Competitive matches only
A friendly match never moves your level. That is deliberate: a friendly should be where you can try something new without paying for it.
Player level
What is my padel level?
Your level is a single number from 0.00 to 7.00 describing how well you play padel. It is the same in every city and on every court, it is shown to two decimals, and it moves after every competitive match — depending on who you beat and how convincingly. Friendly matches never move it.
The scale is the same one Playtomic uses, so a number you already know from there means the same thing here. Below is what each band means and exactly how the number moves.
The seven bands
The 0 to 7 scale is split into seven bands with no gaps. Your level always falls in exactly one of them.
- 0.00 – 2.00
- Beginner Learning the basics. Under a year of play, short rallies and a slow pace.
- 2.01 – 2.50
- Beginner–Intermediate The basics are there, consistency is the work. You know the shots but don't repeat them the same way every time.
- 2.51 – 3.50
- Intermediate You play regularly and can hold a rally. The back glass is no longer a problem, but mistakes come when the pace rises.
- 3.51 – 4.00
- Intermediate–Advanced Your game is steady and tactics are the next step. You choose where the ball goes and hold your position in the pair.
- 4.01 – 5.50
- Advanced You play competitively and hold up under pressure. Slice on both sides, confident net play, you read the glass.
- 5.51 – 6.00
- Advanced–Pro On the edge of the top level. Consistent at a high pace, with depth and control on your shots.
- 6.01 – 7.00
- Pro Elite, tournament level. You read your opponent and the court, and you play tournaments regularly.
How the level moves
After every confirmed competitive match we compare your pair's average level with the opposing pair's and work out how expected the result was. Beating a stronger pair is worth more than an expected win; losing to a weaker pair costs more than an expected loss. Ratings from teammates and opponents count for 30% — they are a sanity check on the maths, not the maths itself.
Who was on court counts, not just who won
Both pairs' averages are compared, so your partner's level is part of the maths. Carrying a weaker partner against a strong pair is worth more than winning alongside a stronger one.
The margin fine-tunes the change
6-0 6-0 is worth more than 7-6 7-6, but any win is always worth more than any loss. A scoreline can never turn against the winner.
Teammate ratings are a 30% correction
When someone rates you weaker or stronger than your number says, it shifts the change by a third. Without any ratings the match still counts — the result alone is enough.
New players move fastest
While a level is new, one match can move it by as much as 0.45. As the number settles the step falls to 0.08 per match — but never to zero, so a player who genuinely improves can always climb.
Tournaments add a placement bonus
First place +0.10, second +0.05, third +0.03, and the bottom of the table −0.05. That comes on top of the change from the matches themselves.
A coach can move your level
After a private or group lesson a coach can rate a player's level. That rating applies directly — a coach watches the game up close.
How much it actually moves
Examples for a player whose level has already settled — for a new player the same situations move the number several times as much.
| Situation | Change |
|---|---|
| A 4.00 pair beats a 5.00 pair 6-4 6-4 | +0.08 |
| An even match, won comfortably 6-4 7-5 | +0.05 |
| A crushing win over a much weaker pair, 6-0 6-0 | +0.01 |
| A 4.00 pair loses to a 3.00 pair 4-6 4-6 | −0.08 |
| Losing to a much weaker pair | −0.11 |
Beating a much weaker pair is worth little because it was expected. Losing to that same pair costs the most for the same reason.
Why the level moves more slowly over time
Every competitive match played makes the estimate more reliable, so each following match moves the number by less. After 120 days without a match that reliability drops and the level becomes mobile again — come back from a long break and the scale catches up with your current game faster.
Common questions
- I played a match and my level didn't change. Why?
- Usually because the match was a friendly — those don't count. If it was competitive, the change was probably small: an expected result against a pair of a similar level moves the number by only a few hundredths.
- How is the starting level set?
- By a few questions at sign-up about your experience and how you play. It is an estimate, not a verdict — your first few competitive matches correct it quickly.
- Can I change my own level?
- You can adjust the starting estimate while you have no competitive matches played. After that, results, teammate ratings and coaches move it.
- Can the level go down?
- Yes. Losses to weaker pairs bring the number down, and finishing bottom of a tournament table carries −0.05.
- Is this the same as a Playtomic level?
- The scale is the same, 0.00–7.00, so the number means the same thing. The maths behind it is ours and uses matches played through PadelDropIn.
- Where can I see where I stand against others?
- On the level rankings — you can filter them by city and by band of the scale.
Level rankings
See where you stand in your city and in your band of the scale.
A level is earned by playing
Download the app, join an open match, and your first competitive result already moves your number.
Download the app