When playing in matches and tournaments you will be asked what padel skill level you have. You have to be honest with yourself and make your best judgment. Putting yourself in a lower level means playing with slower players and you will not enjoy yourself. On the other hand, placing yourself in a group of higher skilled players means that you will be a nuisance to other players and potentially ruin a match for another three players.

Here’s a handy padel skill level qualification PDF that explains the padel skill levels. Apart from being useful for joining tournaments and matches, it is also useful to keep these levels in mind when setting targets for yourself. You can, for example, set a target to try and advance one level every 6 months, and you will know exactly when you get there based on the information provided in this PDF.

Note that the PDF is in Spanish, so use Google Translate to change it to your language if necessary. If there is enough demand for it, I can translate it to English, just leave a comment below if you need that.

If you prefer something interactive, there’s a form you can fill in here and it will give you the level as a result.

The British Padel Ratings System (BPRS) has been designed to provide a standardised reference for all aspects of amateur and professional play. A variety of systems in the marketplace today, adopted by padel clubs, all encourage their users/members to arrange games – In order to avoid an array of standards it is encouraged that all systems throughout the UK utilise the same numeric-scale, categorising all players accordingly as shown below. This same system is also currently the most commonly used numeric-scale in Spain (1.00 to 7.00).

Another useful level guide is this one provided by the Guia Padel book, which is probably the best book about padel there is at the moment. Again, it’s in Spanish. I found it even easier than the other guide, and qualified myself as 3.5-4. There’s definitely a lot of progress to be made, but that’s part of the attraction of this sport!

Barcelona is one of the best cities in the world for padel. The number of clubs across Barcelona province surged from 84 in 2022 to over 118 by 2024, with approximately 48 facilities within the city limits alone. Whether you’re looking for a casual hit or serious competition, there’s a club for you.

Most clubs now use Playtomic for bookings, which makes it easy to find available courts, join open matches, and book lessons across the city.

You might also want to check out my post about tennis courts in Barcelona.

Barcelona Center

Artos Sports Club – Sarria

One of Barcelona’s best clubs with 11 outdoor glass courts, including a panoramic court and one equipped with AI Ball technology for match analysis. Private coaching and group lessons available. Courts bookable online, prices range from 6-13 euros per person.

Vall Parc – Horta-Guinardo

A massive 30,000+ sqm facility with 19 padel courts (5 indoor + 14 outdoor), making it one of the largest in the city. The club underwent a major expansion in 2024-2025, adding many new courts with modern blue surfaces on porous concrete. It’s also the only club in Barcelona with 5 indoor courts.

Club Esportiu Laieta – Les Corts

A large sports club with 11 padel courts (2 panoramic), 15 tennis courts, pools, and a gym. Open Monday to Saturday 7am-midnight, Sundays and holidays until 10:30pm.

Real Club de Polo de Barcelona – Les Corts

One of Barcelona’s most prestigious sports clubs with 20 padel courts (14 glass + 6 walled). The club pioneered padel in Catalonia, installing its first courts in 1992, and regularly hosts major Premier Padel and World Padel Tour events. Members-only access, bookings via their app.

David Lloyd Turo – Les Corts

Premium members-only club (formerly known as David Lloyd Barcelona) with 12 outdoor padel courts plus extensive facilities including pools, spa, gym, and tennis courts.

Fairplay Padel Club – Sants-Montjuic

A great club with 9 outdoor glass courts (8 doubles + 1 singles) and a nice chill-out area. They organize regular tournaments. Located behind the Fira Gran Via at Carrer del Foc, 2-6. Open Monday to Friday 9am-midnight, weekends until 10pm. Book via Playtomic.

Nick Club Padel – Horta

Formerly Club de Tennis Horta, this club was transformed in 2021 into a modern padel facility with 8 panoramic courts (including 1 central court), Adidas Concept 360 surfaces, cafeteria, restaurant, shop, and equipment rental. Book via Playtomic.

