What to wear and bring to your first padel session

Most people turn up to a first padel session having overthought the kit and underthought the shoes. It is almost always the other way round: the clothing barely matters, the shoes matter more than anything else you will put on.

Here is the short version, then the detail.

The 30-second answer

Wear a T-shirt and shorts or leggings you can move in. Wear trainers with grip — court shoes or running shoes with a flat, clean sole. Bring water. We provide the racket and balls.

That is genuinely it. Everything below is refinement.

Shoes: the one thing worth getting right

Padel is played on artificial turf with sand brushed into it. The movement is short, sharp and lateral — two steps to the side, a stop, a change of direction — repeated for an hour.

What works:

• Padel or tennis court shoes are ideal. A herringbone or clay-court tread grips the sand without digging into it.
• Running trainers are fine for your first few sessions. They will do the job, though they offer less sideways support than court shoes.
• Any clean, flat-soled trainer with decent grip will get you through a trial session.

What does not work:

• Smooth-soled fashion trainers. You will slide on the sand, and sliding on a hard change of direction is how ankles get hurt.
• Deep-lugged running or trail shoes. Too much tread digs into the sand and catches when you pivot.
• Anything you have worn outdoors in sand or dust that day. Grit on the sole works against you and against the court surface.

If you decide padel is for you, court shoes are the first purchase worth making — ahead of a racket. Grip affects your movement in every single point. A racket upgrade affects maybe a handful.

Clothing

Normal sports kit. T-shirt or sports top, shorts, leggings or a skort. Breathable fabric is worth more than anything else, because you will warm up faster than you expect once rallies start lasting.

Two UAE-specific notes.

Layers are pointless for evening sessions, and useful for early mornings. Weekday play at both our venues starts at 4pm and runs into the evening, when it stays warm. Weekend mornings — from 6am in Dubai and 7am in Abu Dhabi — can feel genuinely cool for the first twenty minutes in winter. A light layer you can take off after the warm-up is the right call then.

Both venues sit inside school grounds. Ordinary sports clothing is completely fine. It is just worth avoiding anything you would not wear into a school sports hall.

Pockets are more useful than they sound. A spare ball in your pocket saves a walk to the back of the court between points.

What to bring

Three things:

Water, more than you think. An hour of padel involves more continuous movement than an hour of tennis at the same level, because the walls keep the ball alive and the rallies simply go on longer. Bring a litre.

A small towel. For your hands more than your face. A sweaty grip is the single commonest cause of mishits in a first session, and people usually blame their technique.

A hair tie, if relevant. The glass back wall means you will be turning and looking behind you constantly.

That is the list. You do not need a bag, a wristband, grip tape or a spare shirt for a first session, however much the internet suggests otherwise.

What you do not need to bring

A racket. We provide rackets and balls at both venues for your first sessions, including junior rackets for the kids academy. Buying a racket before you have played is the classic beginner mistake — padel rackets vary a lot in shape and weight, and what suits you is something you only discover by hitting with a few.

Balls. Provided. Padel balls look like tennis balls but are slightly less pressurised, so your old tennis balls are not a substitute.

Any particular level of fitness. This comes up constantly and the answer is no. Padel is low-impact, played in doubles, and the court is small. People who have not played a sport in a decade manage an hour comfortably. If you are coming back from an injury, tell your coach at the start rather than halfway through.

For a child's first session

Same rules, with two additions. Trainers with grip rather than school shoes or fashion trainers, and a filled water bottle with their name on it. A cap is useful for weekend morning sessions.

Parents can watch — there is a viewing area beside the courts at both venues. You do not need to bring anything yourself.

More on how junior groups work is on the kids academy page.

If you are still unsure

Ask when you book. Tell us what shoes you own and we will tell you whether they will do — it takes one message and saves you buying something you did not need.

Most of the common first-session questions are answered on our padel FAQs page, and if yours is not there, message us.

Every programme at our Dubai and Abu Dhabi venues starts with a free 45-minute trial, rackets included. Turn up in trainers with a bottle of water and you are ready. If you want to know what the session itself will involve, our padel lessons for beginners in Dubai page walks through what a first block covers.