The short answer: pass the LTA Padel Instructor Readiness Test, complete the five-day LTA Padel Instructor (Level 2) qualification, get your first aid, safeguarding, DBS and insurance in place, then apply for LTA Coach Accreditation. That gets you coaching groups legitimately at a UK venue.
The longer answer is that the qualification is the easy part. I’ve been coaching padel since founding KG Padel Academy in 2024, and before that I spent 17 years running kitchens as a catering manager and executive chef. Both jobs taught me the same thing: the skill gets you in the door, but the business side decides whether you last.
This guide covers both.
Why now is a good time
Padel in Britain went from 15,000 players in 2019 to over 1,000,000 by May 2026, according to the LTA, across 1,825 courts at 551 venues. The LTA says demand for qualified padel coaches has never been higher. Courts keep opening, and every one of them needs someone to run beginner sessions, groups and juniors.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy money. It means the demand is real if you set yourself up properly.
Do you need to be a great player?
You need to be a good one. The LTA sets a bar before you can start the Instructor course: either pass the LTA Padel Instructor Readiness Test, or hold a current ranking inside the top 100 of the LTA Padel Rankings.
I still compete – I’ve been in the UK top 50 for the last three years – and it helps. Players trust a coach who can show them the shot, and competing keeps you honest about what works under pressure. But being a strong player and being a good coach are different skills. Plenty of excellent players are poor coaches because they can’t explain what they do naturally.
The LTA padel coaching pathway
The LTA runs padel coaching qualifications alongside its tennis ones. The pathway is still being built out, and the plan is for five levels in time, matching tennis. Right now it looks like this:
- Introduction to Padel Coaching (CPD). A short course for tennis coaches, other racket-sport coaches and enthusiasts. Useful as a taster. You don’t need it to do the Instructor course.
- LTA Padel Instructor (Level 2). The current entry point, and the qualification most working padel coaches hold.
- LTA Padel Coach (Level 3). The next step up, launched in 2026.
LTA Padel Instructor (Level 2): what’s involved
The Instructor qualification is five days of face-to-face training: four days of core training plus one elective. The days are split, with at least four weeks between them, so you’re coaching and practising in between rather than cramming.
You choose one elective:
- Coaching Kids Padel
- How to Coach the Double Glass
If you want to work with juniors, take the kids elective. Junior programmes are one of the steadiest sources of work for a coach, because parents book a term at a time.
The course teaches you to structure a padel lesson using game-based methodology – getting players playing and learning through the game, rather than standing in a line feeding balls for an hour.
You book and pay through the LTA’s Workforce Development Centres, which are the official training providers around the country. Fees and dates are set by each centre, so check the one nearest you on the LTA website.
LTA Padel Coach (Level 3): is it worth it?
I’m doing Level 3 now, so I can answer from the inside.
If coaching is your main income, and you want to work with squads, competitive players or other coaches, it’s worth it. It changes the kind of work you can take on.
If you’re coaching a few hours a week alongside another job, I’d say Level 2 and plenty of court time will probably do more for you than another qualification. Get the hours in first.
Coming from tennis, or from abroad
A lot of padel coaches come from tennis, and I’m one of them – I hold a French tennis coaching qualification. Tennis coaching experience gives you a head start on running sessions and managing groups, but don’t assume the technique transfers. The swing is different, the walls change everything, and some tennis habits need unlearning. That’s true for you as a coach and for the tennis players you’ll teach.
If you hold a coaching qualification from outside the LTA system, the LTA lets you check it against an ITF comparison so you can coach in the UK and access its accreditation scheme. Do that before you pay for a course you might not need.
Accreditation: being safe to coach
The qualification says you’ve been trained. Accreditation says you’re safe to practise. LTA Coach Accreditation is the professional membership scheme, and it means you’re qualified, insured, and up to date on first aid and safeguarding. Venues will expect it, and so will parents.
Before your first paid session, have:
- Your LTA qualification
- A face-to-face first aid certificate no more than three years old, such as Emergency First Aid at Work (required for accreditation)
- Safeguarding training
- A DBS check, especially if you’ll coach juniors
- Public liability and professional indemnity insurance
- LTA Coach Accreditation
There’s also an Accredited+ level, which commits you to at least 15 hours of professional development a year. If you’re serious about coaching as a career, it’s worth it – it shows on your LTA coach profile, and players do look.
