What is padel? A quick guide to the fast-growing sport
Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports worldwide. Learn the rules, essential tips for beginners, and why this exciting game is winning over players everywhere!
What is padel tennis?
Padel (sometimes called padel tennis) has exploded from a niche Mexican backyard game into one of the fastest-growing sports on the planet, with tens of millions of players across more than 90 countries. It’s a doubles racket sport that mixes the scoring and net play of tennis with the wall action of squash — but feels easier to pick up and far more social than either.
Unlike traditional paddle tennis (an older American sport played on open courts without walls), padel takes place on a fully enclosed 20 m × 10 m court with glass and mesh walls that stay in play. That single difference changes everything: rallies last longer, mistakes are more forgiving, and the game stays fun even when you’re still learning.
The differences between tennis and padel
As mentioned above, padel takes its influence from tennis and anyone who watches a game of padel can't fail to notice that everything plays out like a game of tennis. There are differences, the key one being padel is played in an enclosed space. Below are also the difference you'll notice.
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Court size: a padel court is smaller than a tennis court. A padel court doesn't have the same line markings as a tennis court.
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Enclosed walls/fence: they are part of the court and play a part in gameplay
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Racket: a padel racket looks similarly shaped to a tennis racket but is smaller and not strung.
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Balls: the balls used in padel are smaller in diameter than a tennis ball despite looking the same.
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Serving: in padel, the serve is underarm and not overhead like in tennis.
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Technique: padel is not so much a power-based game like tennis.
What do you need to start playing padel?
The court
The playing area of the padel court measures 20x10 metres wide. Each half of the court is a perfect square of 10×10 metres. All lines on the court have a width of five centimetres. The net at the centre line of the court is 10 metres long and should be 88 centimetres high at the centre and 92 centimetres at the end.
Courts are typically enclosed by a combination of perspex glass (or solid concrete) walls and wire mesh. The back walls on the court should always be perspex glass and be three metres high. These walls are then topped with 1m of wire mesh. The side walls are part perspex glass and part wire mesh and should be three metres high also.
There are two gates at either end of the net on the side of the court and they are kept open during play as the rules of padel allow you to play a point out of the court. The court surface may be concrete or synthetic grass, or carpet.
The racket
There's no long-handed stringed racket in padel like there is in tennis. A padel racket looks very different as a result. It has a short handle and a foam core with an outer shell that could be anything from fibreglass to carbon fibre to graphene. A padel racket must not measure more than 45.5 centimetres long, 26 centimetres, and it should have a thickness of 38 mm.
One of the peculiarities of a padel racket is that they are perforated with holes throughout. These holes are there to reduce the weight of the rackets. Rackets are classified around type also: Diamond (greater power), Teardrop (Control and power) and Round (greater control).
The balls
Padel balls are very similar to standard tennis balls in look but are smaller in diameter and carry less pressure.
The International Padel Federation (FIP) regulations specify that the ball must be made of yellow or white rubber and have a diameter of between 6.32 and 6.77 centimetres, while the weight must be between 56 and 59 grams. The ball must have an internal pressure of between 4.6 and 5.2 kilograms.
What are the rules of padel?
The rules for padel are similar to tennis in many ways, but there are also differences here.
Padel scoring
Scoring largely follows that of normal tennis
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A point in padel is awarded if: the ball bounces on the ground twice on a player's side; a player hits the ball into the net; a player hits the ball outside the play area or directly against an opponent wall/fence without the ball bouncing first.
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Like tennis, matches are made up of three sets or five sets. The first player or team who wins two out of the three sets (or three, when five sets are played) wins.
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The first player or team to win six games wins the set. A team must have a lead of two or more games to win the set.
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In the professional game, a tie-break is played if a set goes to six games each. The first to seven points wins the tie-break.
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Games follow the point scoring of tennis also. So scores go up as 15, 30, 40, Game. If the scores are level at 40-40, this is a deuce.
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Star Point (new for 2026): To speed up games and increase drama, traditional deuce advantage is being replaced with a single, decisive point after two standard advantages at 40-40, with the receiving pair choosing the return side for maximum pressure.
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Players change their side of the court every time an odd game number is played.
In-game rules
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Serve is by underarm into the opponent's court diagonally from where the server is standing. The server has to let the ball bounce once behind the service line before serving, and the ball must be hit by the server below their waist level. The serve must bounce in an opponent player's service box. If the ball bounces onto the fence, that is considered a fault. If it hits a wall, then play can continue.
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In play, you return the ball once it bounces off the surface on your side. You can also play the ball if the ball bounces onto a wall or fence and rebounds off it. You are allowed to volley, but that return ball must not hit the glass perspex walls/fence directly.
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A player can play the ball against a wall on their own side of the court but not off the fence parts of the court.
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A player can leave the court to play a shot if the court has exit gates. This situation arises when a ball bounces on the opponent’s side of the court and then bounces over the perspex glass wall/fence. Players can exit the court in order to return the ball before it bounces a second time.
Padel tips for starters
Though padel is a sport that you can jump straight into and play, there are many intricacies to the game, the tactics you can employ and shots you can play. Here are some tips for those who are interested in playing or are just starting out.
Wall play – playing the ball off a perspex wall is a major part of the game, so don't avoid using it; the wall is not your enemy. When the ball bounces off the wall, it loses speed, so you actually have time to consider what shot you can play more so than just off a normal return off the surface.
Court position – When positioning at the back of the court, you should stand on the same line as your partner. The ideal position is one step back of the service line and two steps back of the side of the court. At the net, don't stand too close. Instead, take a position two to three steps back from the net.
Ease off the power - focus on just getting the ball back across the net and into play continuously. This will allow you to learn how to control the ball with your racket properly. Padel is not a power-based game, even at pro levels.
Shoes on court – Many players new to the sport will just choose tennis shoes, but actually playing padel puts incredible strain on athlete's Achilles tendons. So choose specific padel shoes from recognised manufacturers as they'll offer maximum comfort and cushioning that is specific to the stresses that a padel player undergoes.
For the professionals, what is the main tour they play on?
Premier Padel is the main tour for professional players. Competing tours Premier Padel and World Padel Tour agreed to merge to unify under one professional circuit, governed by the International Padel Federation (FIP) in time for the start of the 2024 season. The Premier Padel name has been retained after the merger.