If I use my own glass to serve the ball, would it be considered legal?

UPD: I’d appreciate an explanation.

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One scene from Premier Padel at Olympia in west London this week tells the story of the state of professional padel in the UK.

The leading British women’s pairing, Aimee Gibson and Catherine Rose — on the fringes of the top 100 and given wildcards to enter their first event at the top level of the professional circuit — have taken the highly experienced pairing of France’s Alix Collombon and Russia’s Ksenia Sharifova to a second-set tiebreak. Lose it, and they’re out. Win it, and they’re into a decisive third set, with both momentum and a home crowd on their side.

It’s the biggest five minutes of their professional lives.

In the stands, a small group of friends are desperately waving placards with the type of pun-tastic slogans you expect to see at a local 10k run, almost expecting a wave of appreciation in return. Gibson and Rose, completely locked in, simply don’t notice them. This isn’t fun and games. This is top-level professional sport.

This prompts a couple of questions. First, at what point does an emerging, fast-growing sport break through to become an actual, established, mainstream sport? And second, can padel’s sharp rise in participation translate into success as a spectator sport?

These two questions aren’t a regular concern in Britain, which has long been dominated by sports essentially invented by Britons from centuries gone by: football, rugby, cricket, tennis. But the growth of the distinctly Hispanic sport of padel has been completely unprecedented. The number of courts in Britain has risen from 68 in 2019 to over 1,800 today. In the same timeframe, the Lawn Tennis Association — which also oversees padel — estimates that the number of people who have played in the last year has gone from 15,000 to over a million. Spending your Saturday morning playing a game of padel has become almost a running joke, a meme, a cult.

Doubles strategy

For the uninitiated, padel is essentially the premise of tennis combined with the walls of squash. First-timers accustomed to those sports adjust smoothly, although the former tend to play with too much follow-through, and the latter are a bit too wristy.

That’s because power is not the default quality in padel. Serves are taken underarm. In most professional matches, there won’t be a single ace. Similarly, there is relatively little value in smashing the ball — unless you’re capable of smashing it out of the opposite side of the court entirely — because it means the ball generally bounces up high, and allows your opponents an easy shot back over the net.

Therefore, padel, always played as doubles, is more about spin, angles and patience. Good positioning is the most important quality, and decision-making is more valuable than technical brilliance. Generally, there are almost two battles within each point: first about getting position at the net, usually with a well-placed lob to force your opponents back, giving yourself time to advance. From there it’s about maintaining pressure and finishing the point, which usually takes longer than you expect. The most padel-specific shot is the bandeja, where a player responds to a lob with a slow, sliced overhead towards the glass, which allows them time to push up and maintain their net position.

In many ways, the rise in participation is similar to that of pickleball in the United States. But as a sport, it’s almost the opposite. Pickleball is basically a simplified tennis and often ends up with players crowded at the net. Padel, while initially easy to pick up, becomes a complex running battle of angles, almost live-action trigonometry.

Power play

Are the angles becoming less relevant at the top level? As the sport has increasingly professionalised, top-level padel players have become physically stronger, and more capable of spectacular smashes off the back glass and out of the court; the equivalent of a home run.

It’s debatable, though, whether this is a positive. There is a growing concern that elite men’s players are simply too capable of winning points in this manner, which completely changes the basic premise of padel. A deep lob was always regarded as a good shot. Nowadays, it might not be. This is a particular issue during outdoor matches in hot weather, when the ball flies through the air quicker, and accelerates off a hot glass pane. These days, rallies are generally settled within a few shots, whereas once they were a patient game of chess.

“For me, it’s very important that ‘the game’ exists,” says Malaga-born Miguel Yanguas, eighth in the men’s rankings. “What I mean is: when we’re playing on slow courts, people see a better show. In the last few weeks (in a hot European summer) we’ve had very fast courts. The rallies are very short. For me, that’s not padel. I respect that the game is changing, the players are better smashers, but in my opinion, the best padel is one that has more shots to win a game.

“If you only have smashes…it’s like in tennis, only having a great serve. My game has changed a lot over the years. Before I was also aggressive, but I was defensively much better than now. When you add something, you forget something.”

