Work out your padel level in 2026 with the “unofficial” grid of 8 levels, ranked from 1 to 8.
In the original grid, your padel level from 1 to 8 rests on 2 criteria, some more objective than others:
- The playing criterion: your technical, tactical and physical level on court (subjective criterion).
- The competition criterion (tournaments and ranking): your results in padel tournaments and your place in the national ranking (objective criterion). It relies on the French federation’s tournament categories, so this grid keeps the playing criterion only.
Sources: thanks to French Padel Shop, Stéphane Penso and Padel Magazine for their excellent work!
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The 8 Padel Levels in 2026
Here is the complete grid, updated for 2026, based on the playing criterion:
| Levels | Playing criteria |
|---|---|
| Level 1 Beginner ⭐ | I am starting out. I am learning the basic shots. |
| Level 2 Improver ⭐⭐ | I can play the basic shots. I play short rallies at a slow pace. I am starting to volley. |
| Level 3 Elementary ⭐⭐⭐ | I play for fun. I can serve and I play matches with rallies, trying to keep the ball in play. I am starting to use the back glass. |
| Level 4 Intermediate ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | I play matches with long rallies and repeated moves up to and back from the net. I move up to the net on serve after a lob. I drop back to defend against an opponent’s lob and play off the glass. I play the ball after it bounces off the glass. I master my positioning, especially in relation to my partner, moving up to the net or back to the baseline together. |
| Level 5 Experienced ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐ | I control my game: serve and volley, dropping back on lobs, moving back up on the counter-attack, shots with spin, returns of serve as lobs and at the feet, and positioning in sync with my partner. I always move up to the net after a lob. I finish points with volleys and smashes. I use the glass in defence, and I get the ball back in play off corner and double-glass shots. |
| Level 6 Advanced ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐ | I master fast play and spin, on serve and in rallies. I vary the areas and pace of my volleys. I defend double-glass shots. I have fully mastered corner play. I counter-attack my opponents’ smashes. |
| Level 7 Expert ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ | I master every aspect of the game and its tactics. I play with heavy, well-controlled spin, such as topspin, slice and the víbora. I have fully mastered double-glass shots, and I use the glass to counter-attack. |
| Level 8 Elite ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Expert female player: top 100 in France. Expert male player: top 1,000 in France. |
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