Basic padel rules for beginners

Your first padel match does not need you to memorise a full rulebook. With five or six clear ideas you can play without stopping every point to ask. This guide covers only the basics, in the order you will need them on court: the serve, a valid ball, the wall, the score and the most common faults. For the finer details, the full padel rules guide and your club or federation's rulebook override this summary.

It is played in pairs

Padel is almost always played as doubles: two pairs, one on each side of the net, on an enclosed court with walls and mesh. That changes the game a lot, because the ball stays alive after hitting the wall, so you and your partner move as one unit.

The serve

• You serve below the waist: you let the ball bounce on the floor and hit it at waist height or lower.
• You must have at least one foot on the floor when you hit, and serve from behind the service line without stepping on it.
• The serve goes diagonally and the ball must bounce inside the opposing service box.
• If the ball clips the net and lands in the right box, the serve is normally replayed.
• If you miss, you get a second attempt. Miss both and it is a double fault: the point goes to the other team.
• The server alternates sides of the court after each point.

When a ball is good

• The ball may bounce only once on your side before you return it. After two bounces the point goes to your opponents.
• After it bounces on your side, you may let it hit the wall and return it afterwards. This is the big difference from tennis.
• You may also return it in the air, before it bounces, like a volley.
• Your shot must clear the net and bounce on the floor of the other side before touching any wall or mesh. If it hits their wall before bouncing on their floor, the shot is not good.
• If your shot bounces on the opponents' floor and then leaves the court through the fence, the point is yours.

What you cannot do

• Touch the net with your body or paddle during the point.
• Hit the ball twice, or have both partners touch it.
• Return the ball after it has bounced twice on your side.
• Touch the ball with your body or clothes; with your hand it is also a fault.
• Reach over the net to hit the ball on the opponents' side.

How points are counted

The score works like tennis:

• Points in each game go 15, 30, 40 and game.
• At 40 all there is deuce: you must win by two points, or the golden point is used, where the next point decides the game. Many clubs and americanas use the golden point to shorten matches; ask which one will be used before you start.
• A set is won with 6 games, by a margin of two. At 6 all a tie-break is usually played.
• A match is usually best of three sets, although in one-hour bookings it is often played by time or a set number of games.
• Players change sides when the total number of games in the set is odd.

Who wins the point

• A team wins the point when the opponents let the ball bounce twice, hit it into the net or out, or play a shot that is not good.
• A team also wins when it plays a shot the opponents cannot return within the rules.
• If there is doubt about whether the ball bounced or went out, the fairest approach in a friendly match is to replay the point or give the doubt to whoever saw it best. Your match has no referee.

Quick etiquette

• Call the score before each serve.
• If you hit an opponent by accident, apologise; it is part of the game.
• If you are not sure about a ball, do not argue: replay the point.

Before your first match

1. Find out whether the court is covered or open air; with Cancún heat it matters a lot. 2. Bring a paddle and balls, or ask the club whether they rent them. 3. Tell the others you are a beginner; nobody will judge you and the match will be more even. 4. Look for an open game at your level if you do not yet have people to play with.