Padel rules, explained in plain English

Padel looks like tennis in a glass box, and most of the rules feel familiar within ten minutes. The walls are the part that confuses everyone. Here is everything you need to play your first match properly, based on the official rules of the International Padel Federation (FIP).

The court at a glance

A padel court is a rectangle 20 metres long and 10 metres wide, completely enclosed. At each end there is a 3-metre wall, usually glass, with 1 metre of metal mesh on top. The side walls start with glass near the back and switch to mesh towards the net.

The net is 88 cm high in the middle and 92 cm at the posts, slightly lower than a tennis net. On each side, a service line runs across the court 6.95 metres from the net, and a centre line splits that area into two service boxes.

Padel is played almost always as doubles: two pairs, one on each side of the net. Everything below assumes four players.

The serve: underarm, after a bounce

The serve is the first big difference from tennis, and it is much easier. You do not toss the ball up and smash it. The FIP rules say the server must:

1. Stand behind the service line, between the centre line and the side wall, without touching either line with their feet.
2. Bounce the ball on the ground behind the service line, on their own side.
3. Hit it at or below waist height, with at least one foot touching the ground.
4. Send it diagonally over the net into the opposite service box.

Each game starts from the right-hand side, and the server swaps sides after every point. You get two attempts, exactly like tennis. The receiver must let the serve bounce before hitting it.

After it bounces in the correct box, the serve may hit the glass behind and is still good. It is a fault if it bounces outside the box, or if it touches the metal mesh before bouncing a second time. A serve that clips the net and then lands in the right box is replayed (a let), unless it then touches the mesh before bouncing a second time, which makes it a fault.

How the walls work

This is the rule that makes padel padel. Get these two lines into your head and you understand 90% of the game.

In practice this means three things:

• Let it come off the glass. When a deep ball passes you, you can wait for it to bounce, hit the back or side glass, and play it as it comes back out. This is the single most useful skill for beginners.
• You can use your own walls. If you are in trouble, you may hit the ball into your own back or side wall so that it rebounds over the net, as long as it then bounces in the opponents' court before touching their walls.
• The ball only gets one bounce. Walls don't count as bounces, the floor does. Once it bounces twice on your side, the point is over.

The mesh behaves differently from the glass. The ball comes off it unpredictably, and on the serve it is an automatic fault, so aim your shots at the glass, not the fence.

Volleys, the net and your body

Apart from the return of serve, you may volley any ball before it bounces. Most points are won at the net. But the net itself is off limits. You lose the point if:

• you, your racket or anything you're wearing touches the net or the posts during the point;
• you hit the ball before it has crossed to your side;
• the ball hits you or your partner, anywhere on the body;
• you hit the ball into the mesh on your own side;
• you drop your racket or break the wrist strap, which is compulsory under the rules.

Playing outside the court

You may have seen professionals sprint out through the side doors to chase a smash that bounced out of the court. That is legal only where the court has a big enough safety area around it, and the organiser allows it. At most clubs there isn't room, so a ball that leaves the court after bouncing simply wins the point for whoever hit it.

Scoring in one paragraph

Padel uses tennis scoring: 15, 30, 40, game. A set is first to six games with a two-game lead, with a tie-break at 6–6, and matches are usually best of three sets. At 40–40, clubs play either normal advantage or a single deciding "golden point". Since 2026 the professional tour uses a new format called the Star Point. Our full guide to padel scoring explains every format.

Five rules that catch new players out

1. Serving overhead. Waist height or below, always.
2. Playing a ball straight off the opponents' glass. If your shot hits their wall before bouncing, it's your point lost, even if it looks spectacular.
3. Volleying the serve. The return must bounce first.
4. Touching the net after a winning volley. If you touch it before the ball has bounced twice, you lose the point.
5. Thinking the wall is the end. It isn't. Turn, wait and let the glass give you the ball back.

Padel vs tennis: the key differences

The smaller court and the walls mean rallies last longer and the game is less about power. That's why players with no tennis background often pick padel up faster than they expect.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• FIP Rules of Padel (official rulebook)
• Padel Addict: Premier Padel's Star Point