An introduction to Padel
Padel shares many rules with tennis, and learning how to play is simple. Watch our video or read through the rules on this page to learn how.
How the game works
If tennis is checkers then padel is chess. Playing padel requires equal parts action and strategy.
The court
- Padel is played on a court about one third the size of a tennis court, surrounded by fencing and glass walls
- Players strategically use the 360 enclosed court to keep the ball in play for longer and find the best angles to score and win.
Serving and scoring
- The serve must land diagonally in the service box on the opposite side
- The serve is in if the ball lands in the service box, or bounces in the service box then the glass wall
- If the ball bounces in the service box but then hits the fence, the serve is out
- Scoring is the same as tennis, with 15, 30, 40 / game, set and match.
Usually a doubles game
- Padel is most commonly played in doubles, which makes it a naturally social sport
- It’s possible to play singles with a specially designed smaller padel court, but these are rare.
Why play padel?
Get the gear
Found a padel venue? Now all you need is the gear so you can padel like a pro! You can purchase equipment online or through your local padel club's pro shop. Most padel venues offer equipment hire so all you need to do is show up!
Padel is played with a solid, perforated racquet (no strings here!) with a wrist strap, making it easy to handle and designed for maximum control and power.
Padel balls are similar to tennis balls but slightly smaller and less pressurised, to give players more time to return wall rebounds.
Playing padel at pace requires comfortable clothes that move with you. Before you bounce to court, make sure you're serving in comfy workout clothes and court shoes that support your side-steps, pivots and rapid rebounds.
Padel, tennis, pickleball: what's the difference?
Padel
- on a smaller, enclosed court with a net and walls that can be used during play
- using a solid-faced, perforated racquet and a depressurised tennis ball
- always played in pairs.
Scoring is like tennis, played in games and sets.
Pickleball
Played on a smaller court with a lower net
- using a perforated plastic ball (similar to a whiffle ball), and
- with paddles instead of racquets
- as singles (one-on-one) or doubles (two-on-two) .
The rules of pickleball also differ, especially in scoring and serving.
Tennis
Played on a larger court with a higher net
- uses a standard, bouncy tennis ball, and
- a stringed tennis racquet heavier than a pickleball paddle
Tennis points are counted with 0, 15, 30 and 40.