"What's your level?" is the first question at most padel clubs. The answer is usually a number from 0 to 7, but there is no single official scale behind it. Apps, national federations and clubs each use their own system, and some of the best-known "levels" are really tournament categories or rankings. This guide explains the common 0–7 scale and how the main systems in Europe work, with sources at the end.
What do padel levels 0 to 7 mean?
Most clubs and apps describe padel players on a scale from 0 to 7. 0 is someone in their first sessions and 7 is one of the best professionals in the world. There is no single official version: each club, app and federation writes its own descriptions, so the same number can mean slightly different things.
These are the descriptions used in the PFM app and in our free level test:
| Level | What it looks like on court |
|---|---|
| 0 | New to padel: first sessions, learning grip and contact. |
| 1 | Tries to keep the ball in play. |
| 2 | Keeps the ball in play but struggles with volleys, the glass and smashes. |
| 3 | Consistent on court but cannot handle pressure yet. |
| 4 | Consistent, with solid overheads; turns defence at the back into an attack at the net. |
| 5 | Consistent in attack: controls pace and direction, finishes points at the net and plays tactics with the partner. |
| 6 | Professional circuit players who train daily with coaches and are mentally strong. |
| 7 | The world's top 50 professional players. |
Levels 6 and 7 describe professionals. Between 1 and 5, the skills that separate the levels most are play off the back glass, the overhead from the net (bandeja and víbora) and moving as a pair, which is why our level test gives them extra weight.
How do you find your padel level?
The quickest start is an honest self-assessment. The free PFM padel level test asks eight questions about your skills (rallies, back glass, volleys, overheads, smash, lob, serve and return, positioning) and two about the matches you play and how often. It gives a level between 0.5 and 5.5, because higher levels come from tournament results, not from a questionnaire.
A few tips make the result more useful:
- Think of a normal match, not your best day.
- Ask a coach to watch you play. Clubs and coaches may place you differently, and that is fine.
- Let results speak. Matches against players of a known level show quickly whether you are in the right place.
In the PFM – Play For More app you choose your padel level on your profile, where each step has a description, so you can find padel players at your level and create or join open matches.
Playtomic levels
Playtomic also uses a scale from 0 to 7. Your starting level comes from a questionnaire you can answer only once. After that, only competitive matches change it, based on the result, the levels of your opponents and partner, and how reliable your level is. A levelling session at a certified club sets that reliability to 50%.
Playtomic's help centre names these bands (band names as published):
| Playtomic level | Band |
|---|---|
| less than 1 | Initiation |
| 1.0–1.49 | Beginner |
| 1.5–2.4 | Initiation Intermediate |
| 2.5–3.4 | Intermediate |
| 3.5–4.4 | Intermediate High |
| 4.5–5.4 | Intermediate Advanced |
| 5.4–5.6 | Competition: players who take part in tournaments |
Two details are worth knowing. The page publishes no descriptions above 5.6, and the last two bands both include 5.4. We show them exactly as Playtomic publishes them.
LTA padel ratings and competition grades (Britain)
In Britain the LTA uses a Padel Rating from 1.0 to 7.0 in half steps. 1.0 is a beginner who is learning to get the ball in play, 4.0 has a basic understanding of padel tactics, and 5.0 is an experienced tournament player. From 6.0 to 7.0 the LTA defines semi-professional and professional players by their ranking position.
| LTA rating | LTA description (shortened) |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | beginner, getting the ball in play |
| 3.0 | pretty consistent, playing off the wall |
| 4.0 | basic understanding of padel tactics |
| 5.0 | experienced tournament player |
| 5.5 | nationally ranked |
| 6.0 | semi-professional: men outside the top 250, women outside the top 150 |
| 6.5 | professional: men in the top 250, women in the top 150 |
| 7.0 | professional: men in the top 150, women in the top 50 |
LTA competitions have five grades, each aimed at a level range:
- Grade 5, Local: Beginner.
- Grade 4, County: Beginner to Intermediate.
- Grade 3, Regional: Intermediate to Advanced.
- Grade 2, British Tour: Advanced.
- Grade 1, British Tour: Advanced to Professional.
LTA rankings are separate from the rating: they count your best 6 results over 52 weeks, with separate Open and Senior lists.
Italy: FITP fasce are a ranking, not a skill test
The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP) does not rate skill with a number. Competitive players are placed in four fasce, from prima (the strongest) to quarta, plus a separate group for players with a non-competitive card. Within each fascia players have a progressive number. Fasce are updated every four months and the numbers every month.
How you get into a fascia, according to FITP's method for padel rankings:
- New players start in the quarta fascia.
- Tennis players can start higher: a 1st category tennis ranking leads to the prima fascia, 2.1 to 2.8 to the seconda, and 3.1 to 3.5 to the terza.
- Players with an FIP or WPT ranking: positions 1 to 80 start in the prima fascia, 81 to 250 in the seconda and 251 or lower in the terza.
- Results that count: the best 12 for men and the best 10 for women over 52 weeks. Mixed doubles do not count.
The fasce are still in use: FITP held its 2026 Italian championships for seconda and terza fascia in October 2026. Letters such as B3 or C1 that you may hear at Italian clubs are not FITP levels; we found no federation source for them. Note also that B1, B2 and B3 in the FIP Beyond tour are tournament tiers, not player levels.
