The short version. Your hands, footwork and volleys transfer. Your big swings, your serve and your instinct to hit everything before it reaches the wall do not. Shorten everything, let the glass do the work, and stop trying to win points with pace.
Why so many tennis players switch
The LTA says around two-thirds of Britain’s million padel players also play tennis. It isn’t hard to see why: padel is quicker to set up, sociable, easy on the shoulders, and you can play a proper game in 90 minutes with three friends of different standards.
The court
| Tennis (doubles) | Padel | |
|---|---|---|
| Court | 23.77 m × 10.97 m, open | 20 m × 10 m, enclosed by walls |
| Serve | Overarm, anywhere | Underarm, at or below the waist, after a bounce |
| Walls | None | Part of the game, after the bounce |
| Racket | Strung | Solid, perforated, with a wrist strap |
| Scoring | 15-30-40 | The same, often with a golden point |
What transfers
- Volleys and hands. Your net game is a huge advantage.
- Footwork and anticipation. Reading the ball off the racket is the same skill.
- Overheads, once you learn to slice them as bandejas instead of smashing.
- Doubles instincts. Moving with a partner and covering the middle.
What you will need to unlearn
- The big swing. Padel rackets are solid and the court is short. Long swings send the ball into the back glass for an easy return.
- Hitting the ball early. In tennis, a ball near the baseline is a ball to attack. In padel, it is a ball to let come off the glass. See playing off the back glass.
- The serve as a weapon. The underarm padel serve starts the point; it rarely wins it.
- Topspin drives from the back. A defending padel pair lobs. Driving hard from the back glass at two net players is how tennis players lose their first matches.
A four-week plan
- Week one: play, enjoy it, and lose to people who have played for six months. Everyone does.
- Week two: practise letting every ball reach the back glass.
- Week three: learn the lob, then the bandeja.
- Week four: join an Americano and play with ten different partners.
Many tennis clubs now have padel courts; our directory lists every verified club, and our level quiz gives tennis experience its due.
Quick answers
Is padel easy for tennis players?
The basics, yes: tennis players rally quickly and understand scoring and volleys. The hard part is unlearning big swings and learning to wait for the ball to come off the glass.
Is padel the same as tennis?
No. The court is smaller and enclosed by glass, the serve is underarm, and the ball can be played off the walls. Scoring is the same.