Do you know how to play padel? Whether you’re completely new to the game or have been playing padel for a while, here are the padel rules you absolutely need to know!
If you’ve ever played another racket sport – particularly tennis or squash – you may notice a lot of similarities between these sports.
It will certainly make learning how to play padel faster because you will already be familiar with many of the basic padel rules.
If you haven’t played any other racket sports before, however, do not worry. The basic padel rules are fairly easy to grasp, so you’ll know enough to start playing quickly.
Plus, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about how to play padel in this article, so keep reading to make sure you’re clued up on the padel rules you need to know!
RELATED READ: Our thorough Head Flash padel racket review (for beginners)
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How to play padel: A quick guide to the padel rules
Like any sport, there will be a lot to learn when you’re a beginner padel player.
However, the good news is that you don’t need to be an expert on the padel rules to start. In fact, there’s very little you need to know in order to make your court debut!
Padel – or padel tennis, as you may hear it called – is played on a court similar to a tennis court, only smaller.
Since padel is one of the fasted growing sports out there, many padel courts – just like many pickleball courts – are indeed converted tennis courts.
Padel is played with a racket and ball. At first glance, the ball could be mistaken for a tennis ball, but it is in fact different in both its size and internal pressure.
The padel racket, on the other hand, couldn’t be mistaken. Originally made from wood, padel rackets have a solid surface – usually made from composite materials – with perforated holes.
Unique padel rules you need to know
While padel shares many of its rules with other racket sports, it has a few that will be unfamiliar to almost all players.
Here are some of the most unique padel game rules.
The use of the walls in padel
The padel court is made up of a metal cage and glass walls. The glass covers part of the sides and the entire back wall on each side of the court.
In most cases, you can use these to your advantage when returning the ball.
While this can take some getting many racket sports players This is where squash players may find familiarity and have a unique advantage over other players.
As long as the ball lands in the opponent’s side and bounces on the ground once, it can hit the wall or wire fence and continue to be played.
The exception to this is during a serve – and we’ll get on to that below.
You can play the ball backwards
Because of the walls, you don’t always need to hit the ball in the direction of your opponents.
In a game of padel, you can hit the ball in the opposite direction – i.e. behind you – and bounce it off the glass walls.
As long as the ball makes it to the other side of the court, it’s a valid return move.
Padel is a team sport
While other racket sports are usually played between two opponents, padel is played as doubles between pairs of players.
Padel can technically be played as singles, but it isn’t recommended or practised much because the court and game are both designed for doubles matches.
That means it requires a lot of teamwork, and also means it’s a fun and social sport to play.
Padel Game Rules
Padel Rules About Scoring
If you’ve played tennis, you may have an advantage when it comes to learning the rules of padel because padel is usually scored similarly to tennis. The points are scored 15, 30, 40 and game.
A padel game has to be won by a two-point advantage unless the score is 40-40 in competitive play. In this case, a deciding point – named the ‘Golden Point’ – is used to determine the winning team.
Padel is usually played to the best of 3 or 5 sets. Each padel set consists of six games, and you must win by at least two games in order to win a set.
At some clubs, players might choose to play “americano padel”.
Padel Serving Rules
A padel serve can be made forehand or backhand, as long as the ball bounces once and is hit below the server’s waist level.
As with tennis, you have two chances to serve in padel. If you fail on the first serve and and commit an illegal serve during the second service, the point is given to the opposing player team.
Serving players must be standing behind the service line, between the centre line and the sidewall.
In order to constitute a legal serve in padel, the ball must land in the diagonally opposite service boxes no matter which side you serve from.
After bouncing here, it may hit the walls but will be considered a fault if it then hits the wire fence.
Americano padel rules
While padel usually follows the same scoring system as tennis, there are other variations possible – especially in social padel play.
One popular way of playing is the ‘Americano’ set-up.
In this case, teams get shuffled every round until everybody has partnered with every other player on the team. Each player then receives an individual score at the end.
When playing Americano padel, you usually play a fixed number of points, e.g. 32. In this case, each team serves an equal number of times until all points have been played, changing sides when you reach halfway (e.g. 16 points).
For a game of 32 points, for example, each player would serve four points, then players would change ends and repeat. The game is played until 32 points have been played no matter what.
Padel Court Dimensions & Rules
Padel courts are smaller than tennis courts. Measuring 20m in length and 10m in width, padel court dimensions are approximately a third smaller than a tennis court.
That means that padel courts are slightly bigger than squash courts.
A padel court’s distinguishing feature is, of course, its glass walls and railings. Without these, you cannot play padel because the walls of the enclosed court are integral to the game.
Padel tournament rules vs social padel rules
As you may have noticed, there are some variations on how to play padel, meaning you can choose the padel rules to suit your own games.
However, when it comes to padel tournaments and professional play, only the official padel rules set out by the International Padel Federation are accepted.
This is true for tournaments like the World Padel Tour, as well as smaller local tournaments around the world.
Therefore, if you wish to compete in competitive padel play, you will need to understand and practice these standards.
If you just want tooff play padel socially – as many padel players do – then you won’t need to worry about the official padel rules too much!
How to play padel: FAQs
Still got questions about how to play padel? Well, that’s partly what this site is for!
If you haven’t already, make sure you sign up for our email newsletter (at the top of this post) to get a free downloadable guide and stay up to date.
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about padel from new players:
Are you allowed to hit the fence in padel?
Yes! In fact it’s one of the defining features of padel.
There are some caveats, though.
You are allowed to hit the walls on the opposing side of the court only if the ball has already bounced. If the ball hits the walls without bouncing, the other team scores a point.
On your own side of the court, you can use the walls to bounce the ball off of on a return.
And, after the ball has bounced once on your side of the court, it can bounce off the walls multiple times before you return it as long as it does not bounce on the ground again.
Can you play padel 1 vs 1?
Technically you can play padel 1 vs 1, but it’s not common practice. It’s also not recommended since padel courts are designed for two players.
While there are now some smaller courts designed for singles padel, playing singles on a regular sized padel court will involve much more movement – and therefore really give you a good workout!
How do you count scores in padel?
The standard way to count scores in padel is the same as that used in tennis.
However, in social games of padel, it’s also possible to play to a fixed number of points in total.
This is usually 32 (where each player serves 4 times on each side of the court) or 24 (where each player serves 3 times on each side of the court).
Can a padel serve bounce twice?
No, it cannot. If the ball bounces on the ground twice, the team on that side of the court forfeits a point.
The only time a padel serve can bounce twice if it bounces off the ground and then bounces off the glass wall twice.
If a serve hits the railing, it is automatically out. If it bounces twice without being returned, the serving team scores the point.
Is padel easier than tennis?
Whether you find padel easier than tennis comes down to personal opinion, but many people consider padel to be easier than tennis.
That’s because padel is played on a smaller court, requires less running, is slower moving, is played in teams and has a smaller learning curve than tennis.
All of these factors make padel a much more accessible sport than tennis, and many players find padel easier than tennis.
That said, many players find using the walls much harder at first because there is an extra element to think about.
If you have never played a racket sport before, or are transitioning from playing squash, you are likely to find padel much easier to pick up than tennis.
Because the sport of padel is so social and there’s usually less pressure, we also think it’s much more fun, too!
Can you switch sides in padel?
Yes, you can switch sides during padel.
Once you receive in a set, you must remain on that side throughout the set. However, you are free to switch sides with your partner at the end of a set if you wish.
That said, it’s probably not a wise idea to switch sides between sets. It is better to discuss who will play on which side with your partner before you begin so that there is no confusion.
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