First timer? You’re going to love Padel.

You’ve made the first best decision in a while. You’ve heard your friends go on and on about this new sport. You’ve watched videos on YouTube and then you’ve made a decision. You’ve only gone and booked your inaugural Padel Club experience but the question now is, what can you expect on your first game?

For many who turn up having watched YouTube videos, there will be a lot of trepidation. Somehow the pros make the walls and running outside of the court look simple…

Of course, no one is expecting you to do that, especially when it’s your first time.

This leads us into what you can expect from your first game at The Padel Club.

A Quick Introduction

Whenever you book your first court session at The Padel Club you can expect to be welcomed by the team with a quick introduction. Here, one of the coaches or team will explain the rules and importantly how to play.

You will have never held a padel bat before (probably) so you need to get used to the weight and how it feels when striking the ball. This is where the coach will step in and give you a few drills.

As our coaches at The Padel Club say, “the quicker we get you to play, the more time on court you’ll have.”

Feel the contact

Learning how to hold the racket is essential. You’d be amazed at how unique it feels and the control you have!

Then there is learning how to serve. In padel every serve is underarm and you go across the court, just like in tennis. The final bit of the contact conundrum is actually playing a few shots. You will quickly learn that power is your enemy but hitting the ball over the net isn’t that hard.

The walls are for using

The biggest difference will be that you can use the walls as part of your game. As long as the ball hits the ground first and bounces off the wall, the point is still active and you have every chance to win that point.

This is a major part of the sport and learning about rebounds is just one of those things you will quickly pick up and over time, with more games under your belt, you will learn that the walls are crucial to your game.

Time is your best kept secret

In padel you have more time than what you originally think and this is what catches a lot of people out to begin with. Whether you are returning a serve or the first ball back in a rally, you will come to realise that you have a lot of time to deliver a great return.

Part of this is down to the fact that there are walls. As we said, walls will become your best tactic and part of that experience is that you can allow the ball to drop and bounce off a wall, giving yourself some time to set up your next shot.

Start slow, build up your speed

Lots of people mistakenly think that power is needed to play padel in fact, it’s anything but needed. Padel is arguably more strategy than most racket sports, so it is good to practice hitting the ball with different speeds into different areas of the court.

Whether you are playing with other first timers or against seasoned players, you should always see how your opponent’s deal with these so you can work out which plays can be effective.

Once you have more time and practice under your belt, you will know when hitting the ball harder will be beneficial or not.

Tactics are everything

At The Padel Club we will teach you the basics but we will also point out how essential tactics are to playing the game as well. Again, we will do this quickly but importantly, getting an idea of where you should play your shots and how to play them is needed. Trying to finish points too quickly is not advised, just ask one of our coaches.

Getting a feel for the tactics by using the lob, hitting slower volleys and using a variety of smashes is more important. At The Padel Club, you can even book improver sessions with our coaches to learn all about these shots and improve your court awareness.

Make new friends

One of the big attractions with padel is that it is extremely sociable. If you’re by yourself, The Padel Club helps you to meet new people and get a game with strangers - who will quickly turn into friends. These can then become your regular playing partners or you just meet other people at other times.

A bit more social stuff

We have an onsite cabin bar with a shop as well. When you get here you can grab a quick pick me up and even inspect the latest padel rackets. But what we have also created is a cool little atmosphere where you can sit back, relax and watch any of the games on the two courts. Sometimes being a spectator is just as exciting, you really get into the contests on display!

Enjoy it!! It’s your first time playing so, you want to be able to really enjoy it!!!

You are learning, so do not worry about the result. You will quickly learn that the game is built on teamwork and socialising, so appreciate being in a doubles game.