There is a big difference between playing a sport and knowing how to teach it. I learned that the hard way six years ago, when the tennis school I was working at in the Netherlands asked me to take on some padel lessons. Being Spanish apparently qualified me. I had played it, sure, but coached it? Not even once.
My preparation was YouTube. I watched many hours of content, then started giving the lessons and my students enjoyed them. I thought I was doing fine. Then I did my first proper padel coaching course and realised how much I had been improvising. The glass, the pair dynamic, the tactical logic of padel: I had been guessing at things I did not yet understand. The course did not embarrass me. It just showed me where the real work was.
What transfers from tennis
The coaching fundamentals. Knowing how to read a player, structuring a session, correcting mistakes without killing confidence, keeping a group progressing. Those skills came from years of tennis coaching and they carried over directly. If you have built a real pedagogy through tennis, that is worth something in padel.
What does not
The glass is a concept that simply does not exist in tennis. Learning to read it, use it, and teach it is a completely different story. It takes time, court hours, and a real willingness to learn something from scratch rather than adapt what you already know. The pair dynamic is also different. Padel is always doubles, and every decision on court is relational. Where you move depends on where your partner is. I was coaching individuals when padel demands you coach pairs. And the serve means something completely different. In tennis it is a weapon. In padel it is a neutral shot that simply starts the rally. Tennis coaches tend to over-coach it because it feels familiar, while the things that actually matter in padel go under-coached.
For clubs
A tennis coaching background is an asset, not a shortcut. A tennis coach with no padel training can handle beginner sessions if they prepare properly. Intermediate and advanced groups will expose the gaps quickly. If you want the transition to work, invest in it: get your coach through a proper padel coaching course before they work unsupervised.
For coaches
Get formal training early, not after a year of winging it. Play with intention, study the methodology, and be honest about the gaps. The transition works. I am proof of that. But it works because of the learning, not in spite of skipping it.
Borja Camacho is the founder of Padel Maestros, a sports recruitment agency connecting qualified padel coaches with clubs around the world.
