Hi all, me and a few friends are going to Valencia soon and we will be looking to play lots of open matches.
So I was wondering what the rating difference is in Spain Vs UK.
For context, I am a 3.5 in the UK, I have heard that Spanish ratings are generally lower. (A 3.5 in Uk is a 2.5 in Spain etc) but is this generally true?
I just want to know so I can have competitive games.
Any insight and recommendations on levels I should join, if you’ve played in both countries will be great!! Thank you.
4.5 from spain here.
when people come over from the UK it's safe to assume their "true" (i.e spanish) level is 1-2 points below. i've met UK 4s that couldn't compete with local 2-2.5s
Agreed, about half the rating seems appropriate. The different conditions make a huge difference too. Someone used to play in Manchester weather is in for a rough awakening when they first lob in Madrid.
When I played in Denia this march I assumed this to be true. I rated myself 3.5 and in Sweden I’m 4.5-5. My experience was that Spanish 3.5 was a very weak level. I did not play enough games to be certain I just met the wrong players tho.
don't know Denia but in general bigger cities > smaller towns and bigger clubs > smaller clubs.
ratings inflate when there's isolation. if you play the same 7 people all of whom are a bit worse than you, you can go from 1 to 5 with enough matches
There is no Playtomic matches in Denia. I assume you are comparing against levels from the different club applications (e.g. Padelpoint), which are very differently leveled. Saying this as I play both in Denia and Madrid.
I would say the range is wider in Spain, just because the pool is so huge - it really goes from 0-7. There are 2s who aren't total beginners (deflated vs other countries( and 6s who are FAR from pros (inflated vs other countries). At 3.5, it's probably a little stronger - try 3.0s.
I’m British but have mostly played Playtomic in Spain and I’d agree with the general principle of deducting 1 from the rating. I knew UK ratings were inflated but I played my first UK Playtomic matches recently and was shocked at the extent of the gulf.
I also have a friend who is 4.5 in the UK and has found the skill levels roughly comparable playing 4-5 games in London v Spain so perhaps it’s something that evens out as you get to the upper ends of intermediate play.
I’m a 2.1 in the UK and am currently sitting in the sun in Seville debating whether I should join a playtomic match! Don’t want to embarrass myself and make things awkward for the people I play with. Especially as I don’t have my racket or shoes.
Yeah the spain playtomic rating is a bit skewed because everyone is already so good.
A 2.5 is probably a 4.5 or something.
Edit; this is my experience as a player in Indonesia and Thailand
I live in Mallorca, whenever people from the uk show up I assume -1 to -1.5. played a 4.8 who would pretty surely lose against 3.3 in spain. But also depends on where in Spain, there’s also differences
