For coaches
How do you set tennis and padel lesson prices?
Lesson pricing is the part of coaching most often decided by guesswork: most coaches look at what others charge and settle near the average. Yet the same hourly rate produces entirely different income once court rent and cancellation policy differ. This guide treats price as a structure rather than a number.
Price the package, not the hour
Single lessons give the highest unit price and the lowest predictability. In a package the unit price drops a little, but the income arrives up front, the schedule becomes concrete, and the odds of the student continuing rise noticeably.
Size the package to the student: eight lessons is a reasonable commitment for a beginner, ten to twelve suits a regular player. Write down an expiry too — an open-ended package creates an argument with the student who returns months later.
Do not hide court rent inside your rate
Folding court rent into the lesson fee looks simpler to the student but creates two problems: you are forced to raise prices whenever the club raises its rate, and you cannot quote the same price at different venues.
Separated out, prices become comparable and you can quote differently to a student who books their own court. It also makes the settlement between you and the club unambiguous.
Work out the economics of group lessons
A group lesson is cheaper per student while producing higher hourly income for the coach: with three students, even at half the one-to-one rate each, the total exceeds a private lesson.
Quality sets the limit. At beginner level you can work effectively with up to four; for technical correction and match preparation you need one-to-one or pairs. Stating that split in your price list settles the later "can we join too?" requests.
The cancellation policy is part of the price
A lesson cancelled at the last minute has already consumed the court and the slot. Without a policy that loss falls entirely on the coach and adds up to a serious figure over a year.
The common and fair approach is free cancellation up to a set point — say 24 hours — and deduction from the package after that. Writing the rule down is both easier and more professional than negotiating case by case.