Ditching partners

You can play with other people as well and also sometimes with your friend? You can do both.

I play with a different person 3 times a week every week. We’re not pros, we don’t need to commit to one partner unless it’s a competition

honestly mate, normal padel evolution. happens to everyone. few thoughts: **don't fully ditch him, just diversify.** keep playing with him 1x a week or for casual fun games, but find 2-3 other partners at your level for the more serious stuff/competitions. nothing wrong with having different partners for different contexts. **be honest if it comes up.** if he asks why you're playing more with others, just say you want to play with different people to improve faster. most reasonable people get this. way better than ghosting or making excuses. **consider it might also be on you.** are you tilting visibly when he misses? body language and frustration from a partner is one of the biggest reasons people regress mid-match. sometimes the "weaker" partner only looks weak because the dynamic is off. **how to find new partners:** open matches at your club, americano/mexicano nights, padel apps (playtomic, matchpoint etc depending on where you are in the uk). post your level honestly and play a bunch. at 2.5 you're at the level where partner choice really starts to matter for progression. completely normal to want to mix it up. just don't be a dick about it and you'll be fine.

Why would you play with one partner only? It is normal to play with different people all the time

It's pretty normal to switch partners along your journey. The rejection is REAL and it will suck for him ( ive been there) but it's inevitable, there's a natural selection and the best players tend to attract each other.

you can always play with other people. most people that i know have at least 3-5 partners on rotation all for different purposes - social or competitive. some days you feel like you want to play just for fun some days you want to properly train..

There's also the very real possibility that my perception does not match realty and I'm spamming it into the net as much as him (or more likely losing points by playing too safe). Might film a match to get some objective data

Are you playing through one of the apps? Pl\*ytomic for example. Sounds like you’re not or you’d know the answer already. I’m afraid I’d have to question your 2.5 too. Anyone 2.5 & above has already dealt with this situation & moved on. Never be embarrassed that you’re better than your friend. You no doubt have a friend who is better than you. Do you see that as embarrassing?

Just practice with him off matches if it’s a friend. At that level I haven’t see anyone with a set shot tbh- even though half your post is describing how well you play. Many people test limits a lot and don’t strictly try to limit errors.

If you want to improve then definitely you need to change your partner, and even if they’re good. Changing the people you always play with is important to improve and get out of your comfort zone and try people with some new weaknesses and strengths

Here's an open secret: No one is ever happy with their partner. The more serious you take padel, the worse this phenomenon gets. So you might as well practice at dealing with dissolution/change early on. In my opinion the best attitude is to see your partnership as a team you join to reach a goal, not as an exclusive quasi-romantic relationship. If you've surpassed, changed or failed to reach that goal then it could be time for a new partner. It doesn't need to be sad or confrontational, it's just a road that diverges.