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54 articles, each one argued over before it went in

Padel, explained properly

The articles behind the puzzles. Rules, tactics, shots and rackets: what to do, why it works, and what changes as you get better.

New this week

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Premier Padel explained: what to watch, and copy on Saturday

Premier Padel is the sport's top professional circuit, run by the International Padel Federation with Qatar Sports Investments behind it, and the 2026 calendar runs 26 tournaments across 18 countries. None of that changes how you play on Saturday morning, but a few habits from the pro game translate directly.

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How to take the net in padel: the transitions that work

The pair at the net wins the large majority of points in padel, and moving there safely matters more than moving there fast. Here is when to go and when to hold.

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Padel drills for two players, and three to do alone

Eight drills for two players fit comfortably inside forty minutes on one court, and three more work solo against your own glass when a partner is not available. Here is the full set, with what each one is actually training.

Lab notes

The Padel Price Index: what an hour of padel costs in 13 cities

The Lab lists 224 clubs in 20 cities, each with the price it publishes.

We scored 303 padel positions. Attacking was the right answer in 16 of them.

Every position in the Lab's bank has one right call and up to three wrong ones, each with a written reason.

The lob is the best shot in padel and the most overused. Both are true. The difference is where the other pair is standing.

In the Lab's bank the lob is the right answer 28 times and the tempting wrong answer 47 times.

Choosing a racket

How to choose a padel racket: shape, weight, balance and core, in that order

Brands sell you carbon counts and colours.

Padel racket shapes: round, teardrop and diamond explained

A padel racket's shape decides where its sweet spot sits more than any other spec on the box.

Padel racket weight and balance: 340 to 380 grams explained

Padel rackets are sold between about 340 and 380 grams, and that forty gram spread changes how a racket feels far more than shape alone does.

Carbon vs fibreglass padel rackets: what actually matters

A padel racket's face is usually fibreglass or carbon fibre woven at different densities, labelled 3K, 12K or 18K, and the weave changes stiffness more than it changes raw power.

The best padel rackets for beginners, and when to upgrade

A first padel racket has one job: survive off-centre hits without punishing your arm, which means round shape, a soft core and a weight under about 360 grams, roughly in that order of importance.

Choosing the best padel racket for intermediate players

The best padel racket for an intermediate player is usually still round or a soft teardrop, now with a medium core or a carbon face, and a balance that stays low to medium.

Padel racket for tennis elbow: what actually helps

The best padel racket for women: weight and grip, not gender

Choose a padel racket as a woman the same way anyone should: by weight, grip size and how kind it is to your arm.

Padel racket vs tennis racket: size, weight and why you cannot swap them

A padel racket is shorter, heavier and solid: no strings, a perforated face over an EVA or foam core, at most 45.5 cm long and usually 340 to 380 grams.

Padel rackets for kids: junior sizes, and when to move to an adult racket

A child should play padel with a junior racket, which is shorter and lighter than any adult model, so they can swing it properly without straining the wrist or elbow.

Are expensive padel rackets worth it? What the extra money buys

For most club players, no: a round, soft racket at €70 to €110 is the right racket, and spending three times that rarely makes anyone play better.

The best spin padel racket: rough faces, shape and the technique that matters more

The best spin padel racket for most club players is a round or teardrop shape with a rough, textured face, which grips the ball a little longer on the bandeja, víbora and slice.

The racket finder

Twelve questions about how you play, and the three rackets that fit.

New to padel? Start here

How to play padel: the rules, the walls and your first match

To play padel, two pairs hit a ball over a net on a 20 by 10 metre court enclosed by glass walls, serving underarm and scoring as in tennis. The big difference is the walls: once the ball has bounced, it can come off the glass and stay in play. So how does a point work, and where should you stand?

Padel rules explained: everything you actually need on court

The full rulebook is long and most of it never comes up. These are the rules that decide real points, in the order you will meet them.

Padel shots: every shot name, what it does and when to use it

The main padel shots are the serve, return, drive, backhand, volley, lob, bandeja, víbora and smash, plus soft balls such as the chiquita and drop shot and wall shots such as the bajada. Most have Spanish names, because the modern game grew up in Spain and Argentina. So which ones do you need, and when does each one work?

