Padel levels explained: how to find your level

TL;DR: Most padel levels run from 0 to 7. Complete beginners sit below 2, most people who play socially once or twice a week are somewhere between 2.5 and 4, and tournament players start at around 5. The two scales you'll meet most often are the level in the Playtomic app and the LTA padel rating in Britain, and they cover roughly the same range.

So, the quickest way to find your own level is to answer a few honest questions about your game (there's a short checklist below), and then let a handful of rated matches or a coach confirm it. If the number jumps around at first, that's normal.

We coach padel players of every level at our camps in Spain, and "What level am I?" is one of the first questions we hear.

Here's what the numbers mean, how the main systems work, and what it takes to move up.

The padel level scale at a glance

If you only read one part of this article, make it this table. It shows the level ranges, what a player in each range usually looks like on court, and the group we'd start you in at a camp.

These ranges blend the Playtomic and LTA descriptions with what we see in practice. They're not an official conversion (there isn't one), but they're a good place to start.

Why your level matters

Padel is a doubles game played in a small cage, so a big gap in level is very obvious. One strong player can end every point in two shots, and nobody else gets to play. Fair matches are simply more fun, and you learn more from them.

That's why levels have become the shared language of the sport. Booking apps use your level to suggest open matches, clubs use it to organise leagues and americanos, and coaches use it to put people into groups.

It also explains why so many people are suddenly asking about levels: there are a lot of new players. In the UK, 860,000 adults and juniors played padel at least once in 2025, more than double the 400k a year earlier, according to the LTA. In Spain, where padel is a mainstream sport, there were about 17k courts and 109k federation licences in 2024, the International Padel Federation reports.

If you book a match on holiday in Spain, you'll almost always be asked for your level. When you're about to play with three people you've never met, that number is how everyone knows the game will be close.

The main padel rating systems

There's no single world rating for amateur padel. Instead, you'll come across a few different systems, and it helps to know how each one works.

Playtomic levels (0 to 7)

Playtomic is a booking app used by many padel clubs in Spain and the UK, and it's where a lot of players first see a level next to their name. Here's how it works, based on Playtomic's own help centre:

• When you sign up, you answer a short questionnaire about your experience. That gives you a starting level, and you can only take it once.

• After that, your level only changes after competitive matches. Casual matches don't count.

• Four things decide how much it moves: whether you won, your opponents' levels, your partner's level, and your reliability.

• Reliability shows how sure the system is about you. New players have low reliability, so their level swings a lot. The more competitive matches you play, the steadier it gets.

• Beating stronger players moves you up more than beating players at your level, and losing to weaker players drops you further.

Playtomic describes its bands like this:

• Below 1: initiation, with little or no racket sport experience

• 1.0 to 1.49: beginner, still learning the basics

• 1.5 to 2.4: initiation intermediate, getting familiar with the game

• 2.5 to 3.4: intermediate, with developed skills and a basic sense of tactics

• 3.5 to 4.4: intermediate high, more confident and more tactical

• 4.5 to 5.4: intermediate advanced, able to switch between attack and defence

• Around 5.5: competition, players who take part in tournaments

The scale carries on to 7 for the strongest players. Treat your first number with some caution, because it comes from a questionnaire, not from watching you play. Tennis players in particular often start too high and then drop for a few weeks until the results settle.

If you think your level is wrong, you can lower it yourself in the app, or book a levelling session at one of Playtomic's certified clubs, where a coach assesses you.

The LTA padel rating (1.0 to 7.0)

In Britain, the LTA (the governing body for tennis and padel) uses a self-assessment scale from 1.0 to 7.0. You read a set of statements grouped into beginner, intermediate and advanced, and pick the one that sounds most like you. The full list is on the LTA's padel rating page. In short:

• 1.0: still working on getting the ball in play

• 2.0: the ball goes in, but without much direction or control

• 2.5: you can rally with basic shots, but your technique is rough

• 3.0: fairly consistent, and starting to use the walls on purpose

• 3.5: some control on court, but technique still missing. The LTA puts competent tennis and squash players who are new to padel here.

• 4.0: good control, you cover the court well and understand basic tactics

• 4.5: very good control and court coverage, with a good tactical sense

• 5.0: experienced tournament player

• 5.5: nationally ranked

• 6.0 to 7.0: semi-professional and professional, defined by world ranking

Because you rate yourself, the LTA scale is only as accurate as you are honest. It's still very useful, because the descriptions are clear, and many British clubs use the same numbers when they organise sessions.

Club categories in Spain

In Spain you'll also hear people talk about categories: primera, segunda, tercera and so on. These come from federation and club competitions, and they work the other way round. The lower the number, the stronger the player, so a first-category player is far better than a fourth-category one.

How many categories there are, and how you move between them, depends on the region and the club. If you want to join a league or tournament while you're in Spain, tell the club your Playtomic or LTA level and ask which category fits.

Do the systems line up?

Roughly, yes. A player who is a solid 3 on Playtomic will usually describe themselves as a 3 or 3.5 on the LTA scale. But there's no official conversion table, and each system measures something a little different: Playtomic uses match results, the LTA uses your own description, and Spanish categories use competition results.

So use them as a guide, not a verdict. If two numbers disagree, trust the one based on more real matches.

What each level looks like on court

Numbers are easier to understand when you can picture the player. Here's what we typically see at each stage.

Beginner (0 to 2)

• Your underhand serve goes in most of the time, but not every time.

