Padel and pints means what it sounds like. You play, then you have a drink with the people you just played against. It's also the name of our best-selling tee, and the joke on it is one most players will recognise: the fourth set is at the bar.
This page is mostly about the second half of that sentence. Why padel ends at the bar so often, what the research says about why people play, and how many UK clubs are built with somewhere to sit afterwards. There's a short look at the tee too, with sources for anything that isn't just my opinion.
Why it's the fourth set
Most padel is best of three. The LTA's rules page puts it plainly: matches are "most commonly being played as best of three sets."
So you get three sets on court. The fourth one happens afterwards, with no lines, no glass and no umpire. It's one pint after the game, and the whole match played again from memory.
Anyone who plays knows how that goes. Your best shot gets a little better every time you describe it. Your worst one quietly disappears. The partner who said nothing for 90 minutes suddenly has a full tactical review. Nobody loses the fourth set, which is probably why it's the most popular one.
The tee, briefly
The drawing is on the back. A padel racket character, holes still drilled round the top of his head, runs off in his trainers with one hand waving and the other holding up a pint with the foam spilling over. The ball is still up in the air above him. He's already left the point behind.
He's the same character who carries a slice on our Padel & Pizza tee, so I won't go through him line by line twice. The Padel & Pizza design story reads the drawing layer by layer, from the halftone dots to the script.
What's different here is the order: a pint, not a slice. On the white tee the print is a deep green, with a small Padelism wordmark on the front chest and a Padelism label inside the neck. That wordmark was the first logo I ever designed.
The tee is 100% cotton at 305 g/m2. It went on sale on 10 September 2025 and has outsold every other tee we make since.
Padel is built for the drink after
The joke works because it's true. A few things about how padel is set up push you towards the bar.
It's never just you and one opponent. The LTA says padel is "played only as doubles". Every booking puts a group of four on one small court, chatting between points, and the whole group comes off at the same moment. That's a table's worth of people with nowhere they need to be. If you're new and want the basics first, what is padel covers how the game works.
People play for the company. A 2020 study in the Spanish sports journal Retos asked 146 padel players in Spain why they play. Friendship and the peer group came out as the top motive. Social status came out as the lowest. In other words, people turn up for their mates, not to be seen.
The clubs are built with a bar in them. When we put together a list of 53 UK clubs for our club guides, 34 listed a bar, café, coffee shop, lounge or social area, and 18 listed a bar outright. Rocket Padel Bristol lists a bar alongside its pro shop. Club de Padel Sheffield lists a coffee bar. Some of the others simply weren't verified, so the real number is probably higher. Our UK padel clubs guide has the wider picture by region.
Clubs even name nights after it. "Padel & Pints" turns up as the name of club socials on Playtomic. Pure Padel North Leeds has listed a Friday Padel and Pints Social Mexicano, 90 minutes with a drink on the house. Court De Padel Prestatyn has listed a Padel & Pints Social with a pint included. Those nights belong to the clubs and have nothing to do with us. It just shows how naturally the two words go together.
The pint is a figure of speech. Plenty of people don't drink, and the Leeds night lists soft drinks next to the beer. Lime and soda counts. So does a flat white. The fourth set is about sitting down together, not what's in the glass.
Friends, trips and a first sale
Padel gave me some of my closest friends and a fair few trips abroad. I've played in the Algarve, Malaga and Madrid, and at a lot of clubs around London, Essex and Manchester. The courts change. The bit after the game doesn't.
My first ever sale happened while I was sitting in a club garden with friends, watching a game. So it's fair to say the social side of padel is where Padelism started.
If you want to plan a whole evening around it, my Christmas padel social ideas has formats, prizes and a score sheet.
Getting one
The Padel & Pints tee is £48. It comes in White, Oat Gray, Sand Color, Black and Navy, in sizes XS to XXL.
It's cut oversized and unisex. Take your usual size for the roomy look, or go one size down for a regular fit. The size guide has the measurements.
It's in the 2 for £90 deal, which takes in every £48 heavyweight tee. The obvious partner is its sibling, Padel & Pizza, same racket character with a different order. Two tees come to £90 at checkout, and that clears free UK delivery at £75.
If you're more of a 7am court than a 9pm pint, the Wake Up For Padel mug is £15 and covers the other end of the day. The other jokes in the range are explained in funny padel t-shirts.
Each tee is made to order, which takes 7 to 10 working days in the UK. If it's going under a tree, order by 10 December 2026 for UK delivery. Cut-offs for other countries are on our Christmas delivery dates page.
FAQ
What does "padel and pints" mean? It means playing padel and then having a drink with the group afterwards. It's how a lot of social padel works, because the game is always doubles and most of the UK clubs we have looked at list a bar, café or social space. It's also the name of our best-selling tee.
Why is the bar the fourth set and not the third? Because most padel matches are best of three sets, according to the LTA. Three sets happen on court, so the drink afterwards is the fourth. It's the one where everyone replays the match from memory and nobody loses.
Is the Padel & Pints tee connected to the Padel & Pints nights at clubs? No. Clubs such as Pure Padel North Leeds and Court De Padel Prestatyn have run social sessions with that name. Those are their events. The tee is a Padelism design, and you don't need to be at one of those nights to wear it.
Do you have to drink to do padel and pints? No. The pint is shorthand for sitting down together after the game. The Leeds social mentioned above offered soft drinks alongside the beer. Whatever is in the glass, the fourth set still counts.
