If you’ve started playing padel and found yourself thinking “my kids would love this” – you’re right. Padel is one of the best sports for children to pick up, and the UK junior scene, while still newer than its Spanish equivalent, is growing quickly. Most padel clubs now run junior sessions, the LTA runs a junior padel competition programme (the LTA Youth Tour), and a dedicated junior format called Mini Padel exists specifically to get children playing from a young age.
This guide answers the practical questions. If padel is new to you too, start here for a quick overview of the sport.
What age can children start?
Mini Padel – the junior entry format – works well from around age 5 upward. The playing area is often smaller, the balls are softer, and the whole experience is calibrated for children who are still developing coordination and confidence on a court.
From around 9 or 10, depending on the child’s size and athletic development, most children can transition to a full padel court. The LTA runs junior padel competitions “for children of all ages and abilities”, so there’s a structured pathway for children who enjoy competing.
There’s no firm upper age for starting. Children who begin at 12 or 13 can still develop strong technical foundations quickly – padel is forgiving in the early stages.
What is Mini Padel?
Mini Padel is a label clubs use for their youngest juniors’ sessions. We have not found an LTA or FIP standard that defines a mini padel court size, so formats vary from club to club – ask how the session is set up before you book.
Balls used in Mini Padel are low-compression foam or felt balls, similar to the orange or red balls used in junior tennis. They’re slower and bouncier than standard padel balls, giving children more time to react and far more successful rallies from the start.
Mini Padel rackets are also shorter and lighter than adult rackets. More on equipment below.
The result is a version of the sport that produces real padel from the first session. Children are rallying, using the walls, and playing point-based games within an hour.
Why padel suits children particularly well
Padel has a faster learning curve than tennis, and several structural features of the sport make it especially well-suited to younger players.
The court is enclosed, so balls don’t disappear. In tennis, a beginner child spends a lot of time chasing – or not chasing – balls that have gone out of reach. In padel, the glass walls keep the ball in play, which means more successful hits, more rally time, and less frustration.
The serve in padel is underarm and technically straightforward. Children can serve competently within a couple of sessions. In tennis, the overhead serve is one of the hardest skills to acquire and often acts as a barrier to real match play for years. Padel removes that barrier entirely.
The doubles format means children are always playing with someone alongside them, sharing a court and a goal. It’s inherently social, and the shared court creates natural encouragement and communication – useful for children who are less comfortable with individual competitive pressure.
How to find junior padel in the UK
The LTA Padel venue finder at ltapadel.org.uk lists all registered padel venues in the UK, and most entries include details on coaching programmes and junior sessions. It’s the most reliable starting point.
Playtomic is the booking platform used by most UK padel clubs. Download the app, search for clubs near you, and look at each club’s activity listings. Junior group sessions typically appear as bookable slots under “coaching” or “junior” categories.
Many clubs post junior session timetables on their own websites and social media. A direct message or phone call to your nearest club will confirm whether they run junior coaching and at what ages.
School padel programmes also exist at some sites, particularly where the LTA has partnered with education venues. If your child’s school has a padel court or has mentioned padel, ask whether sessions are being offered through the curriculum.
The LTA also runs youth padel competitions for ages 9–18 across the UK, providing children with a structured route into competitive play once they’ve developed through club coaching.
What does junior padel cost?
Junior group coaching sessions at UK padel clubs typically run between £5 and £12 per session, depending on the club, location, and session length. London-based venues tend to sit at the higher end of that range; regional clubs are usually cheaper.
Holiday camps and intensive junior programmes cost more – typically £30 to £80 per day depending on the provider and number of hours on court. Some clubs also offer term-time junior memberships that include a set number of sessions per week, which can reduce the per-session cost significantly.
It’s worth checking whether your local club runs introductory junior taster sessions, which are often free or heavily discounted. Many do, specifically to give children a first experience before parents commit to a term of coaching.
Equipment for kids
Rackets: Junior padel rackets are available from most major brands. For children aged 5–8, look for rackets weighing between 230g and 280g – lightweight and easy to swing. From 8–12, 280g to 330g with a round head shape (maximising the sweet spot) is the standard recommendation. Teenagers playing regularly can move toward adult-size rackets from around 14 onward, though many junior players use youth-specific rackets until they’re fully grown.
For an overview of what to look for in racket construction and materials, the first racket guide covers the basics – most of the principles apply to junior selection too.
Balls: For Mini Padel, clubs provide low-compression balls suitable for the format. If your child is playing at home or in informal sessions, look for foam padel balls or orange-dot tennis balls – they’re interchangeable for informal Mini Padel play.
Footwear: The same footwear rules as for adults apply. Padel is typically played on artificial grass courts – sports trainers or tennis shoes work, but padel-specific court shoes offer better grip and lateral stability. For younger children who are trying the sport for the first time, standard trainers are fine.
Can parents play with their children?
Yes. Many clubs run family-format Americanos – a rotating doubles format where everyone plays with everyone else over the course of a session. These work well for families – parents and children play on the same court without needing a fixed partner.
If you’re new to padel yourself, your first padel session will cover what to expect. The social padel scene at most clubs is welcoming to mixed-ability groups, and the Americano format is specifically designed to accommodate that.
Mixed adult-junior play on a full court works best from around age 10 upward, when children can sustain rally length at adult pacing. For younger children, a Mini Padel session or a child-and-parent coaching slot is usually more productive than open adult court time.
Is padel better for kids than tennis?
A direct comparison is worth making, because many parents are choosing between the two.
Padel’s learning curve is considerably faster in the early stages. A child who has never held a racket can participate meaningfully in a padel session within an hour. The equivalent in tennis – where a beginner must develop a reliable serve, manage baseline rallies, and deal with significant court coverage demands – takes considerably longer before match play feels rewarding.
That said, tennis develops a wider range of athletic movement (longer court, more ground to cover) and has a deeper coaching infrastructure in the UK. If your child is interested in competitive racket sport at a high level, tennis has more established pathways.
For most children, padel is simply more immediately fun. More rallies, more social, and a quicker sense of competence. That often translates into higher engagement and more consistent practice.
What happens after the first sessions?
Most children move through three stages at UK clubs: beginner group sessions (Mini Padel or adult-format depending on age), intermediate junior coaching (developing technique and court sense), and then the option to enter LTA youth competitions once they’re comfortable playing matches.
The LTA youth competition pathway runs from age 9 to 18 with events across the UK. There’s no requirement to compete – many junior players play recreationally throughout without entering tournaments – but for children who enjoy structured challenge, a clear ladder of competition exists.
Junior padel in the UK is developing fast. Clubs are building junior programmes that didn’t exist two or three years ago. Getting a child started now puts them ahead of most of their peers, and it’s a sport that rewards early familiarity with the walls, the court geometry, and the social format.