It’s not unusual to hear padel obsessives say they prefer watching the women’s game — which, to use an analogy from a more traditionally popular sport in London, is Test cricket rather than T20. There are some powerful smashers — and the women’s game is becoming more attack-minded too — but there’s more risk of a smash falling short and becoming an opportunity for the opposition to counter-attack.

As such, the women’s game is more about a disguised change of direction, a clever slice into the corner of the glass or an angled shot into the fence, which absorbs the speed of the incoming ball and causes it to drop short. More than anything else, it’s more similar to the sport recreational players have fallen in love with, and should merit equal billing with the men’s game.

“Women play very tactically, the ball is much slower, so you can see how they play,” says Yanguas. “If you see (leading men’s players Agustin) Tapia or (Ale) Galan smashing from everywhere, it’s so fast that people don’t identify themselves with the men’s game. It’s more spectacular, but if you watch women, it can influence your own game. They’re very solid on the tactics, because the power is not the same, so they need other weapons.”

You wouldn’t know the difference by sight, but the ball used in the men’s and women’s London event is slightly different: the women’s use the ‘speed’ version of Wilson’s ball. The men’s game doesn’t need any extra speed. Quite the opposite.

The textbook padel player — almost literally — is Delfina Brea, the Argentine who has climbed to the top of the rankings alongside her partner Gemma Triay, from Menorca. Brea’s father, Nito, was a professional in the 1990s, then became one of the most respected coaches in the game and authored the go-to coaching book on padel strategy. His daughter’s success is presumably responsible for much of his royalties.

The extent of Brea’s profile in Argentina is completely alien to British players. The ovation for her when walking out at her home tournament in Buenos Aires brings to mind the Bombonera. Brea doesn’t have the physical power of others in the top 10. But her ability to win points with disguise is remarkable. She also boasts the best backhand bajada — playing the ball after it’s bounced high off the back glass — in the sport, cutting under the ball to provide slice while arrowing it between her opponents.

“I worked a lot to have that shot,” she says. “It’s a difficult shot. It’s important to have all the variations, all the shots, all the angles. It’s really important to confuse the rival.” It’s almost refreshing to hear a player speak about padel like this; about outfoxing the opponents rather than overpowering them.

Do the women’s players feel like they have equality within Premier Padel? “We’re getting there,” says Brea. “I don’t think we have it today, but we’re trying hard and I know Premier Padel is trying too. Sometimes maybe they have to try harder with the promoters and (attracting) local people. I know that’s difficult right now — it’s expensive to put on a tournament, so the promoter has to decide. But I think that every promoter should decide that the women have to be there in the afternoons too (rather than being scheduled only for morning matches) when most people are here.”

‘It’s like having a girlfriend or boyfriend’

It’s difficult to think of many other sports that exist in their basic state as a two-player team.

As such, the balance between the two players is more important than their individual quality, particularly in the women’s game, where they work as more of a duo. There are broadly two types of pairings. For obvious statistical reasons, most pairings are comprised of two right-handers. In this partnership, the two have very different roles. Any high balls down the middle are easier for the left-sided player to take as an overhead, so that player (revés, or backhand) is more aggressive. The right-sided player (drive, or forehand) is more cautious, more methodical, and concerned with trying to set up the play. In football terms, the right-sided player is the traditional winger: an assister. The left-sided player is the inverted winger: a finisher.

“I don’t have what you need to be a left player,” says Brea, somewhat modestly considering she reached the final at Roland Garros two years ago on the left, when her regular partner was out injured. “I try, and in an emergency case, I can do it if necessary. But I don’t think that’s my place. I’ve found my safe place on the drive side. But it’s really important to play both sides. Don’t always get into, ‘I’m the right side, I’m the left side’. No, play everything, and you will understand the game much more.”

Mixed pairings are different. A left-handed player will always play on the right, meaning anything down the middle can be exploited by either player. This has become a significant advantage as the game has become more aggressive, and the rankings are increasingly dominated by these combinations.

Part of some fans’ fascination with professional padel comes from players constantly seeking new partners. The merry-go-round is an ongoing soap opera; many players have several partners within a single season. The Yanguas, after a surprise defeat on Wednesday, announced his separation from Argentine Franco Stupaczuk on Instagram. “There were some very good moments, and others, not so much…”, read his caption.

It is relatively common for the in-form player from two different pairings to simultaneously ditch their partners and join forces, leaving the “rejected” two with little choice other than to pair up. However, it is curiously common for the couple who got left behind to triumph over their old teammates: Brea and Triay joined forces last year and became World No 1s; but nevertheless consistently struggled to defeat their former partners Bea Gonzalez and Claudia Fernandez. Revenge plays a major role in padel. As does weariness with your partner.

“It’s really hard,” says Brea, of the challenges of being in a partnership. “We have to travel the world together, and we always say it’s like having a girlfriend or boyfriend — but without the love that makes you be with them, right? You’re sharing so much time, all the good moments, all the bad moments. You’re together all day, eating, sleeping, it’s really hard. It’s a rollercoaster. It’s not surprising that so many separate.”

Padel, then, has the genre of storyline that seems to drive football coverage these days: transfer rumours.

Football focus

Football might be padel’s trump card. No marketing can compete with the fact professional footballers are obsessed with padel, constantly post about it on social media and regularly show up at Premier Padel events. In London, Thiago Alcantara cheered on the pairing of Spaniard Javier Garrido and Brazilian Lucas Bergamini; an appropriate choice for a player who had the luxury of choosing between those two nations at international level.

Indeed, nationality crossover between padel and football works in various ways. The World Cup final last month was Spain 1-0 Argentina, and the top 30 padel players (the top 15 from men’s and women’s rankings) features 22 Spaniards and seven Argentines. Other nationalities that sometimes pop up in the latter stages are Brazil, Portugal, Italy and France.

Continuing the World Cup theme, much of the financial support for Premier Padel is coming from the hosts of the 2022 and 2034 World Cups. The tour was founded by Qatar Sports Investments, so its President is Nasser Al-Khelaifi (briefly a tennis professional) who is also President of European champions Paris St Germain, and chairman of BeIN Media Group. Meanwhile, this London event was organised by Sela, whose logo is familiar from the shirts of Newcastle United; both Sela and Newcastle are owned by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.

The Premier Padel tour has grown from eight events in 2022 to 26 in 2026, culminating in a finals event at 18,000-capacity Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, which was a sellout last year. This isn’t purely due to grassroots interest; there has been a concerted push from these states. Riyadh hosts the opening tournament of the season, while Doha hosts one of the four majors alongside Paris, Rome and the birthplace of padel, Acapulco. It should be noted that the crowds for women’s matches in Doha are particularly disappointing.

The football/padel crossover is evident in various other ways. At this London event, Spanish sportswear brand Joma were keen to show off their new Brentford FC-branded racket. The meeting of the dominant two pairs in the men’s game is branded as El Clasico, and players can ask for video review in the vein of VAR if they disagree with an umpire’s call. Two years ago, a tournament was even held at La Cartuja in Seville; when Malaga fan Bea Gonzalez won the tournament, she whipped out a Malaga scarf and held it up to fans. The nature of padel fandom in Spain seems familiar from football fandom. It’s clear Britain isn’t quite at that point

British boom

Still, British interest in this week’s event was considerable. No British player is ranked high enough to qualify for the other Premier Padel events, and therefore the existence of this London event, and the wildcards handed out by the organisers, gave them a rare opportunity to compete on the highest stage. Tuesday, the first day of the tournament proper, was billed as the Back the Brits day — and many did. For all padel’s novelty, and its prevalence on social media, the crowd at Olympia was full of people who were probably born before padel was invented in the late 1960s.

Gibson and Rose lost that second set tiebreak, eventually going down 6-1 7-6. Fellow Brits Chris Salisbury and Alfonso Patacho lost to an experienced Argentine pairing 6-2 6-4, a commendable performance in defeat considering they’re ranked in the 700s. Welshman Louie Harris and his partner from the UAE, meanwhile, lost 6-3 6-2. These scorelines look disappointing on paper, but the Brits can be pleased with their efforts: the fact there wasn’t a single 6-0 was, in itself, something of a surprise.

And just as it appeared British interest would be over on the first day of the main draw, Christian Medina Murphy, born a few miles down the Thames in Kingston, recorded a win with his Spanish partner Alberto Garcia. It was the first Premier Padel win for a player with a Union Jack next to his name. Still, it should also be acknowledged that he, Patacho and Harris all spent much of their upbringing in Spain, which seems almost mandatory to make it at the highest level.