Putxet Sport – Sant Gervasi

A comprehensive fitness club with 2 recently renovated outdoor padel courts, now managed by The Club Padel, a premium padel management company. Open Monday to Friday 7am-10:30pm, Saturday until 8pm.

Indoor Padel Barcelona – Sant Marti

The original indoor padel venue in central Barcelona with 5 indoor courts, including one central court with a special surface. They run adult classes, leagues (LaLiguita), and a padel school.

Padel 7 – Sant Marti

A newer indoor padel chain with 11 courts at their main Sant Marti location (Carrer Puigcerda 113), plus additional locations in Sant Andreu and El Bon Pastor. Leagues, private classes, and a bar/shop on site.

Club Natacio Barcelona – Barceloneta

Play padel by the sea at CNB, which has 4 outdoor courts now managed by The Club Padel. Members-only for court rental.

Club Tennis de la Salut – La Salut

A historic club (founded 1902) with 10 padel courts (9 doubles + 1 individual), 16 tennis courts, a swimming pool, fitness center, and restaurant.

Club Natacio Catalunya – La Salut

A well-established club with padel courts and an active reservation system.

Uno Padel – Multiple Locations

A growing padel brand with 19 courts across two Barcelona locations: Uno Padel Meiland (10 courts, Carrer Maternitat d’Elna) and Uno Padel Teixonera near Vall d’Hebron (9 courts, Carrer de la Granja Vella). Classes from 7.50 euros, tournaments, free parking. Book via Playtomic.

Centro Municipal de Tenis Vall d’Hebron – Horta-Guinardo

This historic venue (it hosted the tennis finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics) now operates as Eurofitness Vall d’Hebron. It has expanded significantly to 9 padel courts plus 12 clay and 7 greenset tennis courts. Bookable via Playtomic.

Valldaura Sport – Nou Barris

Four professional padel courts near exit 3 of Ronda de Dalt, a 4-minute walk from Canyelles metro (L3). Free parking with 40+ spaces. Also has futsal and a bar-brasserie with terrace.

Bonasport – Sant Gervasi

Bonasport has 8 padel courts, though note that these have old-style stone/concrete walls rather than glass, which may not be ideal for purists.

Padel Blau – Sarria

Four glass courts with lighting, situated at the foot of Collserola next to Escola Pia de Sarria. No website — contact by phone at 687 992 671.

MB Padel – Zona Franca

A smaller outdoor club with 4 courts and daily matches organized via WhatsApp.

CEM Espanya Industrial – Sants

A municipal sports center with 2 outdoor padel courts (brick walls) at economical prices. Padel is a small part of this 10,000 sqm facility that also has pools, gym, and spa.

Zona Franca / El Prat

Bela Padel Center Barcelona – Zona Franca

The biggest padel story in Barcelona. Opened in September 2025, this is the city’s largest padel facility with 20 courts (11 outdoor + 9 indoor), founded by legendary player Fernando Belasteguin. Features include Padel Galis M360 courts, advanced LED lighting, PGR by Bela turf (developed with the Biomechanics Institute of Valencia), gym, specialized shop, restaurant, and full locker rooms. Pay-and-play model with no membership required. Located at Avenida Parc Logistic 28, 08040 Barcelona.

Padel Barcelona El Prat

A thriving club that has grown to 18 courts (14 outdoor panoramic + 4 semi-indoor). They also have a pool with outdoor jacuzzi, gym, restaurant, and chill-out area. Open Monday to Friday 9am-11pm, weekends until 10pm.

L’Hospitalet

Padel Indoor L’Hospitalet

A major indoor facility with 15 courts + 1 individual court. Hosts the LaLiguita league (capacity 270 pairs) and has its own app for bookings.

Plus Padel Indoor – L’Hospitalet

9 courts (8 double + 1 individual) with 13-meter ceilings. Located at Avinguda del Carrilet 219-221.

Sant Just Desvern

Sant Just Padel Club

A large club with 15 courts plus restaurant, fitness center, swimming pool, and football pitches.

Llobregat

Star’s Padel – Cornella

14 panoramic courts plus 2 central courts with bleachers for championships (expandable by 6 more). Also has a cafeteria-restaurant seating 200.

