September 24, 2026 • From Tyler and the Ready Set Rackets coaches
If you have not heard of padel yet, you will. It is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, huge in Spain and Latin America, and new courts keep opening across the US. A lot of parents ask us what it is and whether their kids can play. Here is the short version.
Padel is a racket sport played in doubles on a court smaller than a tennis court, surrounded by glass and mesh walls. You use a solid paddle with no strings, and a ball that looks like a tennis ball but has a little less pressure. You serve underhand, and the ball can bounce off the walls and stay in play, a bit like squash. It is easy to learn and hard to put down.
Think of padel as sitting between the two. Like pickleball, the paddle is solid and short, the serve is underhand, and beginners can rally on day one. Like tennis, the ball is bouncy and the points get fast. What is unique is the walls. Instead of the point ending when the ball goes past you, you can let it come off the glass and play it back. Kids love that, because the ball comes right back for another try.
Kids can start playing padel on a real court with a junior paddle from around age 5, once they can rally a slow ball. But the skills padel needs start much earlier: tracking a bouncing ball, keeping a paddle face flat, moving their feet, and playing with a partner. A three year old can work on every one of those.
Any open floor works for this. Bounce and tap: drop a soft ball and let your child tap it after one bounce. That is the rhythm of padel. Wall ball: roll or toss a soft ball against a wall and have your child stop it with a paddle as it comes back. That is the wall game in miniature. Partner play: padel is always doubles, so any game where two kids share a job, like carrying a ball together on one paddle, builds the teamwork it needs.
Our classes for ages 18 months to 5 mix tennis, pickleball and padel games, because at this age the skills underneath them are the same. The solid paddles we use for little kids are basically mini padel and pickleball paddles, and a lot of our games, like tapping a ball after a bounce or sending it over the mountain to a partner, are padel skills in disguise. By the time a Ready Set Rackets kid steps onto a real padel court, the ball will feel like an old friend.
Want to see it? Find a Ready Set Rackets class near you. As your child grows, Universal Rackets junior programs are the next step.
Want the games in your pocket? Grab the free Ready, Set, Play! parent guide (five racket games you can play in the living room tonight), or start Racky’s free 10-day First Swing Challenge, one 5-minute game a day by email.
Short, high-energy classes packed with fun games for toddlers and preschoolers.
Find a Class