Padel rules quick guide: scoring, serve and walls

This is the short version of the rules of padel, written so you can read it on the way to the club and walk onto the court knowing the essentials. It is a general explanation: clubs and tournaments can adjust details, and in an official match the competition's own rulebook decides. For more depth, we have a guide that explains the rules play by play.

The idea of the game

Padel is almost always played in pairs, on a court enclosed by walls and fencing, with a net across the middle. You play with a solid racket and a ball much like a tennis ball. You win the point when the ball bounces twice on your opponents' side, or when they hit it out, into the net or into the fence before it bounces.

How scoring works

• Inside a game points are counted 15, 30 and 40, and the next point wins the game.
• A set is won by reaching 6 games with a two-game lead. If it is level at 6, a tiebreak is normally played.
• A match is usually the best of three sets. In friendly matches, one set or a time limit is common, so agree on the format before you start.

The golden point

When a game reaches 40 all, there is no advantage: one deciding point, the golden point, is played. Whoever wins it wins the game. On that point, the receiving pair chooses which of its two players receives the serve. This format is common in clubs and social matches because it shortens games; check beforehand whether your match uses it.

The serve

• Serve underhand. You let the ball bounce on the floor and hit it at waist height or lower.
• Feet on the ground. No jumping as you serve, and no stepping on the lines.
• Diagonally. The ball must land in the service box on the opposite side from you.
• Two attempts. Miss both and it is a double fault: the point goes to your opponents.
• You alternate service boxes every point, and each player on the pair serves their own game, in turns.
• If it clips the net and lands in the box, the serve is replayed.

The walls

The walls are part of the game, with one condition: floor first, wall second.

• After your serve or your opponents' shot, the ball may bounce on the floor and then hit the wall, and you can still return it.
• You can return the ball before it bounces (a volley), as long as you stay on your side of the net.
• If the ball hits the fence or a wall without having bounced on the floor on the other side first, the point ends.
• After the ball bounces on your side, it may hit one or more walls and stays in play until it bounces a second time.

What loses the point

• Letting the ball bounce twice on your side.
• Hitting it out of the court, into the net, or into the fence without a bounce first.
• Touching the net with your racket or body while the ball is in play.
• Both players of a pair hitting the ball in the same exchange, or hitting it twice in a row yourself.

Quick etiquette

Call the ball honestly, without arguing in the heat of the moment, keep your voice friendly, say the score before each serve and, if you are unsure, replay the point. If you are playing with new people, a good habit is to ask before the first serve whether the match uses the golden point or advantage.

Rule mistakes beginners make

• Serving above the waist, as in tennis. In padel it is a fault.
• Treating the opposing wall as in squash. If the ball hits it without bouncing on the floor first, the point ends.
• Watching the ball rebound off the back wall and letting it bounce a second time on the floor by waiting too long.
• Not agreeing the format. Many arguments are about golden point or advantage, a set or a time limit.

What next

Once the rules come naturally, what helps most is playing people of your level. If you are not sure what yours is, take the level test in the app and read our guide on levels. To find a partner or fill a match in Cancún, look at the open retas.