What is padel? The sport explained in five minutes

A racket sport played in pairs on a small court with glass walls you are allowed to use. Easy to start, slow to get good at. Spain now has more padel courts than tennis courts.

Padel drills: what to practise alone, at home, or with 2, 3 or 4 players

The most useful padel drills repeat one shot or one pattern: wall rallies and footwork alone or at home, volleys and lob to overhead with 2 players, a feeder and two hitters with 3, and short games with one rule for 4. Below are 19 drills, each with a setup and a score, and a weekly plan.

Your first padel game: what to bring, how to score, where to stand

You booked a court, or someone added you to an open match. What to bring, how to score, where to stand, in the order it comes up.

Every article

Padel rules explained: everything you actually need on court

The full rulebook is long and most of it never comes up. These are the rules that decide real points, in the order you will meet them.

Padel positioning: where to stand, and when to move

More club points are lost by standing in the wrong place than by hitting the wrong shot. Positioning is the cheapest improvement in padel and almost nobody practises it.

The bandeja: the shot that keeps you at the net

The bandeja is not a smash and it is not meant to win the point. It is the shot that lets you answer a deep lob without giving the net back, and it is the clearest sign of a player who has stopped playing tennis.

Padel wall play: how to stop being afraid of the glass

The glass is the reason padel is not small tennis. It is also the reason most beginners spend six months hitting balls into the back fence. Here is the timing.

The lob in padel: the most undervalued shot in the game

The lob is not a panic shot. At every level from club to professional it is the main tool for taking the net, and the players who lob well are the ones who look like they have all the time in the world.

The eight mistakes every padel beginner makes

Nearly all of them come from playing padel as though it were tennis. Fix these and you will jump a level without hitting a single new shot.

The padel serve: how to hit one that wins you the net

Nobody aces anyone in padel. The serve has one job, which is to get you and your partner to the net before the return comes back, and most club serves fail at it.

Padel volleys: the block, the punch, and where to stand for both

The net is where padel points are won, and the volley is how you keep it. Most club volleys fail for one reason: the player swings.

Bandeja, víbora or smash: which overhead to hit and when

Every lob gives you a choice, and choosing wrong loses more points at club level than hitting badly does. The height of the ball and where you are standing decide it, not how you feel.

Padel levels explained: what 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 actually mean

Every app and every club asks for your level and nobody agrees what the numbers mean. Here is what each level looks like on court, so you can put yourself in the right box and stop getting the wrong matches.

How to choose a padel racket: shape, weight, balance and core, in that order

Brands sell you carbon counts and colours. Four things decide how a racket plays, and you can work out which one you need in ten minutes.

Padel for tennis players: what carries over and what you have to unlearn

Tennis players pick up padel faster than anyone and then get stuck at the same place, usually about six months in. The swing that got you here is the thing in the way.

Padel elbow, sore shoulders and the other injuries: why they happen and how to stop them

Padel has an injury profile all its own: elbows from the volley, shoulders from the overhead, calves from the stop-start, and eyes from the ball that comes off the glass. Most of it is preventable and most of it starts with the racket.

What is padel? The sport explained in five minutes

A racket sport played in pairs on a small court with glass walls you are allowed to use. Easy to start, slow to get good at. Spain now has more padel courts than tennis courts.

Padel vs pickleball: the differences, and which one you should try

Both are booming, both are easy to start, and people confuse them daily. They are not the same sport: padel is played in a glass-walled court with a ball like a tennis ball, pickleball on an open court with a plastic one. Here is how to tell them apart and which suits you.

Your first padel game: what to bring, how to score, where to stand

You booked a court, or someone added you to an open match. What to bring, how to score, where to stand, in the order it comes up.

Padel shoes: how to choose them, and why running shoes will hurt you

The court is artificial turf with sand in it. The wrong sole slides on it; the right one grips and lets you turn. This is what to look for, what the pros wear, and which pair suits your feet and your court.

Padel balls: pressure, brands, altitude, and why your tube goes dead in a week

A padel ball looks like a tennis ball and is not one. Less pressure, a smaller bounce, and a life of about four games. Here is what the numbers mean and which tubes are worth buying.

Padel grip size and overgrips: the cheapest fix for your elbow and your control

Nearly every padel racket ships with a handle that is too thin for the hand holding it. An overgrip costs three euros and changes more than a new racket would. Here is how thick, how many, and which.

