Padel Rules: The Complete Beginner's Guide

The rules of padel explained simply: scoring, the underhand serve, playing off the walls, faults and the golden point. Everything you need for your first match.

Padel is the fastest-growing racket sport in the world, and part of the reason is that it's easy to start. The rules borrow tennis scoring, add glass walls and an underhand serve, and almost always put four players on court.

This guide covers the official rules from the International Padel Federation (FIP), plus the house rules you'll meet at most clubs.

The basics

• Padel is almost always played as doubles: two pairs on a court of 20 × 10 metres, enclosed by walls and mesh fencing.
• The ball must cross the net and bounce once on the opponents' side before it touches a wall or fence.
• After that bounce, players can let the ball come off the walls and still play it, as long as it hasn't bounced twice.
• You can volley any ball except the serve, which must bounce before it is returned.
• Players must not touch the net or the opponents' side of the court with their body or racket.

Scoring

Padel uses the same scoring as tennis:

• Points go 15, 30, 40, game.
• At 40-40 (deuce) you play advantage, or a single deciding golden point if that's the rule at your club or tournament.
• A set is won by the first pair to six games with a two-game lead. At 6-6 a tiebreak to seven points (win by two) decides the set.
• Matches are usually best of three sets. Some amateur events play a deciding super tiebreak instead of a third set.

See our full guide to how padel scoring works for tiebreak serving order and the golden point.

The serve

The padel serve is underhand. The server bounces the ball behind the service line and hits it at or below waist height, diagonally into the opponents' service box. You get two attempts. A serve that clips the net and lands in the box is replayed, unless it then hits the mesh fence. Read the padel serve rules for the details.

Playing off the walls

• Your walls are allowed: once the ball has bounced on your side, it can hit your side or back wall and you can still return it.
• You can use your own wall to get the ball back: hitting the ball into your own wall so that it goes over the net is legal.
• Their walls are not: if your shot hits the opponents' wall or fence before bouncing on their ground, you lose the point.

Common ways to lose a point

• The ball bounces twice on your side.
• Your shot hits the opponents' wall or fence directly, or goes into your own net.
• You touch the net, or the ball touches you.
• Two double faults, or a serve that lands outside the box or hits the fence after bouncing.
• Hitting the ball twice, or both partners hitting it.

Etiquette you'll see everywhere

• Call the score before every serve.
• Change ends after odd-numbered games (1, 3, 5…), just like tennis.
• Agree on golden point or advantage before you start.

Padel Scoreboard: Score Keeper follows all of these scoring rules. Choose golden point or advantage, turn tiebreaks on or off, and tap once per point.