> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://padelapi.org/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Your First Padel API Call

> Learn how to make your first Padel API call in minutes. Step-by-step guide covering authentication, example requests, and response handling.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

* A Padel API account ([sign up here](https://padelapi.org/register))
* An API token from your [API Tokens](https://padelapi.org/user/api-tokens) page

## Step 1: Get Your API Token

1. Log in to your [Padel API account](https://padelapi.org/login)
2. Navigate to [API Tokens](https://padelapi.org/user/api-tokens)
3. Click **Create Token** and give it a descriptive name
4. Copy your token and store it securely. You won't be able to see it again

<Warning>
  Keep your API token secret. Never share it publicly or commit it to version control.
</Warning>

## Step 2: Make Your First Request

Let's fetch the list of available seasons with [`GET /api/seasons`](/docs/api-reference/season/list-seasons). This is a simple endpoint that returns all padel seasons available in the API.

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X GET \
    'https://padelapi.org/api/seasons' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN'
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const response = await fetch('https://padelapi.org/api/seasons', {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN'
    }
  });

  const seasons = await response.json();
  console.log(seasons);
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  response = requests.get(
      'https://padelapi.org/api/seasons',
      headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN'}
  )

  seasons = response.json()
  print(seasons)
  ```

  ```php PHP theme={null}
  $ch = curl_init();

  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://padelapi.org/api/seasons');
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
      'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN'
  ]);

  $response = curl_exec($ch);
  $seasons = json_decode($response, true);

  print_r($seasons);
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Step 3: Explore the Response

A successful response returns a JSON array with season data:

```json theme={null}
{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "self": "/api/seasons/5",
      "name": "Premier Padel 2026",
      "tournaments_count": 28,
      "status": "upcoming",
      "start_date": "2026-02-09",
      "end_date": "2026-12-13",
      "year": 2026,
      "connections": {
        "tournaments": "/api/seasons/5/tournaments"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 3,
      "self": "/api/seasons/3",
      "name": "Padel FIP 2025",
      "tournaments_count": 40,
      "status": "finished",
      "start_date": "2025-02-08",
      "end_date": "2025-12-14",
      "year": 2025,
      "connections": {
        "tournaments": "/api/seasons/3/tournaments"
      }
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "first": "https://padelapi.org/api/seasons?page=1",
    "last": "https://padelapi.org/api/seasons?page=1",
    "prev": null,
    "next": null
  },
  "meta": {
    "current_page": 1,
    "last_page": 1,
    "per_page": 15,
    "total": 6
  }
}
```

## Step 4: Fetch Player Rankings

Now let's try something more interesting. Fetching the current player rankings via [`GET /api/players`](/docs/api-reference/player/list-players):

```bash theme={null}
curl -X GET \
  'https://padelapi.org/api/players?category=men&sort_by=ranking&order_by=asc' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN'
```

You can filter players by category (`men` or `women`) and paginate results using the `page` and `per_page` parameters.

## Next Steps

You've successfully made your first Padel API calls. Here's what you can explore next:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="API Reference" icon="book" href="/docs/index">
    Explore all available endpoints and their parameters
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tournament Data" icon="trophy" href="/docs/index#tournaments-coverage">
    Learn about tournament coverage and data availability
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Need Help?

If you run into any issues or have questions:

* Check our [API Reference](/docs/index) for detailed endpoint documentation
* Contact support at [ferran@padelapi.org](mailto:ferran@padelapi.org)
* Report issues on [GitHub](https://github.com/ferranfg/docs.padelapi.org/issues)