Padel

Is Padel Harder Than Pickleball?
Is Padel Harder Than Pickleball?
The first time I tried to hold the kitchen line on a padel court, my partner stopped the point and said something I didn't fully understand yet: "The wall behind... Read more...
How to Serve in Padel
How to Serve in Padel
The first time you stand behind the padel service line with a ball in your hand, everything your racket arm remembers tells you to toss it up. Every serve you... Read more...
How Hard Is Padel to Learn, Really?
How Hard Is Padel to Learn, Really?
The coach said to forget everything we knew about topspin. Fifteen years of tennis behind us, so of course we smiled, nodded, and then spent the next three months hitting... Read more...
Can You Play Padel Singles?
Can You Play Padel Singles?
Somewhere between "is this like squash?" and "why is everyone serving underhand?", most new padel players land on a more basic question: do you actually need four people for this?... Read more...
Where to Find Padel Courts in Chicago
Where to Find Padel Courts in Chicago
Until about 18 months ago, the padel courts in Chicago you could actually play on amounted to one: Padel Clube USA, a suburban facility 35 miles north of the Loop... Read more...
Is Padel Easier Than Tennis?
Is Padel Easier Than Tennis?
My first padel session, I rallied for twelve shots in a row. My first tennis session, that took six months. The gap is real, and it's why so many players... Read more...
Padel Beginner Mistakes Every American Makes
Padel Beginner Mistakes Every American Makes
There's a specific look experienced padel players give American beginners — not mean, just anticipatory. They've already clocked the big tennis backswing, the flinch at the back glass. They know... Read more...
How to Explain Padel to Someone Who Has Never Heard of It
How to Explain Padel to Someone Who Has Never Heard of It
You have been playing padel for three months. You are completely obsessed. You have rearranged your schedule around court bookings, you have a favourite serve, and you are quietly ranking... Read more...
A Beginner's Guide to Padel in the US
A Beginner's Guide to Padel in the US
Most padel guides assume you already live near a club with a house pro, have two friends who play, and just need a rules refresher. If you found this sport... Read more...
Padel Etiquette and the Unwritten Rules
Padel Etiquette and the Unwritten Rules
You can spot a great padel partner before the first serve. They hand you the ball instead of firing it at your shins. They say "mine" out loud. They call... Read more...
Padel for Pickleball Players
Padel for Pickleball Players
Every pickleballer who tries padel makes the same three mistakes in the first ten minutes. They serve overhand. They let a perfectly good wall ball bounce away and die. And... Read more...
How Much Does It Really Cost to Play Padel?
How Much Does It Really Cost to Play Padel?
Ask four players what padel costs and you'll get four different answers, because one of them has a $1,000 membership and another splits an off-peak court for twelve bucks. Both... Read more...
Padel vs Platform Tennis, Paddle Tennis, and Pickleball
Padel vs Platform Tennis, Paddle Tennis, and Pickleball
Your uncle saw a glass box at the gym, watched a guy serve underhand off the back wall, and announced he'd "tried pickleball." He had not. He'd watched padel, and... Read more...
How to Actually Pronounce "Padel"
How to Actually Pronounce "Padel"
The word is spelled like "paddle," came from the word "paddle," and is absolutely not pronounced "paddle." Welcome to the most confusing two-syllable word in racket sports. If you landed... Read more...
How to Find a Padel Partner
How to Find a Padel Partner
I'd been to my local club four times before I actually hit a ball with another human. Not because I couldn't play. Because I had no one to play with,... Read more...
How to Play Off the Glass in Padel
How to Play Off the Glass in Padel
The first time a ball sailed past me toward the back glass, I did what any tennis brain does. I gave up on it. Turned, watched it bounce off the... Read more...
What to Wear to Play Padel
What to Wear to Play Padel
You booked the court. You found three people who said yes. Then you opened your closet and froze, because nobody tells you whether padel has a dress code or whether... Read more...
Padel for Tennis Players
Padel for Tennis Players
The first time I stepped onto a padel court, I did what twenty years of tennis trained me to do. I crushed a deep ball, watched it die in the... Read more...
Padel Slang, Decoded
Padel Slang, Decoded
You've got a decent backhand. You can keep score, mostly. But the doubles team on the next court keeps screaming "¡VAMOS!" and arguing about whether that was a víbora or... Read more...
Padel Scoring, Explained
Padel Scoring, Explained
I spent my first month of padel nodding along to scores I couldn't actually follow. Somebody would mutter "30-15" over their shoulder mid-serve and I'd just... agree. Pick a side,... Read more...