Padel vs Pickleball: What's the Difference?
Padel and pickleball compared: court, walls, rackets, balls, serve, scoring and which one is easier to learn. Find out which sport is right for you.
Padel and pickleball are the two fastest-growing racket sports, and they're often mentioned together. Both are social, easy to start and usually played in doubles. But on court they're very different games.
Here's a side-by-side comparison to help you choose, or decide to play both.
At a glance
| Padel | Pickleball | |
|---|---|---|
| Court | 20 × 10 m, enclosed by glass walls and fencing | 44 × 20 ft (13.4 × 6.1 m), open |
| Walls in play | Yes, after the ball bounces | No |
| Racket | Solid, stringless, with holes | Flat solid paddle |
| Ball | Pressurised felt ball, like tennis | Light plastic ball with holes |
| Serve | Underhand, after a bounce, below waist | Underhand, below waist |
| Scoring | Tennis scoring: 15-30-40, games, sets | Games to 11, win by 2 |
| Special zone | None | Non-volley zone ("kitchen") |
| Usual format | Doubles | Doubles or singles |
The biggest difference: walls
In padel, the glass walls are part of the game. After the ball bounces, it can rebound off the back or side walls and you can still play it. Rallies last longer, and smart positioning beats raw power. Pickleball has no walls; the challenge is the kitchen, a 7-foot zone near the net where you can't volley.
Scoring
Padel uses tennis scoring with an optional golden point at deuce, and sets to six games. Pickleball games are usually played to 11 points, win by two. In traditional pickleball only the serving side can score, though some formats use rally scoring.
Which is easier to learn?
Both are beginner-friendly. Pickleball is often quicker to pick up for older players and people without racket experience because the court is small and the ball is slow. Padel takes a few sessions to understand the walls, but tennis and squash players adapt fast.
Fitness and intensity
Padel rallies are longer and involve more running, lobs and overheads, so it's usually more physical. Pickleball is fast at the net but covers less ground.
Cost and access
Pickleball courts are easy to create on existing tennis or sports courts. Padel needs a purpose-built glass court, so you'll usually book at a club, but the game is booming in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, and growing in the US.
So which should you play?
- Choose padel if you like tennis or squash, longer rallies and tactical doubles.
- Choose pickleball if you want the easiest start and courts close to home.
- Or play both: the skills overlap more than you'd think.
Playing padel? Padel Scoreboard: Score Keeper does the 15-30-40 maths, golden point and tiebreaks, so your group never argues about the score.