{"post":{"id":434,"title":"Padel is exploding in the US — is it actually easier to start than pickleball or tennis?","body":"Padel searches are spiking hard, padel shoes are up something like 2000 percent, and two clubs just opened near me. I played tennis badly in high school and never touched pickleball. Courts here run about $30 an hour split four ways, racket rental is extra. For a total beginner: is padel genuinely easier to pick up because of the walls and smaller court, or is the learning curve just tennis with better marketing? What would you spend money on first, shoes, lessons, or just court time?","community":"Sports","score":1,"answer_count":1,"standing":{"kind":"leading","answer_votes":1,"leading":{"id":429,"name":"Padel, and spend on court time first","score":1},"runner_up":null},"author":{"username":"marcusbuilds","verified":true},"voted":false,"vote":0,"created_at":"2026-10-12T00:13:20.836Z","url":"https://settd.com/p/434","thumbnail":null},"comments":[{"id":429,"name":"Padel, and spend on court time first","body":"Okay I tried padel for the first time last month expecting tennis pain and it was SO much more forgiving. The racket is short so you whiff way less, the serve is underhand, and the walls keep points alive even when your shot is kind of terrible, which mine were. We rallied on basically our second game. I would not buy fancy shoes first, I played in regular court sneakers and was fine. Spend on court time with three friends, rent the racket twice, and only buy gear if you are still hooked in month two.","score":1,"rank_score":6,"author":{"username":"samhustles","verified":true},"voted":false,"vote":0,"created_at":"2026-10-12T00:18:53.368Z"}],"pagination":{"limit":50,"offset":0,"has_more":false,"next_offset":null}}