Village Padel Club – Sant Feliu de Llobregat

8 courts at Carrer Treball 25-27 in the El Pla industrial estate.

Castelldefels

Club de Tenis Andres Gimeno

Founded in 1974 by Roland Garros winner Andres Gimeno, this club has 11 padel courts and 22 tennis courts.

Viladecans

Red Indoor

7 indoor courts with LED lighting and ceilings over 10 meters, including 1 official competition court. They offer a great value combo deal: play + daily menu from 15 euros.

Gava

Padelarium Gava

10 indoor courts built to WPT specifications with 11-12 meter ceilings. Running at 85% occupancy with 200 tournaments per year and 5,000+ monthly bookings. Prices from 7 euros per hour per person. Located between Gava and Castelldefels, 20 minutes from Barcelona via the C-32, with 100+ free parking spaces.

Padel Indoor Gava

8 indoor courts, plus a restaurant known for its fideua.

Sant Joan Despi

CT El Moli

A well-established club (founded 1969) with 10 outdoor padel courts, 5 clay tennis courts, swimming pool, and bar-restaurant.

Tennis Despi

A municipal facility specialized in racquet sports with 13 padel courts and 4 more being renovated.

Sant Esteve Sesrovires

BaPadel Barcelona Golf Resort

Opened in 2022, this is the first club in the Barcelona province to offer both padel and pickleball. 7 padel courts (3 panoramic) located within the Barcelona Golf Resort complex, which also has a 27-hole golf course, hotel, and spa.

Maresme Coast

Padel Montgat Marina Club – Montgat

A nice club close to the sea with 8 courts, open 8am-midnight. Also has a gym, shop, restaurant-cafeteria, private parking, and chill-out terrace. English-speaking trainers available.

Club Tennis Barcelona Teia

6 outdoor courts with a well-regarded padel school. Special value packs available (15-game pass for 85 euros for groups of 30+).

Club de Tenis Premia de Dalt

Located around 20km from Barcelona with 6 padel courts. Open 9am-10pm.

Badalona

Padel Indoor Badalona

7 indoor climate-controlled courts (1 panoramic), plus physiotherapy services, kids zone, and bar-cafeteria. Badalona now also has UP Padel Indoor Badalona (9 courts at Centro Comercial Magic Badalona) for additional options.

Terrassa

Terrassa Club Padel

10 indoor padel courts including 1 beach tennis court. Terrassa now has several other options too, including Club Natacio Terrassa (10 courts) and CD Terrassa (7 panoramic courts).

Vilassar de Dalt

Panoramic Club (formerly Vila Sport Club)

The club that was listed as “under construction” back in 2017 is now fully operational with 8 courts (6 panoramic + 2 wall courts), plus gym, restaurant/lounge bar, swimming pool, and aesthetics services.

Vilanova del Valles

Vilanova Indoor Padel

6 indoor padel courts.

Vilanova i la Geltru

Club Padel Vilanova

8 outdoor padel courts plus pool, restaurant, and spa.

Have I missed out on any padel courts or clubs? Let me know and I’ll add them.

Meet my favorite sport: Padel (or Paddle, as it is sometimes referred to in the English-speaking community).

My Padel Story

Until 2015, I’d been a football (soccer) fan all my life and I used to enjoy practicing this sport on a weekly basis with my friends back in Malta. It was my favorite sport by far. However, once I started playing padel it immediately replaced football’s place in my life. I became thoroughly addicted to this sport and many years later I still can’t get enough of it.

Before trying padel, I’d played a few racket sports sporadically, mostly tennis and table tennis, and I enjoyed both of them.

In 2015, while holidaying in Seville, I saw some people playing padel and I was captivated. I made a promise to myself to try out this strange sport whenever I had the chance. I had no idea what it was called back then.

I later learned that it was called padel and that it is very popular all around Spain. One of the first things I did upon my arrival in Barcelona was to attend a padel meetup. Thus I fulfilled my earlier promise. I was hooked from the very first match I played. Soon enough I was trying out different rackets and reading all the material I could get my hands onto.

