When do you change sides in padel?

In padel you change ends after the first game, the third game and every odd game after that, and in a tie-break you change every six points (FIP Rule 5). The point of the rule is fairness: sun, wind, lighting and slightly different glass all even out when both pairs play from both ends. Below is exactly when it happens, how long you get, and what to do when everyone forgets.

What the rules say

The change of ends is covered by two short rules in the FIP rulebook, one for when and one for how long.

Rule 5 (when). Pairs change ends after the first game, after the third game and after every subsequent odd game in the set. In a tie-break they change every six points. If a change is missed by mistake, it is corrected as soon as someone notices, and every point played before the correction stands.

Rule 2 (how long). Play is meant to be continuous. You get a maximum of 20 seconds between points, and the rulebook does not allow eating or drinking between points. After the first game of each set, play is continuous and you change ends without a rest period (Rule 2.5). At the other changes of ends you have up to 90 seconds. At the end of a set you have up to 120 seconds. In a tie-break, play is meant to be continuous (Rule 2.5), though Rule 2.10 grants up to 20 seconds for the change. The rulebook is not fully consistent here, so in an official match follow the umpire.

The easiest way to apply Rule 5 is to add both pairs' games in the current set together. The count restarts with every new set. If the total is odd, you swap. A score of 2-1 is three games, so you change. A score of 3-1 is four games, so you stay. It does not matter who is winning or who served.

Real match situations

You win the first game of the match

The score is 1-0, one game has been played, so you change ends straight away (FIP Rule 5), but with no rest: Rule 2 says play is continuous after the first game of each set. Walk round the net, take up your positions and start the next game. Save the drink and the tactical chat for the change after the third game, where up to 90 seconds are allowed.

It is 3-1 and someone heads for the bench

Four games have been played, which is an even number, so there is no change of ends (FIP Rule 5). The next game starts within the normal 20 seconds between points (FIP Rule 2). This is the most common mix-up in social padel: players remember "every two games" and lose track of where the cycle started. Count the total, not the gap since the last change.

You realise at 3-3 that you never changed at 3-2

Suppose you should have changed at 3-2 (five games) but carried on, and someone notices during the game at 3-3. Rule 5 says the mistake is corrected as soon as it is discovered, and all points already played stand. So you finish the current point, swap ends, and the score stays exactly as it is. Nobody replays points or loses them because of the missed change. One detail: if the mistake is discovered after a first-serve fault, the server has only one serve left (FIP Rule 5.3).

The tie-break reaches 4-2

Six points have been played (4 + 2), so the pairs change ends (FIP Rule 5). In a tie-break, play is meant to be continuous (Rule 2.5), though Rule 2.10 grants up to 20 seconds for the change. The next change comes when the points total 12, which can only be at 6-6, because 7-5 ends a tie-break. Since any pause is so short, have your towel and water ready before the tie-break starts; this is not the moment for a long drink.

A set ends 6-3 or 6-4

The count restarts each set (Rule 5). After 6-3 (an odd game) you change ends with up to 120 seconds' rest, then change again, without rest, after the first game of the new set (Rule 2). After 6-4 you stay, then change after the first game of the new set. Either way, the first game of every set is followed by a change of ends, so the new set always starts with the same rhythm.

You play a super tie-break instead of a third set

Rule 1 lists a 10-point super tie-break as an alternative scoring option. Rule 5 gives the change of ends for a tie-break as every six points, and most organisers apply that same pattern to the super tie-break, so you change at 6, 12 and 18 points played. If the event uses a different format, the organiser should announce it in advance.

Common misconceptions

• "You change every two games." Not quite. You change after odd-numbered games, which works out as every two games only after the first change. The first change comes after a single game (FIP Rule 5).
• "If we forgot to change, the last game is void." No. The error is corrected when discovered and earlier points stand (FIP Rule 5).
• "You can drink whenever you like." Rule 2 does not allow food or drink between points. Your chances are the changes of ends and the break between sets.
• "The change of ends is a 2-minute rest." It is up to 90 seconds, and after the first game of a set there is no rest at all. Only the end of a set gives up to 120 seconds (FIP Rule 2).
• "The game count carries over from the last set." No. Rule 5 counts odd games in the set, so the count restarts with each new set.
• "In a tie-break you change after the first point, like the first game." No, the tie-break pattern is simply every six points (FIP Rule 5).

Social games vs official matches

In an official match the umpire tracks the score, calls the changes and times the breaks. In a social match nobody does, which is why missed changes are so common. A few habits help:

• Whoever serves announces the game score before the first point of each game. Hearing "3-2" out loud makes the odd total obvious.
• Agree before the first ball whether you are playing a tie-break or super tie-break, so nobody argues at 6-6.
• Keep the breaks honest. Ninety seconds is plenty for a drink and a quick word with your partner. Club courts are often booked by the hour, and long breaks eat into everyone's playing time.

If you are new to scoring, it helps to read our guide to padel scoring alongside this page, because the change of ends only makes sense once the game count is second nature.

Using the change of ends well

The change of ends is more than a rest. It is the only regular time you get to talk tactics without the 20-second clock (FIP Rule 2). Use it for one concrete adjustment, not a speech: "lob their left-side player more", "I'll take the middle balls", "let's serve to the body". Think about the conditions at the new end too. An outdoor court can put the sun straight into your eyes on lobs from one end, and an indoor court can have a light that sits right where a high ball comes down, which changes how and when you play the lob. If there is a ball change in your match, it is announced in advance and happens after an established odd number of games (the warm-up counts as two games and a tie-break as one), never at the start of a tie-break, or at the start of a set (FIP Rule 17), so it often falls at a change of ends as well.

For the full picture of how points, games and breaks fit together, see the padel match time rules and the main rules of padel.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• FIP Rules of Padel (official rulebook)