Padel rules are based on tennis scoring (15/30/40/game) but adapted for a walled doubles court. Serves must be underarm and bounce once before crossing the net. The ball must bounce on the floor before hitting any wall. Players can play the ball off their own walls after it bounces. Matches are best of three sets.
The basics every player needs to know
Padel is played 2-versus-2 on an enclosed court roughly 20 metres long and 10 metres wide. Glass walls cover the back, metal mesh covers parts of the sides, and the whole thing is fenced in so the ball stays in play far longer than in tennis. The scoring is familiar if you have watched tennis, but almost every other rule is different.
You will pick up roughly 80 per cent of what matters in your first hour. The rest are edge cases covered below.
Padel scoring: tennis with minor tweaks
Games are scored 15, 30, 40, game - exactly like tennis. Sets are first to six games with a two-game margin, with a tiebreak at 6-6. Matches are best of three sets. There are two significant variations worth knowing.
Deuce and advantage
In traditional scoring, after 40-40 (deuce) one side must win two consecutive points to take the game. Most recreational and many pro formats now use golden point instead: at deuce, a single decisive point decides the game and the receiving team chooses which side to return from. For a full breakdown, see our golden point guide.
Super tiebreak
When a match reaches one set all, some formats replace the third set with a 10-point super tiebreak to save time. First to 10 points wins, with a 2-point margin required.
The serve: strict rules, underarm only
The serve is the single most rule-heavy moment in padel. Getting it right means remembering four things.
- Underarm only. The ball must be struck at or below waist height. No overhead serves, no tennis-style power serves.
- Bounce first. You must bounce the ball on the floor once before you hit it. No tossing and striking in mid-air.
- Diagonal. The serve must land in the opposite service box, having cleared the net. It cannot touch the side wall on the way in.
- Behind the line. Both feet stay behind the service line until after contact.
If the serve lands in the right box but then hits the side glass before the receiver plays it, that is a fault. If the serve hits the net and lands in the correct box, it is a let - you get to serve again with no penalty. Two faults lose the point. For more detail, see our full serve rules guide.
Wall play: what makes padel unique
This is the rule that changes everything compared to tennis. After the ball bounces on the floor, it can hit any of your own walls on the way out, and you can still play it as a legal shot. You cannot volley a wall, and the ball must always bounce on the floor first before any wall contact.
What you can do
- Let a ball bounce behind you, rebound off your own back glass, and play it back over the net
- Play a ball that has hit your side wall after bouncing
- Use the wall deliberately to set up a shot with better angle or height
What you cannot do
- Hit the ball into your own wall first before it crosses back over the net
- Play a ball that has bounced on your side of the court twice
- Play a ball that has hit the wall before bouncing on the floor
Lets, faults and disputed calls
A "let" is a point that gets replayed with no fault recorded. The most common situation is a serve that clips the net and still lands in the correct box. Other lets include interference from a ball rolling onto the court, or an honest disagreement between opponents that cannot be resolved.
A "fault" is a lost point or a lost service attempt. Stepping on the line during your serve, hitting the ball outside the court before it crosses the net, or letting the ball bounce twice on your side all count as faults. See our lets explained for the full list.
What counts as out
This is where new players get confused most often. The court has three boundaries.
| Surface | In play or out |
|---|---|
| Glass back wall | In play - ball can rebound and be returned |
| Side glass and mesh | In play - same rule |
| Outside the court fence | Out - point lost |
| Ceiling or overhanging structure | Out - point lost |
| Line on the floor | In - lines are considered part of the court |
A ball that rebounds off your own wall and then goes over the fence without bouncing counts as out. A ball that hits your opponents back glass after bouncing on their floor is in play - they can still try to return it. See our out-of-bounds rules for every edge case.
Match formats and tournament rules
Standard format is best of three sets. Recreational play often caps matches at 90 minutes regardless of score to keep court turnover predictable. Professional matches on the Premier Padel tour use best-of-three with tiebreaks in all sets and golden point at deuce.
Warm-up and changeovers
Warm-up is typically five minutes on court before starting. Players change ends after odd-numbered games (1, 3, 5...). A 90-second break applies at changeovers. Coaching is allowed during these breaks in some formats but not all.