Padel after 50: your first month, and how to still be playing at 70

Padel is the racket sport people take up in their fifties and do not give up. Smaller court, underarm serve, walls that give you a second chance. The knees and the shoulder still need a plan; here it is.

Premier Padel explained: what to watch, and copy on Saturday

How to take the net in padel: the transitions that work

The pair at the net wins the large majority of points in padel, and moving there safely matters more than moving there fast. Here is when to go and when to hold.

Padel drills for two players, and three to do alone

How to play padel: the rules, the walls and your first match

Padel shots: every shot name, what it does and when to use it

The víbora in padel: what it is and how to hit it

The víbora is a sliced overhead with side spin, hit out to the side of your body so the ball skids low off the side glass instead of sitting up. It is more aggressive than the bandeja and harder to control. So when should you hit one, and how do you get the spin right?

Padel drills: what to practise alone, at home, or with 2, 3 or 4 players

Who serves first in padel? The toss, the order and the swap

A toss, usually a racket spin or a coin, decides which pair gets first choice before a match starts, and the winning pair can choose to serve, to receive, or to pick an end instead. After that first game the serve simply passes to the next player in rotation, and ends change after every odd numbered game.

How to defend the smash in padel: read it, then answer it

An off-the-wall smash wins the point outright only about a fifth of the time. Read the contact point, give the glass room, and most smashes turn into a rally you can still win.

Padel serve faults and lets: every case, drawn

Since the FIP's rules took effect on 1 January 2026, neither foot may touch the service line at the moment of contact, staying clearly behind it is the only option, and the ball must be struck at or below the waist. Three habits from the old rules still show up at club level every week, and this covers every case, faults and lets both.

Padel racket shapes: round, teardrop and diamond explained

A padel racket's shape decides where its sweet spot sits more than any other spec on the box. Round, teardrop and diamond each move that spot to a different place on the face, and here is who each one actually suits.

Padel racket weight and balance: 340 to 380 grams explained

Padel rackets are sold between about 340 and 380 grams, and that forty gram spread changes how a racket feels far more than shape alone does. Here is what head-heavy and head-light actually mean, and how to tell balance without a scale.

Carbon vs fibreglass padel rackets: what actually matters

A padel racket's face is usually fibreglass or carbon fibre woven at different densities, labelled 3K, 12K or 18K, and the weave changes stiffness more than it changes raw power. Here is what the face and the core underneath it actually do.

The best padel rackets for beginners, and when to upgrade

A first padel racket has one job: survive off-centre hits without punishing your arm, which means round shape, a soft core and a weight under about 360 grams, roughly in that order of importance. Here is what to look for, what to ignore, and when to move on from it.

The padel bag checklist: what every player should carry

A cracked frame or a snapped overgrip mid-match ends your part of it if your bag only holds one racket. Here is everything worth packing, and the small items that save a match more often than they get credit for.

Choosing the best padel racket for intermediate players

The best padel racket for an intermediate player is usually still round or a soft teardrop, now with a medium core or a carbon face, and a balance that stays low to medium. Which one you should buy depends on where you play, how your arm feels after three sets and how much weight you can swing, so this guide walks through each of those in turn.

Padel racket for tennis elbow: what actually helps

An arm-friendly padel racket is round or a soft teardrop, light to medium in weight, low in balance and built on a soft core, because each of those takes some of the shock out of every hit before it reaches the elbow. It can ease the load on a sore arm but it is not a treatment, so read this as a gear guide and see a physio if pain persists.

The best padel racket for women: weight and grip, not gender

Choose a padel racket as a woman the same way anyone should: by weight, grip size and how kind it is to your arm. For most women starting out that means a round, low-balanced racket around 350 grams with a smaller grip, and the "women's" editions brands sell are usually the same racket made lighter with a thinner handle, which is why plenty of men buy them too.

Padel racket vs tennis racket: size, weight and why you cannot swap them

A padel racket is shorter, heavier and solid: no strings, a perforated face over an EVA or foam core, at most 45.5 cm long and usually 340 to 380 grams. A tennis racket is strung, can be up to 73.7 cm long and typically weighs about 280 to 320 grams unstrung, which is why the swing that works in one sport gets you into trouble in the other.

