Padel Relay guides
Everything you need
to get on court.
Rules, kit, booking and the words you will hear on court, written for UK players and kept up to date.
Getting started
Your first games: what padel is, how to book a court and how to fit in on it.
Beginner's guide to padel: everything you need for your first game
New to padel? What the game is, how it differs from tennis, the kit you need, how booking and court costs work, and how to find a court near you.
How to book a padel court in the UK
Pay and play or membership, which booking app your venue uses, 60 or 90 minutes, splitting the cost, cancellation rules and finding players for open matches.
Padel etiquette and what to wear
The unwritten rules of a padel court, how to play open matches with strangers, the right shoes and clothing for UK courts, and what to pack in your bag.
ToolFind a court
Over 700 UK venues on one map, with hours, facilities, stations and booking links.
Rules and terms
The rules in plain English, and every word you will hear on court.
Padel glossary: shots, terms and Spanish words explained
Bandeja, víbora, chiquita, por tres, golden point and more. Over 50 padel terms explained in plain English, from A to Z, for UK players.
Padel rules and scoring explained
Padel rules in plain English: court and net sizes, the serve, playing off the glass, faults, lets, scoring, golden point, star point and tie-breaks.
Skills and tactics
The shots, the glass and where to stand, with drills to practise them.
Bandeja and víbora: padel overheads explained
How to hit the bandeja and víbora in padel: what each is for, footwork, contact point, when to smash instead, common mistakes and drills.
Padel drills and practice: a library for every part of your game
Padel drills for one, two or four players, sorted by skill and level, from warm-ups to overheads, plus how to plan a 45 to 60 minute session and track progress.
Padel positioning and tactics: a practical guide for pairs
Padel tactics made simple: attack and defence positions, moving as a pair, why the lob matters most, left and right side roles, and a beginner game plan.
Padel serve and return: placement, spin and drills
How to serve and return in padel: where to aim (glass, T, body), when to add spin, when to lob the return, the common faults and simple drills.
Padel volleys and net play: grip, technique and drills
How to volley in padel: ready position, continental grip, block and punch volleys, low volleys, the bajada, covering the middle as a pair, plus drills.
Playing off the glass in padel: back wall, side wall and corners
How to play off the glass in padel: back glass, side glass, double walls, corners and the contrapared, with footwork advice and drills to build patience.
Kit
Rackets, shoes, balls and grips, and how to choose them.
How to choose a padel racket
Shape, balance, weight, core, face and hardness explained, with level-by-level advice, budget bands and the mistakes that cost players money and elbows.
Padel shoes, balls and grips: the kit beyond the racket
Which padel shoe sole suits sandy artificial grass, how padel balls differ from tennis balls, when to change an overgrip, and the small kit worth owning.
ToolRacket Match
Six questions, about a minute: the racket shape, weight and core that suit your game.
Padel in the UK
The sport in Britain: competitions, women and adaptive players, and building a court.
Adaptive and wheelchair padel in the UK: rules, kit and where to play
How wheelchair and adaptive padel work: the two-bounce rule, serving from a chair, sports chairs, inclusive pairs, Open Court sessions and UK competitions.
Building a padel court in the UK: space, planning, noise and costs
Thinking of building a padel court at home, at a club or as a venue? Space, planning permission across the UK, noise, floodlights, LTA costs and loans.
Padel in the UK
How fast padel has grown in Britain, who runs the sport, how competitions and rankings work, where to watch pro padel and how to become a coach.
Women's padel in the UK: starting out, kit, mixed and competing
Women's padel in the UK: the participation figures, women-only socials and coaching, racket weight and grip size, mixed doubles, the LTA pathway and pro game.
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