Padel looks simple from the outside: four people, a small court, lots of laughing. Then someone hits the ball into the back glass and you have no idea whether the point is still alive. This guide covers the rules you actually need for your first matches, in the order you'll need them.
The court and the kit
A standard padel court is 20 metres long and 10 metres wide, split by a net and enclosed by walls: glass at the back and partly along the sides, metal mesh elsewhere. The net is 88 cm high in the centre and 92 cm at the posts. Padel is almost always played as doubles.
Rackets are solid (no strings), perforated and shorter than tennis rackets. The ball looks like a tennis ball but has slightly lower pressure, so it bounces a little less. Wear court shoes with a herringbone or clay-style sole: running shoes slide on the artificial grass.
Scoring: just like tennis
Points go 15, 30, 40, game. Six games win a set (with a two-game margin, and a tie-break at 6–6), and matches are usually best of three sets. At 40–40 (deuce), many clubs and tours play a golden point: one deciding point, and the receiving pair chooses which side receives it. Agree before you start whether you're playing advantages or golden point. It's the most common pre-match discussion in padel.
The serve
- Serve underhand: bounce the ball behind the service line, then hit it at or below waist height.
- At least one foot must stay on the ground, and you can't step on the line.
- Serve diagonally into the opponent's service box. The ball must bounce in the box before it touches any wall.
- After bouncing in the box, it may hit the back or side glass and still be good. If it hits the mesh after the bounce, it's a fault.
- You get two attempts, as in tennis. A serve that clips the net and lands in the box is a "let" and is replayed.
The walls: the rule that changes everything
This is where padel differs from tennis, and where beginners get confused. The simple version:
- The ball must bounce on the ground on your opponents' side before it touches any wall on their side. If your shot hits their glass or mesh directly, you lose the point.
- Once it has bounced on your side, the ball can hit your walls (one or several) and you can still return it, as long as it hasn't bounced on the ground twice.
- You can volley (hit before the bounce) anywhere except on the serve return, which must bounce first.
- You may hit the ball against your own walls to get it back over the net. It's a legal (if desperate) escape shot.
The practical lesson: when a ball is heading for the back glass, don't panic and swing early. Turn, let it come off the glass and hit it on the way out. Players call this a salida de pared, and learning it is the moment padel starts to feel like padel.
Other rules worth knowing
- If the ball touches you or your partner (except the racket), you lose the point.
- Touching the net with your body or racket during a point loses the point.
- Pairs change ends after odd games (1, 3, 5...), as in tennis.
- Within a pair, players usually keep the same side (left or right) for the whole match. The left-side player often takes more overheads.
The shots you'll hear about
Bandeja: a controlled, sliced overhead that keeps you at the net. Víbora: a more aggressive overhead with sidespin (our brand is named after it). Chiquita: a soft, low ball to your opponents' feet when they're at the net. Globo: a lob to push the opponents back. Smash: the big one, and less often the right choice than beginners think.
Etiquette for your first match
Bring a new tube of balls if it's your booking, call your own side's lines honestly, apologise for net cords that win you the point, and expect a drink afterwards. In Spain it's usually a beer or a vermouth, and the losers often pay.
If you're getting hooked, our Golden Point tee is for the 40–40 moments, and the 8PM Sessions tee is for the after-work crowd. Got questions about the game or our shop? See the padel FAQ, or read how padel compares to pickleball.
Rules summarised for recreational play. Competitions follow the official rules of the International Padel Federation (FIP) and local federations, which include more detail.