How to play

The Basics

Padel is played only in doubles. 

Points are started by an underarm serve before the point is live. 

Each shot must clear the net and bounce in the court before hitting the wall or cage, to be considered in. 

If it hits the wall or cage without bouncing, the shot is out, and your opponents win the point. 

Serves can bounce and hit the wall but if it hits the cage instead – the serve is out.

You’re only allowed one bounce before you have to hit the ball. If it bounces twice on your side of the court, your opponents win the point.

How to score in padel

Padel scoring is the same as tennis and is most commonly played as sets and games. To win one set, you have to win six games and be leading by two clear games or more..

Similarly, to clinch a game, you must win four points with a two-point advantage. Games are scored as:

• 15 – one point
• 30 – two points
• 40 – three points

If the game goes to 40-40, this is called ‘deuce’. You will still need to win by two clear points – whoever wins the next point will have ‘advantage’ and will then need to win the following point to seal the game. If you lose the advantage point, it’s back to deuce.

Alternatively, at deuce you can play a ‘golden point’, or sudden death: whoever wins the deuce point wins the game. 

Padel service rules

You get two serves, just like in tennis (but it’s not f*cking tennis). 

To serve, stand behind the service line and hit the ball cross court into the opposite service box. You must bounce the ball behind the line before you hit it. The ball must be hit underarm, below waist height. 

If you land the ball in the service box and then it bounces and hits the cage first, this is out. If it hits the side or back glass, the point is live. If it hits the net and then lands into the opponent’s service box, then you re-take the serve.

Players take it in turns to serve for a whole game.

Padel rules for the glass

You can use the glass in two ways. You can either let the ball bounce and hit the glass before hitting it back, or you can hit the ball against the glass to try and land it on your opponents’ side of the court.

In a rally you can also aim your shots to bounce and hit the cage to create awkward rebounds for your opponents. However, serves can’t hit the cage and you can’t hit the ball against the cage on your side of the court.