Your level helps us put you in games that are close and fun. Here’s what each level looks like on court, and how yours moves.
Our scale
Levels run from 1.0 to 7.0, with a separate level for padel and for pickleball. They’re Padel Park’s own levels, made for our club: they don’t represent national or international standards.
Padel is still new in New Zealand and lots of our players come from tennis and squash, so our levels sit a little friendlier than overseas guides. A rule of thumb:
How to read the guide: “can do it” means about 7 times out of 10 in a normal game, not on your best day or in a drill. If you’re between two levels, pick the lower one: the system moves you up quickly if you’re better than that.
Padel guide
1.5
Absolute beginner
Learning the rules, scoring and where to stand.
Rallies of 2 or 3 shots; the serve is hit and miss.
Avoids the glass and lets the ball bounce twice at the back.
Winners happen by accident.
Suits: Intro to Padel, Padel Social
2.0
Early beginner
Rallies of 4 or 5 slow shots with cooperative players.
The serve mostly lands in; trying volleys at the net.
Starting to let the ball come off the back glass; side glass still tricky.
Can finish an easy high ball when in the right spot.
Suits: Padel Social
2.5
Beginner with control
Keeps rallies of 6 to 8 shots going at a slow-medium pace.
Controls a volley when the ball is slow; a basic smash when it’s high and close.
Comfortable off the back glass; a double glass (back then side) still beats them.
Most points come from the other team’s mistakes.
Suits: Padel Social
3.0
Social intermediate
Keeps a medium-pace rally of 6 to 8 shots going: this is where Intermediate starts.
Forehand and backhand fairly steady; volleys improving.
Fine off the back glass both sides and gets a slow double glass back.
Smashes when the ball is clearly there; still pushed off the net by stronger players.
Suits: Intermediate Padel
3.5
Solid club player
Rallies of 8 to 10 shots with intent, aiming cross-court.
Places volleys; knows why taking and holding the net matters.
A controlled overhead (bandeja) to stay at the net; picks when to smash.
Defends a double glass at medium pace and lobs under light pressure.
Suits: Intermediate Padel
4.0
Strong intermediate
Rallies of 8 to 10 shots at a medium-fast pace; net battles are normal.
A consistent bandeja with depth, and a placed smash.
Confident with double glass both sides and lobs to reset under pressure.
Builds points with depth and finishes when the ball sits up.
Suits: Intermediate Padel, Park League competitive
4.5
Advanced club player
Long tactical rallies of 10 to 12 shots at pace; very steady volleys under pressure.
Reliable bandeja, a víbora appearing, a directional smash.
Defends fast double glass and smash rebounds; rarely panics.
Keeps the pressure on until the short ball comes, then finishes it.
Suits: Park League competitive, tournaments
5.0+
Set by Padel Park
High-level and competitive players: we set these levels with you.
Suits: Talk to the team
Pickleball guide
1.5
New to pickleball
Still learning the rules, the kitchen and the scoring.
Serves and returns often miss.
Mostly stays back at the baseline.
Suits: Intro to Pickleball, Pickleball Social
2.0
Beginner
Knows the basic rules; the kitchen and scoring trip them up sometimes.
Serves and returns mostly go in.
Comes to the net sometimes but gets caught in the middle.
Suits: Pickleball Social
2.5
Improving beginner
Knows the rules, the kitchen and the two-bounce rule, and calls the score.
Serves and returns go in nearly every time.
Can dink a few balls; gets to the line but fast hands battles beat them.
Suits: Pickleball Social
3.0
Social intermediate
Deep serves and returns that keep the other team back.
Keeps a dink rally going for 5 or more; trying third shot drops.
Gets to the kitchen line with their partner and blocks most speed-ups.
Suits: Pickleball Int/Adv
3.5
Solid intermediate
Places the serve and return; dinks with direction, including cross-court.
The third shot drop lands in the kitchen most of the time.
Holds the line, blocks well and counters some speed-ups.
Suits: Pickleball Int/Adv
4.0
Strong player
Varies pace, spin and placement on serve.
Patient dinking that moves the other team; chooses a drop or a drive.
