every instinct tells you to take the ball early. I've written about that in tennis habits that lose padel points.
Milestone 4: hit a bandeja
The test: when someone lobs you at the net, you can hit an overhead that lands in, stays low, and lets you stay forward. Not every time. Most times.
The LTA calls the bandeja "the antidote to the lob". It isn't a smash. You meet the ball at about eye height and bring the racket across your body rather than straight down. The point isn't to win the rally there and then. It's to keep your position.
The LTA actually describes it as easy to learn and something you perfect over time. The second half is the important bit. You'll hit your first decent one quite early. Hitting it under pressure, in a real game, against people who lob well, takes far longer. That's why the table gives it months, not weeks. A coach helps a lot here.
Milestone 5: hold the net
The test: after you serve, you and your partner get to the net together, and you're still there three or four shots later. When they lob, you answer with a bandeja and stay put.
This is the one that pulls the other four together. The LTA's tactics page says that at the net you see all of the court and have more options. Against decent players, the whole game becomes a fight for that spot. They lob to push you back. You use the bandeja to stay. They use the glass to defend. You keep the pressure on.
When you can hold the net as a pair, against people at your level, you're good. That's the tick that matters.
What actually speeds it up
- Play more often, not just longer. Two shorter sessions in a week will usually do more than one long one. The table above shows why: the clock is sessions, not months.
- Mix games with practice. Matches are fun, but you might only hit a few balls off the glass in a whole hour. Half an hour of the LTA's half-court rally drill gives you far more.
- Get some coaching. The LTA says time with a coach will help enormously, and the bandeja is a sensible place to spend the money first.
- Play with people a bit better than you. Not miles better. Just good enough that they punish the lazy shots.
- Rest. Three times a week only works if you turn up fresh. A knackered fourth game teaches you nothing.
For the technique behind each milestone, my padel tips for beginners goes shot by shot.
The bit after
None of this depends on what you wear. Good grip socks and a fresh overgrip help on court, but no shirt is going to move you up that table.
What I make is for afterwards. Our heavyweight tees are 305 g/m2 cotton with an oversized fit, for sitting outside the club replaying the bandeja you finally landed. Size down if you want a regular fit. Any two £48 tees are £90 at checkout, which is handy if your doubles partner wants one too. See the 2 for £90 tees.
FAQ
Can you get good at padel in a month? You can get past the first two milestones in a month if you play two or three times a week. Rallying and serving come fast. The back glass, the bandeja and holding the net take months for most people, so "good" in a month is unlikely. Fun in a month is very likely.
How often should I play padel to improve? The LTA just says to play and practise regularly, without giving a number. As a rough guide, twice a week is a good balance for most people with jobs. It roughly halves the time in the once-a-week column, and you still have time to recover.
Do I need lessons to get better at padel? No, plenty of people improve through games alone. But the LTA says a coach will help enormously, especially with shots off the glass. If you only book a few lessons, use them on the back glass and the bandeja, because those are the slowest milestones to crack on your own.
Why do I feel like I've stopped improving? Usually because you're stuck between milestone 3 and milestone 5. You can rally and serve, so games feel fine, but you keep getting lobbed off the net. Go back to the bandeja test. Once that ticks, the next jump comes quickly.