What it costs
Course fees vary by training centre, so I won’t give you a number for the course alone that might be wrong where you are. What I can tell you is that across my qualifications – French tennis, LTA Level 2, and Level 3 – I’ve spent around £5,000.
On top of the course fees, budget for:
- First aid and safeguarding courses
- DBS check
- Insurance
- LTA licence and accreditation
- Kit: rackets, balls (they don’t last long), baskets and cones
- Travel to the course days, and any days off work to attend them
How long it takes
The Level 2 course itself is five days spread over at least a month. Add the readiness test, first aid, safeguarding and DBS, and most people are looking at a couple of months from deciding to coach to being accredited, depending on course dates near them.
Getting good at it takes longer. Your first 100 hours of coaching will teach you more than the course did.
The part nobody tells you: you’re running a business
This is what I wish someone had told me before I started. The coaching is the easy part. The admin, chasing payments, court costs and cancellations are what catch you out.
I coach between 25 and 35 hours a week, and I spend another 20 to 25 hours on admin. That’s not a typo. Messages, scheduling, working out who’s paid, rebooking cancellations – it’s a second job. Until recently my payments came in through three separate Stripe accounts plus bank transfers, so just working out who had paid took real time.
Three things to set up properly on day one, because changing them later is much harder:
Your prices. Most new coaches price per hour without taking off court hire, tax and travel, so they earn far less than they think. Work out what you actually clear after costs, then set your price from that. I’ve written more on this in Padel Coaching Pricing: What to Charge Per Hour.
Your cancellation policy. Mine is 24 hours’ notice. Life gets in the way, so sometimes I’ll give a credit instead of charging – but a no-show or a really late cancellation gets charged. Decide yours before your first client, and tell people up front.
Packages. If every session is a one-off, every week is a fresh sale. Blocks of sessions and memberships give people a weekly slot, and once it’s part of their routine they keep coming.
The costs new coaches forget are in 5 Ways Freelance Padel Coaches Lose Money. Court hire is the big one: you pay for the court whether the session is full or not.
Where the work is
Most UK padel coaches work in one of three ways:
- Employed or contracted by a club. The club sets prices and fills sessions; you get a fee per hour. Steady, but you don’t own your clients.
- Independent at one or more venues. You hire courts by the hour and sell your own sessions. More money per hour, more risk, more admin.
- Running an academy. A club subcontracts its coaching to you, and you build a team. That’s how KG Padel Academy works with The Padel Team – the club subcontracts its academy to us, and I pay for the courts by the hour.
I started out marketing myself as Kevin the coach. As more coaches joined, I realised people were coming for the academy, not just for me, so that’s what I had to build. Think early about which of these you’re aiming for, because it changes how you market yourself.
Before your first paid session: a checklist
- LTA Padel Instructor (Level 2) complete
- First aid, safeguarding and DBS done
- Insurance in place
- LTA Coach Accreditation applied for
- A venue agreed, and you know who pays for the court
- Prices worked out from what you clear after costs
- A written cancellation policy
- At least one package or block option
- A way to take bookings and payments that isn’t three Stripe accounts and a spreadsheet
FAQ
Can I coach padel without a qualification?
Nothing stops you legally, but most venues require an LTA qualification and accreditation, and without insurance you’re exposed. Parents of junior players will ask.
Do I need a tennis qualification first?
No. The LTA Padel Instructor course stands on its own. You need to pass the readiness test or hold a top 100 LTA Padel ranking.
How much do padel coaches earn in the UK?
It depends on where you coach, who pays the court, and how full your diary is. Read Padel Coaching Pricing: What to Charge Per Hour for real rates and how to work out what you actually clear.
Can I coach padel part-time?
Yes, and plenty of coaches do. Get Level 2, build your hours, and decide on Level 3 once coaching is your main income.
Coaches on PadelEngage handle bookings, payments and cancellations in one place. If the admin section above sounded familiar, have a look.
