What a 3.5 does
- Plays a reliable bandeja from the service line back
- Aims volleys at the feet of the player further back
- Defends off both glasses and lobs out of trouble
What a 3.5 does not do yet
- Start moving before the lob is struck
- Let a ball go to the glass when that is the better shot
- Cross to cover the middle when a partner is pulled wide
What to work on next
Which overhead, and when: bandeja, víbora or smash, and when to let the ball come off the glass instead. Bandeja, víbora or smash: which overhead to hit and when.
On the other scales
The converter files 3.5 under Intermediate: comfortable in matches, some tactics, you use the walls rather than fear them. That reads as MATCHi 6 and LTA 4.0; 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
Beat a pair rated above you and you jump; lose to a pair rated below you and you fall. Matches entered as friendly do not count. Five to ten unforced errors in a set is the 3 to 3.5 band. The long version is in padel levels explained.