Padel is the fastest growing sport in the UK, and most people play their first game before they have read a single rule. The good news is that the basics take about five minutes to learn. If you can follow tennis scoring, you already know most of it.

This guide covers everything you need for your first game: how scoring works, how to serve, the two rules that catch every beginner out, and how padel differs from tennis, paddleball and paddle tennis.

How padel scoring works

Padel uses exactly the same scoring as tennis. Points run 15, 30, 40, game. Six games win a set, provided you are two games clear, and matches are usually best of three sets.

At 40-40 you play a deuce, and the pair must win two consecutive points to take the game. Many UK club matches and most professional padel use a golden point instead: at 40-40 the next point decides the game outright, and the receiving pair chooses which of them takes the serve. It keeps matches shorter and it is worth checking which format your club uses before you start.

If a set reaches 6-6, a tiebreak decides it. First to seven points, two clear. In a tiebreak you serve one point, then serve alternates every two points, and pairs change ends every six points.

A typical club match runs 60 to 90 minutes, which is why most venues book courts in 90 minute slots. If you are playing socially rather than competitively, many groups play a single set or simply play to a time limit and count games.

Serving rules in padel

Every padel serve is underarm. You must bounce the ball once on the floor behind the service line, then strike it at or below waist height, diagonally into the opposite service box.

You get two serves, as in tennis. The serve must bounce inside the service box. After that bounce it may hit the side glass and remain in play, but if it touches the wire mesh at any point the serve is a fault. A serve that clips the net and still lands in the correct box is a let and is replayed.

Both feet must stay behind the service line until you have struck the ball, and you serve from the right-hand box first, alternating after each point. Crossing the line before contact is a foot fault and counts as a fault.

One pair serves for a whole game, then the other pair serves the next. Within a pair, the two players alternate games, so each player serves every fourth game. You can change that order between sets but not during one.

The double bounce rule

This is the rule that catches out every beginner. The ball must bounce on the floor before it touches any wall. A shot that hits the glass or the mesh before bouncing on the ground is out, and the point goes to your opponents.

It applies to your own shots too. When you hit the ball over the net, it has to land on the floor of your opponents' side first. You cannot fire it directly onto their back glass.

Playing off the walls

Once the ball has bounced on the floor, the walls are in play and this is what makes padel different from tennis. You can let the ball bounce, rebound off your own back or side wall, and then play it back over the net.

The sequence that matters is floor first, then wall. Ball bounces on your side, comes off the glass, you hit it back. Perfectly legal, and learning to read those rebounds is most of what separates a beginner from an intermediate player.

You may also play the ball after it has come off the walls more than once, as long as it has not bounced on the floor a second time. A ball that bounces, hits the side glass, then the back glass, and is still travelling is entirely playable.

The back glass is where most beginners lose points, because the instinct from tennis is to stand close to it. In padel you want space: let the ball pass you, wait for it to come off the glass, and hit it as it comes back towards the net. Stepping back towards the wall is usually the wrong move.

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Padel court dimensions

A standard padel court is 20 metres long and 10 metres wide, enclosed on all sides. The back walls and the lower sections of the side walls are glass, and the upper side sections are wire mesh. The net sits at 88 centimetres in the centre, rising slightly to 92 centimetres at the posts.

The service boxes are marked three metres from the back wall. Knowing the dimensions matters more than it sounds, because the court is a quarter of the size of a tennis court, which is why reactions matter more than power.

Court boundaries and when the ball is out

The ball is out when it bounces twice on the floor, when it hits the wire mesh or glass on your opponents' side before bouncing, when it goes over the surrounding structure and out of the court, or when it hits any part of your body.

Most courts have openings at the sides. Where the court allows it, you can run outside and play the ball back in.

If you smash the ball so hard that it bounces in your opponents' court and then flies out of the court entirely, the point is yours. This is a legitimate winning shot, not a fault, and you will hear it called a por tres or por cuatro depending on which gap it goes through.

The one exception is that your opponents are allowed to chase it. If they can get outside the court and play it back in before it bounces twice, the rally continues.

Faults, lets and common mistakes

A fault is called when the serve misses the correct box, bounces above waist height before being struck, touches the mesh, or when the server steps over the line. Two faults in a row and the point goes to the receivers.

A let is replayed rather than lost. The most common is a serve that clips the net and lands correctly.

You also lose the point for touching the net with your racket or body while the ball is in play, for hitting the ball twice, and for playing the ball before it has crossed to your side of the net.

Padel singles rules

Padel is designed for doubles, but singles is played, usually on a dedicated singles court which is narrower than the standard 20 metres by 10 metres.

The rules are the same. Scoring, serving, the double bounce rule and the walls all work identically. On a full-size doubles court singles is hard work, because one player covers the ground of two, but plenty of clubs allow it during quiet periods.

How padel rules differ from tennis

If you play tennis, four differences matter. The serve is underarm rather than overhead. The walls are in play once the ball has bounced. The court is enclosed and smaller, at 20 metres by 10. And padel is almost always doubles.

Scoring is identical, the net height is similar, and the rally structure will feel familiar. Most tennis players are competent at padel within a couple of sessions, though the wall play takes longer to read.

Padel, paddleball and paddle tennis are not the same sport

These names are used interchangeably online and they describe different sports, which causes a lot of confusion for people searching for the rules.

Padel is the sport described in this guide: doubles, enclosed glass court, underarm serve, walls in play, tennis scoring. It is the one growing quickly across the UK.

Paddleball is an American sport, usually played against one or more walls with no net, and its rules are closer to squash or handball than to padel.

Paddle tennis, sometimes called POP tennis, is another American sport played on a smaller court with a lower net, solid bats and no surrounding walls.

If you are in the UK and someone invites you to play padel, it is padel.

Frequently asked questions

Can you play padel on your own or in singles?

Yes. Singles padel is usually played on a narrower dedicated court, using exactly the same rules as doubles.

What is the double bounce rule in padel?

The ball must bounce on the floor before it touches a wall. A ball that hits the glass or mesh before bouncing is out.

Can the ball hit the wall on a serve?

Yes, but only after it has bounced inside the correct service box. If it touches the wire mesh the serve is a fault.

Is padel scoring the same as tennis?

Yes: 15, 30, 40, game, six games to a set, best of three sets. Many matches use a golden point at deuce instead of playing advantage.

Do you have to serve underarm in padel?

Yes. The ball must be struck at or below waist height after bouncing once on the floor. There is no overhead serve in padel.

How is padel different from paddleball?

They are separate sports. Padel is played in doubles on an enclosed glass court with tennis scoring. Paddleball is an American wall sport played without a net.

Ready to play?

The rules take five minutes. The walls take a season. Find a court near you, book a session, and the rest makes sense the moment you are on court.

Find a padel court near you · Find a padel coach · How to book a padel court in the UK

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