I took the sport very seriously and continue to enjoy watching and playing it. You can read about my full padel journey here.

So What is Padel?

Padel is a very social sport. It is always played in doubles format, unlike tennis where the main focus is on the singles matches. It is also very easy to learn compared to tennis, so you don’t even need lessons to start playing with your friends. This is especially true if you have played other racket sports in the past. Here in Barcelona, one can find various tournaments called Americanas which mean that everyone plays against everyone, changing partners for every match. As you can imagine you can get to know a lot of people during such tournaments. They’re the perfect place for expats to make new friends especially if you want to make some local friends.

The sport is essentially a combination of tennis and squash and is great for players of all ages and skills. The court is one-third the size of a tennis court and is enclosed with wire mesh and glass walls which you can play off when you need to. Rules are a mixture of squash and tennis, and use the same scoring system as tennis. Compared to tennis it is less focused on strength and more on tactics and psychology.

Padel in its current form was invented by Mexican millionaire Enrique Corcuera in the 1960s, although we can trace back its origins to 1890 when it was played by British sailors in the lower levels of their navy ships. The first padel courts in Spain were built in 1974, in Marbella. Spain counts with nearly 10,000 padel courts (about the same number as Argentina where the game was developed earlier), approximately 4 million regular players, and the number of registered players is continuously increasing. Sales of paddle rackets in Spain are nearly four times that of tennis rackets.

Padel is very popular in Spain and Argentina as it’s been played in these countries for decades, however, many other countries are experiencing a padel boom and are catching up. We might in fact be entering the golden age of Padel as it is currently the fastest-growing racket sport in the world.

With Spain being a very popular tourist destination, many tourists are getting introduced to Padel there and then taking their new-found hobby back to their countries. This is currently one of the main drivers behind Padel’s growth in Europe. World Padel Tour and Premier Padel, the biggest worldwide competitions, also help create interest outside of Spain.

Building padel courts is also a great investment opportunity since courts are smaller than tennis and the rental is paid by four people, therefore maximizing revenues. It is, therefore, more feasible to build padel courts versus tennis courts, especially in densely populated areas where the cost of land is very high.

Essential Padel Equipment

If you’re interested in trying padel, you’ll need the following equipment:

1. Padel racket: Padel rackets are solid, perforated, and stringless. They are usually made of composite materials, such as carbon fiber or fiberglass, and are lighter than tennis rackets. When choosing a padel racket, consider factors such as weight, balance, and shape to find the one that best suits your playing style and skill level.
2. Padel balls: Padel balls are similar to tennis balls but with slightly less pressure. Make sure to purchase balls specifically designed for padel, as using tennis balls can affect the gameplay and damage your racket.
3. Court shoes: Proper footwear is crucial for playing padel, as it provides the necessary grip and support for the quick movements and changes of direction typical of the sport. Look for court shoes with padel-specific soles, good cushioning, and lateral support.
4. Comfortable sportswear: Wear comfortable, breathable sportswear that allows for freedom of movement during the game. Padel-specific clothing is available, but any sportswear suitable for tennis or other racket sports will work just as well.

Watching Padel

At a professional level, both men’s and women’s matches are very exciting to watch. However, I’d say the women’s matches are better if you are watching to learn new techniques.

The men’s matches are more exciting as the points tend to be longer and crowd-pleasers such as smashes and out-of-court play are more common. However, since they are played at breakneck speed it’s hard to follow the particular movements of the players and hence harder to learn from. Of course you can always grab a recording and play it in slow motion to learn how your favorite player hits the ball. It’s just very hard to do so when you’re watching live games.

Padel tournaments are not only for the pros. Any padel player can also join amateur tournaments that are held in many cities in Spain. We are now seeing international amateur padel tournaments start to take place, as it’s becoming a profitable niche in the sports tourism sector.

If you’re in Barcelona you can join our Barcelona padel community on Facebook.

Have you ever played padel or seen it being played? I’d love to hear from padel players from all around the world!