Padel went from a niche Spanish pastime to the fastest-growing racket sport on the continent in about five years. There are now close to 19 million players worldwide, and in Spain it sits second only to football. In the UK the player count passed 400,000 across more than a thousand courts.
Which means a lot of people are turning up to a court for the first time this month, wondering what they actually need. Here is the honest list — and the one thing most packing guides skip.
The kit that matters
- Racket. Borrow or rent for the first few sessions. Round-shaped rackets are more forgiving; teardrop and diamond shapes reward technique you do not have yet.
- Overgrips. Cheap, and the single biggest comfort upgrade. Bring two.
- Court shoes. Padel is played on artificial grass with sand. Running shoes slide; herringbone or omni soles grip. This is the item worth spending on first.
- Balls. Slightly lower pressure than tennis balls. Most clubs sell them at reception.
- Water and a towel. Rallies last longer than in tennis because the walls keep the ball alive.
The problem nobody writes about: pockets
Padel kit has no pockets. Your bag goes on a bench outside the glass, sometimes out of sight, often in a shared area. So where do your phone, keys and club card go?
The usual answers are all bad. In the bag means you miss every message and cannot check the court booking. Wedged in the fence is how screens get cracked. On the bench next to four other people's bags is how phones walk off.
What actually works
A crossbody phone strap keeps the phone on your body between games and lets you take it off in one movement when you step on court. It hangs at hip height, out of the swing path, and you can hand the phone to someone to film a point without unclipping anything.
For the club card and locker key, an ID cardholder strap does the same job. Most padel clubs now use card or fob entry, and a strap means it is never in the bag you left outside.
If your case has no strap loop, a phone patch adds one to the case you already own — we explained how in what is a phone patch.
Between games, not during
To be clear: you take the strap off to play. Anything hanging across your body is a snag risk in a sport with walls and fast reflex volleys. The point of the strap is the twenty minutes before, the changeover, and the walk to the bar afterwards — which in padel is most of the session.
What to wear on your wrists
An Apple Watch band in woven fabric breathes better than silicone through a long session and does not trap sweat against the wrist. Take a spare if you go straight from court to dinner — most people do.
Beaded bracelets are the other padel-club uniform. Stack a couple, take them off before you serve, put them back on for the terrace.
Two things beginners get wrong
- Buying a racket first. Play four sessions on rentals. You will not know what you like until you have hit the walls a few times.
- Wearing running shoes. Padel is lateral. Running shoes are built to go forwards, and the sand layer punishes that. This is where injuries come from.
The short version
Rent the racket, buy the shoes, bring two overgrips. And decide before you arrive where your phone is going to live — because the bench is not it.
Browse crossbody phone straps and cardholder straps. Free shipping over €150.
