What to Wear for Padel (Your First Session)
Quick Answer: Sports clothes you can move sideways in, and court shoes. Everything else is optional; the shoes are not. Running shoes have no lateral support and slide on the sand that dresses a padel court, which is how ankles roll. Bring a layer for indoors, a spare shirt, and an overgrip.
Padel has no dress code worth the name. Nobody at your club cares what brand you are wearing and nobody will comment on your shorts. There is exactly one item where the choice actually matters, and most beginners get it wrong on the first visit because they own a perfectly good pair of running shoes.
The shoes, which are the whole article
A padel court is artificial turf dressed with silica sand. It is a surface designed to let you slide a little and grip a lot, and what you have on your feet decides which of those you get.
Running shoes are the wrong tool, for two separate reasons. The tall, soft foam that makes them comfortable in a straight line makes them unstable side to side, so when you plant hard for a volley the shoe can roll over its own edge and take your ankle with it. And the smooth road outsole skates on the thin layer of sand sitting on top of the turf. Running shoes "on a padel court = no lateral support", as one shoe guide puts it, which is a blunt way of saying the shoe is doing none of the job you need it to do.
That matters because the ankle and foot were the most injured region — 18.5% — in a survey of 364 amateur padel players, and 64.7% of those injuries came on suddenly, which is the signature of a slip or a roll rather than an overload. Physiotherapy clinics that treat padel players list "wear appropriate footwear" alongside warming up in their prevention basics.
What to look for instead, in one line each:
| Sole | What it does | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Herringbone (fishbone) | Grips on push-off, still allows a controlled slide | The default; suits indoor and most outdoor courts |
| Omni (small studs) | More grip, less slide | Wet or slippery outdoor courts |
| Hybrid | Herringbone at the front, omni at the back | If your club has both surfaces |
Beyond the sole, you want reinforcement around the midfoot and the sides, because in padel you rotate towards the glass constantly, and a shoe with a soft upper lets your foot slide inside it while the shoe stays put.
Tennis shoes are a reasonable stand-in for a first session — they are built for lateral movement, which is the important half. Running shoes are not, and the club will usually rent or sell something suitable if you turn up in them.
Clothes: whatever you would wear to a gym
Padel is warm work in a small enclosure, especially indoors. The practical list:
- Shorts or a skirt with at least one pocket. You serve with a second ball, and there is nowhere to put it otherwise. Pocketless leggings are the single most common first-session annoyance.
- A technical t-shirt rather than cotton. Ninety minutes in a glass box is more sweat than people expect.
- Sports socks with some cushioning. Thin cotton socks plus lateral movement equals blisters by the second set.
- A cap outdoors. You will be looking up at lobs into the sun for an hour and a half.
Skip jeans, skip anything with a stiff waistband, and skip a jacket you would mind sweating in.
Indoors, outdoors, and the layer question
Indoors is usually warmer than it looks and much warmer than it feels for the first three minutes. Arrive in a layer, keep it on for the warm-up, take it off before the first game.
Outdoors in winter the layer stays on longer. Cold muscles are the padel injury story in a sentence, and the first hard push-off backwards is the moment it happens. Long sleeves and a light top until you are properly warm, then strip down.
Outdoors in summer, particularly on a glass court in direct sun, bring more water than you think and a second shirt. A padel court reflects heat from four directions.
The overgrip nobody mentions
Here is the piece of kit no one tells a beginner about, and it costs about the price of a coffee.
An overgrip is a thin strip of tape you wrap over the racket's existing handle. It does two things: it stops your hand slipping when the grip gets damp, and it thickens the handle slightly. Both matter more than they sound. A slippery grip makes you squeeze harder, and squeezing harder for 90 minutes is one of the routes to padel elbow — the most reported upper-body complaint in the sport.
Buy a pack, put a fresh one on when the old one goes shiny, and that is the entire subject. If you are renting a racket, ask whether the club has a clean grip on it; the honest answer is often no.
While you are checking the racket, check the wrist cord. Under the International Padel Federation's Rules of Padel the racket must carry a non-elastic cord of up to 35 cm and wearing it is not optional — dropping the racket in a 10 m enclosure with three other people in it is exactly the hazard the rule exists for.
What to bring, and what to leave
Bring: court shoes, a change of shirt, water, a cap outdoors, an overgrip, and the balls if it is your turn.
Do not bring: a racket you bought online last night. Rent for the first three or four sessions — padel rackets vary enormously in weight, shape and stiffness, and you cannot tell what suits you until your arm has an opinion. When you are ready, choosing a first racket without overspending covers the three specs that matter. What the whole kit costs across a year, alongside court hire, is in is padel expensive.
For everything else about a first visit — what the club hands you, where to stand, what happens in the first ten minutes — first time playing padel walks through the session itself.
Get the shoes right and you have made the only decision on this page that matters. The other decisions padel will ask of you, from cadence to cost, are in the padel life guide.
FAQ
Can you play padel in running shoes?
You can, and clubs will let you, but it is the one piece of kit worth getting right. Running shoes have a tall soft midsole and a smooth outsole, which gives poor side-to-side stability and little grip on sand-dressed turf. Padel is a sport of constant lateral movement, and the ankle and foot are among the most injured regions in it. Tennis shoes are a reasonable substitute; padel-specific shoes are better.
What shoes should you wear for padel?
A court shoe with a herringbone sole is the default and suits indoor and most outdoor courts. Omni soles with small studs give more grip and less slide on wet outdoor courts, and hybrids split the difference. Look for reinforcement around the sides and midfoot, because padel constantly asks the foot to rotate under load.
What should I wear for my first padel session?
Sports shorts or a skirt with a pocket for the second serve ball, a technical t-shirt, cushioned sports socks and court shoes. Bring water, a spare shirt and a layer for the start. Rent the racket at the club rather than buying one, and ask whether the grip has been changed recently.
Is there a dress code for padel?
Almost never at club level: normal sports clothing is fine and nobody minds what brand it is. A few private clubs ask for non-marking soles or ban football shirts, and some competitions ask pairs to look reasonably alike, so check if you are playing at a new venue for the first time.
Do you need special clothes for padel or will tennis kit do?
Tennis kit is padel kit. The court is smaller and enclosed, so it tends to run warmer than an outdoor tennis court, which is an argument for lighter fabric and a spare shirt rather than for anything specialised. The only genuine difference is the sole of the shoe, and even there most tennis shoes work.