What a 3.5 does
- Plays a reliable bandeja from the service line back
- Aims volleys at the feet of the player further back
- Defends off both glasses and lobs out of trouble
What a 3.5 does not do yet
- Start moving before the lob is struck
- Let a ball go to the glass when that is the better shot
- Cross to cover the middle when a partner is pulled wide
What to work on next
Which overhead, and when: bandeja, víbora or smash, and when to let the ball come off the glass instead. Bandeja, víbora or smash: which overhead to hit and when.
On the other scales
The converter files 3.5 under Intermediate: comfortable in matches, some tactics, you use the walls rather than fear them. That reads as MATCHi 6 and LTA 4.0; Padel Mates uses the same 0 to 7 numbers as Playtomic. None of it is official, and the bands hold to about half a point. Convert any number.
How the number moves
Beat a pair rated above you and you jump; lose to a pair rated below you and you fall. Matches entered as friendly do not count. Five to ten unforced errors in a set is the 3 to 3.5 band. The long version is in padel levels explained.
Test it
In Padel: The Game a 3.5 meets the 1400 PELO pair, Ines and Rafa (strong club). They read the lob early and finish at the net. Depth wins here, and only depth.
The daily Scenario is filed by level, and the intermediate ones are the fair test at 3.5. One from the bank: