Simply Padel playtest

About Simply Padel

Simply Padel brings the competition and tactics of the real sport to PC. Create your player and play ranked matches, career mode, quick play and training. Timing and placement matter: make your opponents work for the point with tactical lobs behind them and chiquitas played softly towards their feet, or use the glass to recover a ball that gets past you.

In ranked, play for Elo and work your way up ten skill levels with your player. Choose your appearance and kit, find a doubles partner you play well with, and see how you measure up against the competition.

For a more casual experience, follow your player's career through 19 seasons of league matches and tournaments. You can also host online tournaments with up to nine friends, choosing partnerships and competing against each other or AI opponents through the draw.

Working the point

You choose which side to prepare your racket for and when to swing. Take the ball early with a volley, or let it bounce and give yourself more time to set up the return. In doubles, moving forward together puts pressure on the other team, but leaves you with ground to cover if they lob you. Where you stand affects which shots are available and what your partner has to cover. The shot list includes bandejas, víboras, smashes, lobs and chiquitas.

Using your own glass

When the ball gets behind you, you can wait for the rebound or play it against your own back glass to send it back over the net. The second shot, called a contrapared, needs enough height and power to clear the net. It gives you a way to stay in the point when a direct return is difficult.

Build your player

The creator covers face, hair, build, skin and kit, and the name is up to you. The one in these screenshots is Bandeja Bandit, with pink hair, a striped shirt and very turquoise trousers. Your player also goes on your player card, where you can place emblems wherever you like and choose whether to show your win rate.

Your ranked player

Ranked is played online against real people, in 1v1 and 2v2, and both count toward one Elo rating. After five placement matches you land on one of ten levels, and every result after that moves you up or down.

Ranked players share the same stat budget. Putting more points into power leaves fewer to spend elsewhere, so your allocation shapes how you play. Career progression has its own stat growth and doesn't share the ranked budget.

Following your career

Regular league fixtures give your season a schedule, with cups and tournaments between them. Follow the calendar and standings as you work towards the end-of-season prizes. As your player develops, spend stat points on the parts of their game you want to improve, whether that's more power on a smash or more stamina for long rallies.

The career starts in 2026 with your player aged 17 and runs on a real calendar until they're 35. Tour events climb from the Club Series through Challenger, Tour 500 and Tour 1000 to the World Cup and the Tour Finals.

Coins and kit

Career events, ranked matches, cups, challenges and weekly training all pay out coins. Spend them in the store on new players, emotes, emblems and finishes for your racket and ball.

Training

Training has seven drills a week. Target Wall, Moving Target and Rapid Fire are there every week, and four more rotate in from a bigger set that includes Glass Breaker, Spin Gates and the Bin Shot. Each run is 20 shots and can earn bronze, silver or gold.

Friends on the couch or online

Up to four people can play on one PC: singles, doubles with AI partners, two of you teaming up against the AI, or all four on court. Online, invite friends through Steam or share a join code, and talk with push-to-talk voice chat. Quick Match lets you pick your AI partner and opponents when you want to try a different line-up. Controller and keyboard-and-mouse controls are supported.

Early Access

Simply Padel is launching as a paid Early Access game. You can buy and play it during development, and your purchase includes the full release when it's ready.

I'm still refining the gameplay, AI and online play, so expect bugs and changes to balance, menus and animations. I expect Early Access to last a few months, although that depends on the issues players find and how long they take to fix. Feedback from your matches will help me decide what to work on next.

A note on translations

I'm an independent developer, and I've used AI-assisted translation for the game's on-screen text to make Simply Padel available to more people, in more languages, sooner. I want more people to have the chance to play a padel game, even while I don't have the budget for professional translation in every language.

Some translations may contain mistakes or awkward wording. As funds become available, I plan to replace them with professional translations, one language at a time. If you spot a problem, please report it through the Steam discussions. The commentary voices are not AI-generated.

From the game's Steam page.