How to play padel: rules, scoring and the court

The padel court, with every part named

The court is 20 metres by 10, enclosed by glass at the back and partly down the sides, with metal mesh along the rest. The net is 88 cm high in the middle. Walls and lines are named on the far half of the diagram, zones on the near half.

Back glass

The glass wall behind you. After the ball bounces on your side it may hit the glass, and you can still play it before a second bounce.

Side glass and mesh fence

The sides are glass near the back and metal mesh towards the net. The ball comes off glass cleanly; off the mesh it can go anywhere. A serve that hits the mesh after its bounce is a fault.

Service line

Serve from behind it. Your serve must bounce in the box diagonally opposite, between the net and their service line.

Service boxes

The two boxes between the net and the service line. Also roughly where the attacking pair stands.

Net zone

The two or three metres in front of the net. The pair that holds it controls the point.

Back of the court

Between the service line and the back glass. You defend from here and lob to win the net back.

The serve

The serve is underhand, which makes padel easy to start. Stand behind your service line, between the centre line and the side wall. Let the ball bounce on the ground behind the line, then hit it at or below waist height, diagonally into the opposite service box.

• You get two serves, as in tennis.
• The ball must bounce in the box. If it then hits the glass, it is good and the receiver plays it. If it then hits the mesh fence before bouncing a second time, it is a fault.
• A serve that clips the net and lands in the box is a let: play it again.
• Start each game from the right and swap sides after every point. At least one foot stays on the ground as you hit.

The receiver must let the serve bounce. After that, volleys are allowed for everyone.

How the walls work

There is one rule to hold on to: on the way over, the ball has to bounce on the ground before it touches anything else on the other side.

• Your shot hits their glass or mesh before bouncing: out. You lose the point.
• Your shot bounces on their side, then hits their glass or mesh: still live. They can play it off the wall, as long as it has not bounced a second time.
• On your side, you can let the ball bounce, come off the glass, and hit it on the way back. You can also hit the ball into your own glass so that it rebounds over the net. You cannot use the mesh for that.
• The ball bounces and leaves the court over the wall: the point is over, unless the rules at your venue allow you to run out through the gate and play it.

Beginners from tennis try to hit everything before it reaches the glass. Let it go past. The ball slows down off the wall and gives you an easier shot. There is a full guide to playing off the back glass.

Scoring

Identical to tennis. Points go 15, 30, 40, game; at 40 all it is deuce and you need two points in a row. Six games wins a set, by two clear games, with a tiebreak to seven at six all. Matches are best of three sets.

Many clubs and the professional tours play a golden point: at deuce, one deciding point is played, and the receiving pair chooses which of them takes the serve. Check before you start.

Pairs change ends after every odd game. Each pair decides who serves first and who receives on which side at the start of a set, and keeps to it for that set.

What loses you the point

• The ball bounces twice on your side.
• Your shot hits the net, or hits their wall or fence before the ground.
• You hit the ball twice, or carry it.
• The ball touches you or your partner.
• You touch the net, the posts or the other side of the court while the ball is in play.
• You volley the return of serve. (The receiver has to let the serve bounce.)

Where to stand

Padel points are won at the net and defended from the back, and the two pairs spend the rally trying to swap places.

• Serving pair: the server follows the serve in, so both players are at the net after the first shot.
• Receiving pair: both stay back, a step or two behind the service line, and look for a lob good enough to push the net pair off.
• When a lob goes over you: if you can reach it, play a bandeja and keep the net. If not, both of you go back and the roles reverse.

Cue: move as a pair. Forward together, back together, and shift sideways with the ball as if joined by a rope.

The shots to learn first

1. The serve and the return: underhand and in, then deep and low.
2. The volley, because you will spend half your time at the net.
3. The lob, the shot that gets you to the net.
4. Off the back glass, so deep balls stop being a problem.
5. The bandeja, then the smash once it is reliable.

Related guides

• How to volley in padel: short, firm and deep
• How to lob in padel: the globo that takes the net back
• How to play off the back glass in padel (salida de pared)
• How to hit a bandeja: the padel overhead that keeps the net
• Padel training at home: drills without a court