• Rallies are short, and a lot of points end with a ball in the net or out of the cage.

• Balls coming off the back wall catch you out, so you try to hit everything before it bounces.

• You and your partner often end up on the same side, or both chasing the same ball.

• At the net, your volleys are more instinct than technique.

What helps most at this stage: learning the basic grip, getting comfortable letting the ball come off the back wall, and knowing where to stand.

Improver to intermediate (2 to 3.5)

• You can keep a rally going at a medium pace.

• You let easier balls come off the back wall and return them.

• You've started to lob, to push opponents back from the net.

• You mostly move with your partner, both forward or both back.

• Balls that come off the side wall and then the back wall still cause problems, and so do high balls near the net.

A lot of tennis and squash players land here after only a few sessions, because the ball skills are already there. The walls and the positioning take longer.

Upper intermediate (3.5 to 4.5)

• You control pace and direction most of the time.

• You use the bandeja to deal with lobs and keep your place at the net.

• You defend well off both the back wall and the side walls.

• You talk to your partner and move as a pair.

• You vary the game with soft, low balls at your opponents' feet (the chiquita) as well as faster shots.

This is where most keen club players sit, and where padel starts to feel tactical rather than just physical.

Advanced (4.5 to 5.5)

• You play the vibora and the smash by choice, not by accident, and you know when to hit the ball out of the cage and when not to.

• You have a plan in each match, such as playing to the weaker opponent or opening up the middle.

• You stay calm under pressure and make few unforced errors.

• You play leagues and tournaments regularly.

5.5 and above

Nationally ranked players, then semi-professionals and professionals on tours such as Premier Padel. If you're here, you probably already know your level very well.

How to find your padel level

You don't need an app to get a good idea of your level. Start with these five questions, and answer them for a normal day, not your best one:

1. Does your serve go in at least nine times out of ten?

2. Can you return a ball after it has bounced off the back wall?

3. Can you lob on purpose over players standing at the net?

4. Can you hold your position at the net with volleys and a bandeja?

5. Do you and your partner move together, both up or both back, without thinking about it?

Here's how to read your answers:

• Zero or one "yes": you're a beginner, around 0 to 2.

• Two or three: improver to intermediate, around 2 to 3.5.

• Four: upper intermediate, around 3.5 to 4.5.

• All five, and you play tournaments: advanced, 4.5 and up.

Then check it against real play. Any of these will tell you more than a questionnaire:

• Play a handful of competitive matches in an app like Playtomic and see where your level settles.

• Book a levelling session at a club, where a coach watches you and sets your level.

• Ask a coach after a lesson. Most can place you within a few minutes of watching you rally.

A few mistakes we see often:

• Using your tennis level. A 4.0 tennis player is not a 4.0 padel player. The walls change everything.

• Rating yourself on your best day. Your level is what you play on a normal day, against people you don't know.

• Only playing the same group. If you always play the same three friends, you'll know who wins, but not what your level is.

Coming to padel from tennis

Tennis players usually pick up padel quickly, and just as quickly get frustrated by it. A lot of what you know carries over:

• Volleys and touch at the net

• Reading the ball early and moving your feet

• Competitive instinct and match experience

Some habits work against you, though:

• The walls. In tennis, a ball behind you is usually lost. In padel, you let it come off the glass and play it back. Learning to wait is the biggest change.

• The serve. The padel serve is underhand and hit at or below waist height, so your tennis serve doesn't help.

• Big swings. Hitting hard often just sends the ball off the back glass and straight back to your opponents. Placement and patience win more points than power.

• The court. It's much smaller, so you're closer to everyone and have less time.

That's why the LTA places competent tennis and squash players who are new to padel at around 3.5: good control of the ball, but not the padel-specific technique yet. If you want to understand the differences in more detail, we've compared the two sports in padel vs tennis.

How to move up a level

Each step up needs something different. Here's what we'd focus on, based on where you are now.

From beginner to around 3: consistency. Get your serve in every time, keep the ball in play, and practise letting balls come off the back wall. Play as often as you can, and take a few lessons early so you don't build bad habits.

From 3 to 4: position and the lob. Learn when to move up to the net and when to drop back, use the lob to take the net from your opponents, and add a reliable bandeja. Talk to your partner on every point.

From 4 to 5: overheads and tactics. Work on the vibora and the smash, defend off both walls under pressure, and start planning points instead of reacting to them. Leagues and tournaments help here, because you face players you don't know.

A few things help at every level:

• Play with people slightly better than you. You'll lose more at first, but you'll learn faster.

• Ask for feedback after matches, even informal ones.

• Film yourself once in a while. You'll spot positioning mistakes straight away.

• Train in blocks. A week of daily coaching gives you more repetitions and feedback than months of once-a-week games. That's the idea behind a padel camp.

Don't expect to move up a full level in a few weeks. For most adults it takes months of regular play, and progress is rarely steady. It's normal to stay at one level for a while and then jump.

Which level to choose for a padel camp

At our padel camps and programs in Spain, we group players as beginner, low intermediate, intermediate, upper intermediate and advanced. When you book, tell us your Playtomic or LTA level if you have one, how long you've been playing and how often you play. That's usually enough for the coaches to put you in the right group.

If you're not sure between two levels, pick the lower one. It's easy for a coach to move you up after the first session, and much less fun to spend a week in a group that's too strong for you.

If you're just starting out, have a look at our beginner padel programs in Valencia, Mallorca and Gran Canaria. From there you can also find programs for intermediate and advanced players.