The Sport of Padel
What is Padel?
Padel (or padel tennis) is a Spanish outdoor racket sport played in doubles. In recent years, the sport has gained popularity far beyond Spain and Latin America and is now one of the most popular recreational sports worldwide.
Basics & Rules
Everything you need to know about padel — from the court and equipment to the rules of the game.
Basics
1The Court
A padel court is standardised at 10 m × 20 m and divided into two halves by a net.
The sides are enclosed by wire mesh panels; the back and rear sides are bounded by safety glass.
- Net: 88 cm high in the centre, 92 cm at the sides
- Surface: Artificial grass with sand infill, height 12–14 mm
2The Racket
Padel uses its own rackets, approximately 35 cm × 45 cm in size. Thanks to the foam core, a padel racket is very light. To reduce air resistance during swinging, the racket has several holes.
3The Ball
Visually the ball barely differs from a tennis ball. However, the felt ball used in padel has slightly lower air pressure, making the rallies slower.
Rules
1The Serve
The serve is played underhand (below hip height) diagonally into the opposing service box — like in tennis. The ball must bounce once before being struck. After bouncing in the service box it may touch the back wall.
If the serve hits the wire fence (called Viento), it is a fault. If the ball bounces in the box and goes over the fence, the point is replayed.
2Scoring
Scoring follows tennis: 15, 30, 40, Game. At 40:40 (deuce) a team must win two consecutive points (advantage + point) to win the game.
A set is won by reaching 6 games; at 6:6 a tiebreak decides. Matches are played best of three sets.
3The Ball Must
- touch the ground before touching the walls.
4The Ball May
- also be played as a volley.
- touch the walls after one bounce on the ground.
5The Ball May Not
- bounce twice on the ground.
- touch the walls before the ground after crossing the net.
Bereit?
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