Wins most fast exchanges and picks when to speed up.
Suits: Pickleball Int/Adv
4.5+
Advanced
Resets hard balls into the kitchen, reliable drops under pressure, quick hands. We set these levels with you.
Suits: Talk to the team
Your starting level
Everyone starts at 2.0 for padel and for pickleball, unless you’ve set a level in the MatchPoint app.
Think you’re better than that? Take the level quiz. It’s one go per sport, before you’ve played 10 games here, and if you’re happy with the result it becomes your level straight away.
From then on, your games decide. Not sure it’s right? Email office@padelpark.nz or ask at the desk.
What counts, and when it updates
Socials and Intermediate nightsPadel and pickleball nights run on our system. Your level updates once the night is finished (the same night, or overnight).
Park LeagueEach game, as soon as the score is in.
Christmas LeagueOvernight, so a typo in a score can be fixed first.
Logged matchesOpen matches you log at padelpark.nz/log, played in the last 7 days. It updates when an opponent confirms, or after 72 hours if nobody flags it.
Not counted: lessons and coaching, intro sessions, and courts you book with friends, unless you log the match. Every player needs to be on our players list (anyone who’s played or booked with us).
How your level moves
It’s the share of games you win. Before a match, the levels say what share of games each side should win. Beat that and you go up; fall short and you come down. Your partner’s level counts too.
Big wins against stronger players move you most. A 3.0 who beats a 3.5 pair 6–0 6–0 goes up about +0.19. Win 6–4 6–4 and it’s about +0.07; win in three sets, 6–4 4–6 6–3, about +0.06. Beat a weaker pair as expected and it barely moves.
Winning never costs you. A win never lowers your level and a loss never raises it. Losers drop a little less than winners gain.
One event, one match. A whole social or Intermediate night counts as one match (the average of your rounds). A Park League night is two games, so each counts half. A Christmas League match or a logged match counts as one.
Confirm your matches. A logged match an opponent confirms counts in full. One that just stands after 72 hours counts three quarters.
Fair play. Pickleball singles counts three quarters (doubles is the main game), and the third match with the same players in a week counts half.
Reliability
Next to your level is a reliability: how sure the system is about it. It goes up 10% with every game you play here in the last 12 months (socials, leagues and logged matches), so 10 games is 100%.
New (under 30%) and Settling (30 to 79%): your level moves up to one and a half times faster, so it finds its spot quickly.
Reliable (80% and up): your level moves at the normal rate.
Had a break? After 3 months without a game your reliability drops, and after 6 months it drops more, so your level catches up quickly when you’re back. Your level itself doesn’t drop.
Players still settling are marked on the Rankings.
Seeing your level
Your page: on Log a match, once you’ve got your link: your level and reliability in both sports, which session suits you, and a graph of your level over time with every game, who you played with and against, and the score.
Rankings: after 3 games you appear on the public Rankings, by first name and the first letter of your surname. Rather not? Email us and we’ll take you off; you keep your level either way.
MatchPoint: the team copies levels into MatchPoint each month, so the app shows them too.
Questions
I won but my level barely moved. Why?
You were expected to win. Beating a lower-rated pair as expected moves you a little; beating a stronger pair, or winning by more than expected, moves you more.
Why did my level jump so much early on?
Your reliability was still low, so your level moves faster to find its spot. It calms down after about 10 games.
Can I lose level for winning?
No. A win never lowers your level and a loss never raises it.
My partner is much better than me. Is that unfair?
No: it uses your pair’s average level, so a stronger partner raises what your side is expected to win.
Are padel and pickleball levels connected?
No, they’re separate. A great padel player starts pickleball at its own starting level.
Someone logged the wrong score.
Flag it from the email or on Log a match. The team checks it, fixes it if needed, and tells everyone in the match.
I think my level is wrong.
Not played 10 games yet? Take the level quiz (one go per sport). Otherwise, email us or ask at the desk.
Fair and honest
Please be honest about your level: overrating yourself makes for one-sided games and slower improvement. Padel Park may adjust a level if results or what we see on court show a different level fits better, so everyone gets close, fun games.
