Padel Rules: How the Game Works

Padel uses the same scoring system as tennis: points go 15, 30, 40, game. Matches are typically best of three sets, with each set won by the first pair to reach six games (with a tiebreak at 6-6). Deuce and advantage rules apply as in tennis.

The serve must be underhand — the ball must be struck at or below waist height after being bounced on the ground. The serve goes diagonally to the opposite service box. Both first and second serves are allowed, just like tennis. Serves that hit the net and land in the correct box are let serves and replayed, but a serve that hits the glass wall after bouncing in the service box is a fault.

After the serve, the ball must bounce on the ground before it can be played off any wall. This is the key rule that distinguishes padel: once the ball has bounced, players can let it hit the back or side walls and play it afterwards. The ball can only bounce once on the ground per side.

Players can also leave the court through the side openings to retrieve a ball that has bounced on their side and gone over the back wall — this produces some of padel's most spectacular rallies.

Volleys are allowed (hitting the ball before it bounces), except on the return of serve, where the ball must bounce first. Touching the net or any part of the opponents' court is a foul, as in tennis.