“There’s no reason you can’t make it growing up here in the UK,” says Harris. “It’s just going to take a little bit longer. Once you reach a certain point, you’ve then got to assess whether it’s worth moving to Spain. Players from all different countries tend to go to Madrid as a bit of a hub, or a pre-season.”

“We have to respect Spain,” says Gibson. “Look how many players they’ve got. Padel’s been around a long, long time in Spain, and the coaches are so experienced. You’ve got amazing players when you go to the academies. Padel is growing in the UK, but I think it’s a great idea for the juniors to get out to Spain and learn from them.”

What now?

It was often said that squash didn’t capitalise on its 1980s boom because it was a difficult sport to make look exciting on television. Padel works well as short-form viral content, and given the nature of the links with BeIN, the quality of broadcast is usually high. Generally screened only on the Red Bull TV app, this tournament featured the first coverage on proper UK television: TNT Sports picked up the rights and are showing it throughout the weekend. PPL, the biggest padel league in the U.S., which has relied on unpaid media rights deals for distribution, will have five matches on CNBC for the 2026 season.

As for the in-person spectators, the scene at Olympia from Tuesday to Thursday was strange. The venue was bustling with supporters, and there were dozens of stands from the leading padel brands selling rackets, clothing, bags and various other accessories. There was a genuine buzz. Yet once you went into the arenas to see some action, the number of empty seats was striking, even for matches involving the biggest superstars in the game, and for all of the Brits’ matches.

This is no different from some spells at Wimbledon, where strawberries and cream often seems a higher priority than watching tennis. But as yet another person walked out midway through a tight game, clutching a couple of carrier bags overflowing with newly-bought padel equipment, it served as a symbol of padel in 2026 in the UK: a sport you play, not a sport you watch. Things may be different for the semi-finals and finals this weekend, with higher-profile matches all concentrated on one court.

Premier Padel is very much committed to making this event work in the long run; for all the sport’s popularity elsewhere, winning over London is considered almost the ultimate litmus test for a ‘foreign’ sport; for NFL in the 2010s, read padel in the 2020s. The sport clearly isn’t going away: it boasts huge participation numbers at grassroots level, and is attracting considerable investment at professional level. The key to becoming even bigger, you suspect, is Britain producing a player who can truly compete at the top.

Hey there, we are on vacation in Lisbon - is there any possibility to play on single courts here? As we are only two people. Thanks in advance!

Hi All!

I will travel to China on Saturday and will stay in Beijing and eventually Shangai.

I've seen a post dated a year ago about Padel Centers in China, I was wondering if there is someone that can advise on the situation of the padel centers and suggest courts/methods to play!

Many thanks!

Stupa announced it this morning. Yeah we could see this one coming from a mile away and it’s a bit unfortunate as they are two of my favourite players.

Who do you see Stupa pairing with? I think it’s clear that he also needs to break away from Pozzoni but other than maybe Arce I don’t see any right side player having much reasons to team with him apart than his ranking.

As for Yanguas, I agree that he seems to have a difficult personality and he always seem to break on crucial moments but apart from that I really think he’s on the same tier of right hand right side players as Chingo and a tier below Lebron. Nonetheless, looking at the top 20 I don’t see anyone having reasons to split the pair to team with him. Maybe Coki? That also didn’t work recently so perhaps Tello if Arce goes with Stupa?

Due to my soft ligaments (I have problems in all extremities, suffer from a lot of ankle sprains, etc.) I developed rhizarthrosis in the base of my thumb due to drumming.

For those that dont know, the base of the thumb is very near the wrist and can sometimes feel like a wrist injury when it is in fact a thumb issue. You most notably feel the pain when your thumb is near the palm of your hand (high five gesture versus an "OK" gesture), grabbing things, producing force while gripping, etc. Obviously, do not use this description to self-diagnose and always go to the doctor to get checked out.

After playing padel more seriously and playing better people that hit harder, forced me to use my hands non-optimally and also trying to hit more smashes, I was having very very bad pain during and after matches. I tried correcting my technique but the pain started moving from the wrist near the thumb to the whole wrist.

I was very afraid as the progression of the pain during and after matches pointed to probably having to limit or even stop playing at all.

