Padel lessons

Clubs offer lessons in three formats. In a private lesson the coach works with you alone, in a pairs lesson you share it with a friend, and in a group lesson there are usually four of you on one court. Four is a padel court's natural capacity: the coach can drill shots first and then have the same four play a match at the end.

A private lesson gives the fastest corrections, because the coach's attention is entirely on your grip and your footwork. A group lesson is cheaper and closer to real play; you try what you've learned in a proper rally before the lesson is over.

A sensible order for someone who has never played: the first few lessons private or in pairs, then a four-person group once the basics are in place. Without them, the first hours of a group lesson go on picking up balls.

The first question before comparing lesson prices: is court hire included? A private lesson still needs a court, and some clubs build that into the lesson price while others charge it separately. In Istanbul an hour of court hire alone runs from ₺1,000 to ₺3,000, so the difference changes the total a lot.

Clubs don't always publish these details, so you'll need to ask by phone or WhatsApp. Things to ask:

• Is court hire included in the lesson price?
• How long is a lesson?
• Are rackets and balls provided?
• For group lessons, how many players, and are groups formed by level?
• What happens to a missed lesson in a package?

Most clubs don't publish lesson prices. A roundup comparing Ankara's clubs, too, advises asking the venue directly. The published figures so far come from Istanbul.

The club prices below come from KortRehberi's Istanbul roundups dated April 2026, and the coach range from Armut. Prices may have changed; check with the club before you decide.

• Alfie The Padel (Kadıköy): 8-lesson package ₺9,600, or ₺1,200 a lesson
• O'Padel Community (Sarıyer): one-to-one private lesson ₺5,000, 4-lesson package ₺16,000
• Antuka Padel (Maltepe): a free trial lesson for beginners
• Istanbul coaches on Armut: ₺1,200–₺1,800 a lesson, depending on the request

Packages do save money: at O'Padel, four private lessons cost ₺20,000 one at a time and ₺16,000 as a package, 20% less. But the two clubs' figures above don't measure the same thing. Alfie's package doesn't say how many players a lesson has, and O'Padel's doesn't say whether the court is included. Ask both the same questions before comparing.

Take a single lesson before committing to a package. If you don't get on with the coach, an eight-lesson package ties you to them for two months. The 8-lesson package is the most common unit at clubs; at one lesson a week it lasts two months.

There's no fixed number, but a two-month package is a good yardstick. After eight weeks of one lesson a week, most people can read a ball coming off the wall, volley at the net and have a reliable serve. That's enough to join a club's beginner games.

Playing alongside the lessons is essential: someone who only takes lessons never learns to use what they've learned under match pressure. How to balance lessons with free play, and the order to work through in your first three months, is covered in “How to start playing padel”.

As your level rises, lessons shift from shots to positioning and playing with your partner. That's why, for an improving player, four-person training built around match play is often worth more than one-to-one lessons.

After the first lesson, these questions go a long way to telling you whether a package will still be going in two months:

• Are groups formed by level? In a mixed-level group both the weakest and the strongest player waste their time
• Is there a match at the end of the lesson? Trying what you've learned in play is half the lesson
• Can you find people to play with afterwards? Ask whether the club runs open games or has a players' group
• Is there a trial lesson? Some clubs give beginners the first one free
• Is the club close enough to go every week? A good club that's far away becomes the club you stop going to after two months

Telling a coach “I've just started” or “I'm intermediate” doesn't say much; everyone places themselves a little differently. Giving a number makes it easier to land in the right group, and it gives you a starting point to measure how far you've come after two months.