What a 0.5 does
- Gets most underarm serves in
- Sends a slow ball back over the net from the middle of the court
- Knows the score goes 15, 30, 40, even if someone says it out loud
What a 0.5 does not do yet
- Let the ball come off the back glass on purpose
- Know where to stand when a partner serves or receives
- Volley: everything is played after the bounce
What to work on next
The score, the serve and the two places to stand at the start of a point. They make every game run, and nobody else can learn them for you. Your first padel game: what to bring, how to score, where to stand.
On the other scales
The converter files 0.5 under Complete beginner: brand new: learning the serve, the score and where to stand. That reads as MATCHi 1 and LTA 1.0; Padel Mates uses the same 0 to 7 numbers as Playtomic. None of it is official, and the bands hold to about half a point. Convert any number.
How the number moves
New players swing: until the reliability figure next to your level passes about 85 percent, two bad evenings can take half a point off. Play, enter every result, and let it settle. More than ten unforced errors in a set puts a player at 2.5 or under. The long version is in padel levels explained.