Padel levels run from 1 to 7. Level 1 has never held a racket; level 7 plays professionally. Almost everyone reading this is between 2 and 4, and almost everyone overestimates by half a point.
Levels exist for one practical reason: open matches. British clubs and booking apps put four strangers on a court together and the only thing stopping that from being miserable is an honest level. Below is what each number means, a self-test based on what actually happens to you on court, and how the competing scales line up.
The 1–7 scale
| Level | Label | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Absolute beginner | Learning the rules and where to stand. The ball off the glass is a surprise every time. Rallies are two or three shots. |
| 2 | Beginner | Can keep a slow rally going. Knows the rules. Serves in more often than not. Still crowds the back wall. |
| 3 | Lower intermediate | Reads the back-wall bounce and returns it. Volleys with control. Lobs on purpose, sometimes. Positioning as a pair is inconsistent. |
| 4 | Intermediate | Moves to the net as a pair and holds it. Has a working bandeja. Chooses shots rather than reacting. Wins club matches. |
| 5 | Upper intermediate | Constructs points. Uses the glass deliberately in attack. Reliable bandeja and víbora. Rarely out of position. |
| 6 | Advanced | Competes in regional tournaments. Full shot repertoire including the exit through the side gap. Trains rather than just plays. |
| 7 | Professional / elite | National ranking or better. Full-time or near it. |
Levels are usually written to one decimal place — 3.5, 4.0 — because the gap between whole numbers is wide. A 3.0 and a 3.9 are not comfortable opponents.
The self-test: what happens to you on court
Skip the checklist of shots you can name. Answer these instead — they are symptoms, and symptoms are harder to flatter yourself about.
| If this happens… | You are around |
|---|---|
| The ball comes off the back glass and you are still turning when it passes you | 1–2 |
| You stand flat against the back wall and get jammed | 2 |
| You return the glass ball but always defensively, straight back at the net player | 2–3 |
| You lob when you are in trouble, and it works about half the time | 3 |
| You and your partner end up at different depths without noticing | 3 |
| You smash everything overhead and it comes back off the glass | 3–4 |
| You play a controlled overhead instead, and keep the net | 4 |
| You choose which opponent to attack before you hit the ball | 4–5 |
| You use your own glass to change the angle in attack, on purpose | 5 |
| You are reading this page to check a tournament seeding | 6+ |
The honest correction. Take whatever you scored and subtract half a point. Everybody rates themselves on their best session; opponents rate you on your average one. Under-rating yourself costs you one awkward match. Over-rating yourself costs three other people theirs.
Two scales, one confusion
Britain uses the numeric 1–7 scale, mostly because the booking apps do. Parts of Europe use a letter scale, A to D, and clubs use plain English labels. They map roughly like this:
| Numeric | Letter | Club label |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | D | Beginner |
| 2.5–3.5 | C | Improver / lower intermediate |
| 4–5 | B | Intermediate |
| 5.5–6 | A | Advanced |
| 6.5–7 | A+ / Pro | Competitive |
The mapping is approximate and nobody governs it. When a club advertises a “level 3 open match” and another advertises a “C match”, they mean roughly the same thing. When a booking app assigns you a level from your results, that number is internal to that app and does not travel.
How to move up a level
The jumps are not evenly spaced, and each one has a specific blocker.
| Jump | What actually unlocks it |
|---|---|
| 1 → 2 | Standing a metre off the back glass instead of against it. One session. |
| 2 → 3 | Waiting for the ball off the glass rather than rushing it. A few weeks. |
| 3 → 4 | The lob, used deliberately to take the net. This is the biggest single gain in the sport. |
| 4 → 5 | A working bandeja. Months, and usually a coach. |
| 5 → 6 | Structured training rather than matches. Years. |
The 3 → 4 jump is worth naming twice, because it is the one most club players never make: they keep driving from the back and keep feeding volleys to the net pair. The alternative is in how to play padel, and the overhead that comes next is the bandeja.
Does your level change what racket you should use?
Yes, but later than people think. A level 2 or 3 player is best served by a round, soft, forgiving frame — the sweet spot matters far more than the power ceiling, because contact is still moving around. That is the profile in best padel rackets for beginners.
Somewhere around level 4, when you can find the middle of the face three times in four, a stiffer or more head-heavy frame starts giving something back. The graded ranking of everything we have covered is in best padel rackets, and the reasoning behind shape and balance is in how to choose a padel racket.
Buying above your level is the most common equipment mistake in padel and it does measurable harm: a small, high sweet spot punishes exactly the contact error you are still making.
Frequently asked questions
What padel level am I?
If you can rally off the back glass and lob deliberately, you are around 3. If you and your partner hold the net together and you have a controlled overhead, you are around 4. Below a reliable glass return, you are 1 to 2.
What is a good padel level?
Level 4 is a genuinely competent club player and is above average at most British clubs. Level 3 is where most people who play weekly end up within a year.
How long does it take to reach level 4?
Playing twice a week, typically one to two years — and faster with coaching, because the blocker is the lob and the bandeja, both of which are quicker to learn than to discover.
Are padel levels official?
No. There is no governing-body rating equivalent to a golf handicap. The 1–7 scale is a convention adapted from tennis and each booking app maintains its own version.
Should I round my level up or down when booking?
Down. An honest lower rating gets you a good match; an inflated one gets three other people a bad one.
Sources. Level conventions as used by British clubs and booking platforms, and the LTA Padel competition structure, consulted 30/08/2026. The 1–7 scale is a convention adapted from the tennis NTRP rating; no padel governing body publishes an official equivalent, and this page says so rather than implying otherwise.