How to Improve at Padel: 7 Things Coaches Actually Tell Beginners

The good news about padel is that you can play a version of it on day one. The complicated news about padel is that there are specific habits beginners develop that take twice as long to un-learn as they took to learn. Here are the seven things coaches consistently say to new players. The things that separate people who plateau after a few months from people who keep improving.

1. Stop Swinging Like a Tennis Player

This is the single most common issue with tennis converts. In tennis, a full backswing generates power. In padel, a full backswing takes too long in a court that's a third smaller, against walls that return the ball faster than a tennis court ever does. The padel swing is compact, wrist firm, swing short, let the racket face do the work. You'll have less time than you think, and less swing than you're used to. Trust the contact.

2. Use the Walls — On Purpose, Not by Accident

Most beginners treat the back wall as a problem. Coaches treat it as a tool. According to the International Padel Federation, the back glass is one of the defining features of padel strategy It allows defensive retrieval from positions that would end a tennis point instantly. The first milestone in a beginner's development is playing the wall defensively. The second is using it offensively, hitting into the back glass to create an angle your opponent can't reach. Get comfortable with the wall in month two, not month six.

3. Net Position Wins Matches

Padel is a net-domination sport. The team at the net controls the point. Coaches consistently push beginners to move forward after a good defensive return rather than staying at the baseline and waiting. The baseline in padel is a defensive position; you are absorbing, not dictating. If you find yourself consistently playing from the back, you've lost the initiative. The goal is to work your way to the net and stay there.

4. The Lob Is Your Best Friend

The lob in padel is not a desperation shot. It's a tactical reset. When the opponents control the net, a well-placed lob forces them back, reverses court position, and gives you time to move forward. Beginners avoid the lob because it feels passive or embarrassing. Coaches will tell you that knowing when and how to lob is what separates a player who's losing from a player who's competing. Practice it. Take it seriously. Use it.

5. Calm Down Your Serve

Coming from tennis, the serve feels like a wasted opportunity in padel. It's underhand, it bounces, it's not powerful. This frustration leads beginners to over-complicate their serve trying to add spin or angle. Coaches say: simplify. A consistent, well-placed serve that lands deep and gives you time to move to your position is worth ten flashy serves that land in the net. The padel serve is not a weapon. Its job is to start the point cleanly.

6. Watch the Ball, Not Your Opponent

In the confined space of a padel court, it's tempting to watch your opponent to anticipate where they'll hit. The problem: by the time you've processed their body movement and reaction, the ball is already past you. Coaches consistently say: track the ball. Your peripheral vision handles opponent movement. Your eyes handle the ball. This is especially true at the net, where reaction time is minimal and the ball comes fast off the glass.

7. Play More, Drill Less (at First)

Beginners often think improvement comes from practicing techniques - drilling a backhand, working on a specific serve. Coaches generally disagree for the first six months. The fastest route to improvement at the beginner stage is match play: real points, real situations, real decision-making under mild pressure. Drills can refine a technique you already have. Match play builds the instincts that make technique useful. Find people to play with, book courts, and play. Everything else is secondary.

 

One More Thing: Get the Right Equipment

Improvement is harder in the wrong shoes (your ankles and footwork will suffer) or with the wrong racket (a diamond-shaped racket will punish every mishit while you're still learning). If you haven't already, check our beginner gear guide and our racket shapes guide before your next purchase.

The Clima Clasico is a teardrop shape — forgiving enough for a beginner, precise enough to grow with. Built in Spain, shipped to you. climapadel.com