Padel rackets for kids: junior sizes, and when to move to an adult racket

A child should play padel with a junior racket, which is shorter and lighter than any adult model, so they can swing it properly without straining the wrist or elbow. The move to an adult racket usually comes somewhere in the teenage years, depending far more on size and strength than on age, and the right bridge is a light adult edition of around 340 to 350 grams.

Are expensive padel rackets worth it? What the extra money buys

For most club players, no: a round, soft racket at €70 to €110 is the right racket, and spending three times that rarely makes anyone play better. The extra money buys carbon faces, harder cores and more technology, which mostly suit advanced players who already hit the centre of the face every time.

Padel court dimensions: the size of the court, net, lines and walls

A padel court is 20 metres long and 10 metres wide inside the walls, 200 square metres of playing area, with a net 0.88 metres high at the centre. Here are the rest of the padel court dimensions that matter, from the service lines and the stepped side walls to the clear height above the court.

Padel shoes vs tennis shoes: what actually differs, and when tennis shoes will do

Padel shoes and tennis shoes differ mainly in the sole: a padel shoe has a herringbone or omni pattern made to grip sand-filled artificial turf, while a typical hard-court tennis sole slides on it. A clay-court tennis shoe will do for your first few games, but anyone playing every week is better off in a proper padel pair.

Best padel shoes 2026: for men, women, wide feet and tight budgets

Picking the best padel shoes 2026 has to offer comes down to two things: a sole that suits your court and a last that fits your foot. The widely stocked lines from Asics, Babolat, Adidas, Head and Bullpadel all get the basics right, so fit, width and budget should decide between them.

The best spin padel racket: rough faces, shape and the technique that matters more

The best spin padel racket for most club players is a round or teardrop shape with a rough, textured face, which grips the ball a little longer on the bandeja, víbora and slice. The grit helps, but it wears down with use, and a clean, brushing swing produces far more spin than any face finish.

Padel ball pressuriser: does it work, and how long do padel balls last?

A padel ball pressuriser is a sealed tube that holds opened balls at raised pressure between sessions, which slows the pressure loss that starts the moment a tin is opened. It does not bring a dead ball back to life in any meaningful way, but it does keep a good set playable for noticeably longer.

The drop shot in padel: when the dejada actually works

The Lab's bank offers the drop shot as an option in 22 of its 303 positions and marks it right in only 3 of them. Those 3 share one condition: both opponents pinned deep and the ball above the net.

Playing outside the court in padel: por tres and the door

Por tres and por cuatro are padel's two ways of winning a point by sending the ball out of the enclosure after it has already bounced on the opponents' side, through the side opening or over the back fence. A ball that leaves your own side after bouncing can sometimes be chased through a door and played back, but only on courts built for it and only where the competition allows it.

Padel shoes by foot type: wide, narrow, flat and high arches

Padel shoe brands are not cut to one universal last, and knowing your foot shape narrows the search faster than reading reviews does. Here is what wide feet, narrow feet, flat feet, high arches, heavier players and old ankle injuries should look for, and what to avoid.

The chiquita in padel: the soft ball that beats the net

A chiquita is a slow, low ball with slice, played to land at the feet of a net player so they have to volley upward instead of down. It works because it takes pace off the ball, not because it is hit well.

Can the ball hit the fence in padel? Drawn, case by case

Yes, the ball can hit the fence in padel, but only once it has already bounced on that side of the court, never before. Hit your own mesh before the ball has crossed the net and you lose the point outright, even though the exact same ball hitting your glass would still be alive.

Playing padel with glasses: what club players actually wear

Glasses are safe to wear for padel, and most players who need correction settle on a wrap style sports frame with a strap rather than their everyday pair. Contact lenses and protective eyewear both have a place too, and which one suits you comes down to how close the ball gets to your face in your game.

Left or right in padel: which side should you play

The Lab's bank of 303 tactical positions has 239 set on the left side of the court and only 64 on the right, because the left, backhand side is where a padel rally actually asks you to decide something. That split, plus who takes the middle ball, is most of the answer.

Padel scoring explained: the maths behind deuce

Padel is scored exactly like tennis: love, 15, 30, 40, game, with sets to six games and a tie-break at six games all. The one real choice a competition makes is what happens at deuce, advantage, golden point or the newer star point, and the three change how often you actually win the game.