What a 5.5 does
- Wins the long rallies against club players
- Uses the chiquita to stop a pair taking the net
- Finishes with the smash, por tres when the court allows
What a 5.5 does not do yet
- Give away the net with a short lob
- Drift in concentration in a deciding set
- Play the same pattern twice running against a good pair
What to work on next
Knowing when not to attack. In the Lab's own count of 303 positions, the attacking shot was the right call one time in twenty. Lab note: attack is right 5% of the time.
On the other scales
The converter files 5.5 under Competitive: tournament player who reads the game and wins the long points. That reads as MATCHi 8 and LTA 6.0; 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
At this end of the scale a win against a weaker pair moves you almost nothing: the level climbs only against pairs at or above it. Under five unforced errors in a set is at least a 4. The long version is in padel levels explained.