France: FFT P categories and the monthly ranking
In France, P25, P100 or P1000 are not player levels but tournament categories of the French Tennis Federation (FFT): P25, P50, P100, P250, P500, P1000, P2000 and P3000. The number is the points the winners receive. A player's ranking is a computed position from 1 to N, separate for men and women, published on the first Tuesday of each month.
How the FFT ranking works, according to its competition guide for 2027:
- Rolling results: your 12 best results of the last 12 months count.
- Unranked players are placed one position after the last ranked player.
- Pairs have a weight: the sum of both players' ranking positions. The lower the weight, the stronger the pair.
- P50 was added as an approved category from 1 March 2026.
Strong players may not enter the smaller categories:
| Category | Men not allowed | Women not allowed |
|---|---|---|
| P250 | top 1,000 | top 100 |
| P100 | top 5,000 | top 500 |
| P50 | top 10,000 | top 1,000 |
| P25 | top 30,000 | top 3,000 |
| P500 and above | open to all | open to all |
Figures from the FFT guide for the 2027 sporting year (1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027). Check the current edition on your league's website before entering.
Spain, Germany and Russia
We found no official national skill scale for amateur padel players in Spain, Germany or Russia. In Germany, the tennis federation DTB runs its GPT tournament structure with categories 100, 500 and 1,000 plus the GPT Finals. Letter levels you may hear at Russian clubs, such as D, C, B and A, appear to be club usage; we found no official source.
- Spain and FIP: the International Padel Federation defines tournament tiers, such as FIP Beyond B1, B2 and B3 for amateurs, and the professional ranking, but no amateur skill scale. In FIP Beyond, "Amateur" is an age category (18–39), not a level.
- Germany: in the DTB's 2024 structure the best 8 results count, and the top 200 of the FIP ranking are placed at the top of the GPT ranking automatically. The DTB writes that it is in talks with the German Padel Association (DPV) about a joint ranking; we found no official DPV ranking or level page.
- Russia: the Russian Padel Federation (ФПР) keeps a national ranking based on tournament results; according to press reports, the Russian Championship awards 2,000 ranking points. We found no official amateur level scale or published ranking rules.
Comparing padel levels across systems
No organisation publishes an official conversion between these systems. The table below lines up their own descriptions so you can find your way when a club or app uses a different scale. FITP fasce and FFT ranks are not in it, because they are rankings built from tournament results, not skill levels.
| Stage of play | PFM 0–7 | Playtomic | LTA rating | LTA competitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First sessions | 0–1 | less than 1 to 1.49 | 1.0 | Grade 5 |
| Rallies, still learning the glass | 2 | 1.5–2.4 | about 2.0–2.5 | Grade 5 |
| Consistent, plays off the wall | 3 | 2.5–3.4 | about 3.0–3.5 | Grade 4 |
| Overheads and tactics | 4 | 3.5–4.4 | about 4.0–4.5 | Grade 3–4 |
| Tournament player | 5 | 4.5–5.6 | 5.0–5.5 | Grade 2–3 |
| Professional | 6–7 | no published bands | 6.0–7.0 | Grade 1 |
Approximate, for orientation only. Each organisation defines its own scale, and the same player can be rated differently in each system.
If you are unsure between two levels when you join a match or an event, pick the lower one: playing up a level after a good result is easier than a frustrating evening for four players. Take the padel level test to get a starting point, then let your results do the rest.
Sources
- The Playtomic Levels Algorithm, Playtomic Help Center
- How the Playtomic level system works, Playtomic Help Center
- What is my padel rating?, Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)
- Local, county, regional and national padel competitions, LTA Padel
- How are padel rankings awarded and calculated?, LTA
- Metodo per la compilazione delle classifiche di Padel, Federazione Italiana Tennis e Padel (FITP)
- Campionati Italiani di Padel di seconda e terza fascia 2026, FITP
- Guide de la compétition padel 2027, chapitre I : règles générales, Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT), copy published by Padel Magazine
- Guide de la compétition padel 2027, chapitre II : classements, barèmes, assimilations, FFT, copy published by Padelspeak
- GPT Struktur, Deutscher Tennis Bund (DTB)
- FIP Beyond is born: the new global tour dedicated to amateur padel, International Padel Federation (FIP)
- Чемпионат России по паделу 2024: участники, дата, Sport24 (press report)
Frequently asked questions
- What do padel levels 0 to 7 mean?
- 0 is someone in their first sessions and 7 is one of the world's best professionals. In between, each step means more consistency, better use of the glass and stronger overheads. Every club, app and federation writes its own descriptions, so the same number can mean slightly different things.
- Is a Playtomic level the same as a PFM level?
- No. Both use 0 to 7, but the descriptions and the way the level is set differ. Playtomic moves your level after competitive matches, using the result and the levels of the other players. In the PFM app you choose your padel level on your profile, for example after taking the free level test.
- What does P100 mean in French padel?
- P100 is a tournament category of the French Tennis Federation (FFT), not a player level. The winners receive 100 ranking points. Under the FFT's 2027 guide (in force since 1 September 2026), men ranked in the top 5,000 and women in the top 500 cannot enter a P100.
- What does terza fascia mean in Italian padel?
- It is the third of the four ranking groups (fasce) that the Italian federation FITP uses for competitive players. Fasce come from tournament results and are updated every four months. They are a ranking, not a skill test.
- How do I find out my padel level?
- Start with an honest self-assessment such as the free PFM padel level test, which gives a level between 0.5 and 5.5 in about two minutes. A coach can confirm it, and match results against other players give a clearer picture over time.