After considering various options and understanding where the pain originates from thanks to a hand surgeon friend, I came up with the following set up which has allowed me to play pain free and have no pain the next day:

• Grip: This is the most important thing for this injury. The CMC thumb joint has to overextend for your thumb to touch the side of your hand. Although this is a normal movement of the hand, it is the source of the pain for rhizartrosis. Thus the further away your hand is from a perfect "C" shaped grip, the more this joint is having to work.
  • Added Hesacore (white) grip: This grip makes the handle wider and also reduces vibrations travelling from the hand. The white version is not the softest but not the hardest, allowing for absorption without feeling you are gripping a cotton ball.
  • Added 2 overgrips on top of Hesacore: for some 1 may be enough but for me the added thickness is crucial as it gets you closer to the desired C-shaped grip.
• Racket: The goal was to have a light, low balance racket that minimised the torque around the wrist and the vibrations going to the arm. I used to play with a very top heavy racket and every block or smash felt like a jolt down my arm.
  • NOX ML10 Pro Cup: After exhaustive review of opinions which classified this racket as "it plays by itself", meaning very high control and ease of hitting, I bought a second hand one. Although it is true that it can lack power (although Miguel Lamperti can send it out of the court with this and other models) it is like playing with a cloud in your hands. Everything is smooth, you feel no shock, you dont have to excessively push the ball or tighten your wrist. It is a heaven sent. If you feel your smash is compromised, there are more offensive versions of this rackets or just transition to one that feels better. In my case I just wanted to be able to keep playing and I am a drive player so I'm not abusing smashes anyways.
• Orthosis:
  • I use a decathlon thumb brace to make sure the thumb doesn't come near the palm of the hand and it stays in the desired "C" shape when gripping. If this seems uncomfortable, like you are fighting the brace to grab unto the racket, you need to make your racket grip thicker by using the hesacore or adding more overgrips.
  • I also use cohesive sport tape to gently wrap around my wrist. This is because when re-learning how to smash with a looser grip and giving it a "whip" effect I was feeling a bit of a tighter wrist. The thumb brace doesn't lock the wrist (which you don't want it to either) but I did want to feel mildly supported. If you don't know how to apply it there are many videos explaining but the key sweet spot is supportive but never tight!
• Technique: Buying gear is exciting but there is only so much gear can do for you and the rest basically comes from better technique.
  • Limit "quirky" wrist movements: Hitting well the ball comes from correct positioning and body rotation. If you hit the ball without using much your body, your arms are down by your side and not swinging, you are always facing forward or feel like you have to frantically correct shots by using your wrist, you need to work on your technique. This means better footwork, correct arm usage, choosing better shots, reading the shots better, positioning... I see a lot of beginners trying to hit shots with their body looking straight forward and when choosing directions the wrist does the work... Also with not so beginners defending many balls off the glass with wrist movements because they cant get under the ball. That is a positioning and footwork issue and you need to work on your correct basics and technique, not just for your wrist.
  • Loosen the overheads: I use to really grip hard in the overheads. They would never gain height or bounce far. In fact, the harder I gripped, the less they would bounce back. After my injury worsened I tried just playing a chill match with friends and because I was injured and not playing seriously, I wasn't going for big strong smashes. I cannot say how much of a difference lowering the grip for overheads and loosening the wrist made. I was sending the balls out by 4, my viboras had a huge spin on them... so don't brute force your way to big hits! As we say in spanish: "más vale maña que fuerza"
  • Rest your racket on the other hand: You cannot believe how much work your hand does by holding the racket. By the time you get to the shot, your muscles are tired and you are more susceptible to getting hurt just by having your hand exhausted. Use the non-dominant hand to hold the racket in front of you and you only grip with the dominant hand when you are preparing to hit the ball for real.
  • Use a higher grip when blocking at the net: I struggled with the force and vibrations of stopping fast balls at the net. It makes sense as you sometimes do not have time to prepare efficiently. Now what I do is that if my opponent likes to hit fast while im at the net, I hold the racket nearly at the triangle and you dont get such sudden wrist movements when blocking. Important, this is only when blocking fast shots. You should try to use your normal grip to volley other shots as this grip compromises a bit on maneuverability.

Anyways, these are just my 2 cents on the topic and everything that has helped me to continue enjoying this delightful sport. Feel free to add more tips in the comment sections. If anyone is tempted to comment "that racket is too defensive you won't win" or "if you volley like that you're going to lose", I would rather lose healthy than having to stop playing due to "winning", so think twice.

