Medical Disclaimer: This calculator provides a general estimate based on established research and is for educational purposes only, not a substitute for medical advice. Individual results can vary based on health conditions, so consult a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian before making significant changes to your diet, exercise, or health routine. Read our full Medical Disclaimer.
How Calories Burned Playing Padel Is Calculated
Calories burned playing padel is the energy your body uses during a game. It depends mostly on your body weight, how long you play, and the pace of the game. This tool turns those into one estimate, plus a table for every type of game.
What the Padel Calorie Estimate Measures
It shows the total energy you spend while playing padel. It includes the energy you would use at rest in the same time, so it is a gross figure. It does not know your heart rate or fitness.
The compendium has no separate entry for padel, so this calculator uses tennis doubles as its main stand-in¹. Both games are played two against two. Padel uses a smaller court with glass walls that keep the ball in play, so the calculator also borrows a squash value for hard, fast rallies.
The Formula
Calories (kcal) = MET x body weight (kg) x playing time (hours)
A MET compares the effort of playing with sitting at rest, and 1 MET equals about 1 kcal per kg of body weight per hour¹. The padel page draws its values from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which covers adults aged 19 to 59¹.
How This Calculator Computes Your Result
The tool is for adults, and for under 18s it shows a note instead of a result, because youth values differ (see the Youth Compendium). Padel players 60 or older still get the adult result, with a note that values for older adults may be lower. Pick your age group, enter your weight in pounds or kilograms, your time on court, and a game type. You can also enter long breaks to leave out, such as waiting for a court or time between matches; the result is then labeled active time only. Keep the short pauses between points in your time, since they are part of a normal game.
The tool converts pounds to kilograms, subtracts any breaks, and multiplies by the MET for your game type. It rounds calories to the nearest 5 kcal. There is a total, a per-hour and per-30-minute figure, and a table of all four game types at your weight.
Game type | Compendium entry used | Code | MET |
Social doubles | Tennis, doubles | 15685 | 4.5 |
Recreational doubles | Tennis, doubles (Taylor Code 430) | 15680 | 6.0 |
Club match | Tennis, general, moderate effort | 15675 | 6.8 |
Competitive, hard rallies | Squash, general (proxy) | 15652 | 7.3 |
What Your Result Means
The figure shows the energy your padel session used, not a goal. Here is what a 70 kg (154 lb) and a 90 kg (198 lb) player burn:
Game type | 70 kg, 30 min | 70 kg, 60 min | 90 kg, 30 min | 90 kg, 60 min |
Social doubles | 160 kcal | 315 kcal | 205 kcal | 405 kcal |
Recreational doubles | 210 kcal | 420 kcal | 270 kcal | 540 kcal |
Club match | 240 kcal | 475 kcal | 305 kcal | 610 kcal |
Competitive, hard rallies | 255 kcal | 510 kcal | 330 kcal | 655 kcal |
Heavier padel players burn more at the same pace. A competitive hour uses roughly 60% more energy than a social hour for the same person.
What Studies of Padel Players Show
A 2022 review found only one padel study that measured oxygen use during matches⁴. In 12 national-level male players aged about 16, average oxygen uptake was 24.1 mL per kg per minute, which is about 44% of their maximum². That equals about 6.9 METs, between this tool's club match and competitive options. The same players averaged 148 beats per minute, about 74% of their maximum heart rate². Because they were teenagers and the group was small, this figure is shown for comparison only and is not used in the calculation.
Amateur players showed lower heart rates. In 8 amateur players across 1-hour matches, average heart rate was 130 beats per minute, and almost 90% of game time was spent in the aerobic zone (steady effort fuelled mainly by oxygen)³.
A review of 12 padel studies with 203 players found average match heart rates from about 127 to 159 beats per minute⁴. Rallies lasted about 7 to 17 seconds, and the rest between points was about 1.1 to 2.5 times as long as the rally⁴. Recreational players had the lowest heart rates⁴.
What Changes Your Burn in Padel
Pace of the game. Friendly games with long chats between points sit near the social value. Scored matches with quick restarts sit higher.
Playing level. More skill does not always mean more effort. In one study, top-category national players had lower heart rates (69% of maximum) and lower effort ratings than players in the second and third categories (81% and 78%)⁴.
Rally length. The glass walls keep the ball in play after it bounces off them, and longer rallies mean more running and more strokes. In professional matches, women's rallies averaged about 16 seconds and men's about 11 seconds⁴.
Breaks. Time waiting for a court or between matches is not playing time. Enter it as breaks so it is left out.
Padel Compared With Similar Sports
These figures are for 60 minutes, using compendium values¹.
Activity | Code | MET | 70 kg | 90 kg |
Padel, recreational (tennis doubles) | 15680 | 6.0 | 420 kcal | 540 kcal |
Padel, competitive (squash proxy) | 15652 | 7.3 | 510 kcal | 655 kcal |
Tennis, singles | 15690 | 8.0 | 560 kcal | 720 kcal |
Badminton, social | 15030 | 5.5 | 385 kcal | 495 kcal |
Badminton, competitive | 15020 | 7.0 | 490 kcal | 630 kcal |
Squash, general | 15652 | 7.3 | 510 kcal | 655 kcal |
Pickleball (casual paddleball stand-in) | 15500 | 6.0 | 420 kcal | 540 kcal |
Pickleball has no adult compendium value, so the casual paddleball row is used here as a stand-in¹. Singles tennis sits above every padel option, because its compendium value is higher than both tennis doubles values¹.
A Note on Accuracy
No study has given padel its own compendium value, so every figure here borrows a tennis or squash row. The few padel studies are small, mostly from Spain, and often use young or high-level players. Your own burn depends on your fitness, skill, position on court, and how long you rest between points. The compendium itself says its values were not built to find the exact cost of an activity for one person⁵. Treat the result as a fair guide, not a precise count.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories does padel burn per hour?
A 70 kg (154 lb) adult burns about 315 kcal in an hour of social doubles, 420 kcal in a recreational game, and up to about 510 kcal in competitive play¹. A heavier player burns more at each pace.
Is padel a good workout for weight loss?
Studies describe the physical demand of padel as moderate, with average match heart rates of about 66 to 86% of maximum⁴. Like any sport, it adds to the calories you burn each day, and weight change depends on your overall diet and activity.
Does padel burn more calories than tennis?
A recreational padel game burns about the same as tennis doubles, since this tool uses the tennis doubles value¹. Singles tennis has a higher compendium value (8.0 METs versus 6.0), so it burns more per hour¹.
How accurate is a padel calorie calculator?
It gives a reasonable estimate, not an exact count, because padel has no compendium value of its own and the tool borrows tennis and squash values¹. One padel study measured about 6.9 METs in competitive young players, which falls inside this tool's range².
Sources
2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, Herrmann et al., 2024
Physiological Demands of Competition in Paddle, De Hoyo et al., 2007
Study of Internal Load in Amateur Padel Through Heart Rate, Díaz García et al., 2017
Activity Profile and Physiological Demand of Padel Match Play, Mellado-Arbelo and Baiget, 2022
Corrected METs, Compendium of Physical Activities