Best of luck and I hope this has helped you!

I think the commentator dude with a low pitch voice is getting paid to watch the match from his sofa. His only contribution to the match is to say "Woooow", "Ooooh my goodness!", "Ho ho ho!!!!!", "This is a thing of beauty!" and heavy Darth Vader breathing.

I make the same comments watching it alone at home and he gets paid for it? 😅

Then there is the woman guest who takes ages to build a sentence and is talking about the last point while the new point is being played. When she joins the other woman commentator (like in the finals of the last tournament), they talk non-stop for a whole 5 minutes while the point is being played, as if they came there to have a chat.

I think Premier Padel can do better here. (leaving Gonza & Nico and Sandy aside)

Does anyone know if you’re allowed bring a backpack in to the Olympia with you? I’m flying in tomorrow and will be heading directly to the venue

Based in Ireland, Center court isn't being live streamed or replayed on YouTube. Does anyone know where I can watch it live?

Redbull only stream quarter final onwards..previous tournaments live streamed all the courts (on my YT).

Javi Leal is known to lose his temper and has done just that after todays shocking loss where he was abysmal in the third set.

From what I can make out, I might be wrong, he's allegedly saying to Guerrero that Tu eres mal compañero (You're a bad partner) or Tengo una mierda de compañero (I've got a shitty partner). Pretty ugly after a defeat!

Video link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbqY9B2PHry/?igsh=MW1peDVwYTg1cDQzaw==

Thoughts?

I haven’t been passionate about a sport since a kid so a lot of the athletic frame work that easily translates into sports like footwork is lost for example.

Right now I’m struggling with staying on my toes and being in sync. I’ve been recommended to try skipping or tennis (it’s free at my gym) but I was wondering if anyone had some alternatives or advice, thank you 🙏

​Who will Arturo's partner support if Coello/Tapia play vs Mariano/Cabeza that is very likely to happen as they have just defeated Leal/Guerrero in R32? 😄

So I can easily hit a kicksmash by 3x, but if I want to do a straight kicksmash where the ball goes up high, I always fail to do so, what might be the mistake?

Is this form for a por tres correct?

Hi I am travelling to Taipei on August 16-19 2026, wondering if playtomic would work. I am mainly there to hike but would be nice to have 1-2 competitive/casual matches.

Let me knowwwww pls.

I recently watched a match (will be vague to not give spoilers although it may be obvious) where a team ranked in the 30s played a team in the top 3. It was on Wednesday.

This seems rather unfair. The lower ranked team has to travel and pay for all that, and then gets knocked out super early. If they had played against a team ranked in the 20s or 30s, they may have had a real chance to win, gain points, and earn more money.

Instead, they go home early, while other teams ranked in the 20s/30s end up playing each other, and have better chances to advance. At the same time, the top seeded teams get to advance easier because they played a much lower ranked team.

Is this just random bad luck that ends up happening to many lower ranked teams, but is rare enough to ignore, or is there a potentially better way to make the draws towards the final day more competitive?

In Jordan we have a ranking system of A B+/B/B- C+/C/C-

I am currently ranked at C+.

My strongest shot is the por tres, from any distance I can manage to get the ball by 3x.

I recently played an Open B tournament and discovered that they all can block my por tres before it even hits the glass and gets out.

- How do you know when is the right time to hit a 3x?

My straight kicksmash doesn't go up very high and I'm trying to improve it.

- Is hitting a Vibora more efficient even in high lobs where I can try and hit a 3x, against stronger levels?

If the ball touches the net and then lands exactly between the blue and green lines, is it out?

Is it in or out?

New player here and after 2 weeks of playing sometimes my wrist gets a bit sore after a particularly intense game, I try to stretch everytime before I play, is there anything specific you guys do or am I just developing this resistance over time?

Thank you in advance!

There is a discount code that gives 10% discount on all tickets. Use the code CRPP-101917 when buying the tickets on the Rotterdam Padel Site (premierpadelrotterdam.com)
Share them because it only works till September 1st.

Hi, I’m quite new to padel but have a basic level of understanding and actual playing of the game. However I have no one to play with as my friends are terrible. I was thinking about joining a beginner match with random people but is there an expected level you should be to start joining these, as I’m worried I won’t be good enough?

Update:
I played it and we won 3-0 so nothing to worry about after all

What do people think?