How to play padel: a beginner's guide
Guide · Padel
To play padel, you serve underhand into the opposite box, then rally in pairs, letting the ball bounce once on your side and play off the glass walls, scoring like tennis.
Here are the official rules you need, from the International Padel Federation, how scoring works now, and a few tips that help beginners rally sooner.
The serve
- Stand behind the service line, bounce the ball and hit it at or below waist height, with at least one foot on the ground.
- Serve diagonally into the opposite service box. The lines count as in.
- After it bounces in the box, the serve can hit the glass but not the mesh. If it hits the mesh before its second bounce, it's a fault.
- You get two tries, as in tennis. A serve that clips the net and lands in the box is played again.
The return
The receiver must let the serve bounce once, then hit it before it bounces a second time.
The rally and the walls
- The ball can bounce once on your side. Before or after that bounce, you can hit it.
- After it bounces, it can come off your glass walls or mesh and stay in play.
- You can also hit the ball against your own walls to get it back over, as long as it crosses the net without touching the ground again.
- If your shot hits the other team's walls or mesh before it bounces on their side, you lose the point.
- On courts with space around them, a ball that bounces on your side and leaves the court can be chased and played back.
Other faults
- Touching the net or the posts.
- Letting the ball bounce twice.
- Hitting the ball before it has crossed the net.
- Hitting it twice, or letting it touch you or your partner.
- Two faults in a row on the serve.
Scoring
- Points go 15, 30, 40, game, as in tennis.
- At 40-40, the rules allow three ways to finish: advantage, as in tennis; a golden point, where the next point wins; or the new Star Point, which plays two advantages and then one deciding point.
- The pro tours now use the Star Point. In social games, most players agree on a golden point.
- First to six games wins the set, by two. At 6-6, a tiebreak to 7 decides it. Matches are usually best of three sets.
Tips for your first session
- Let the ball come off the back glass instead of chasing it. It gives you time.
- Keep your swing short, more like a block than a tennis drive.
- Stay side by side with your partner and move together.
- Start with a beginner clinic or a group at your level. You'll rally in your first session.
Sources
- International Padel Federation: Rules of Padel (current edition) padelfip.com
- International Padel Federation: introducing the Star Point padelfip.com
Questions
Questions we hear a lot
Is padel hard to learn?
No. The serve is underhand and the walls keep rallies going, so most beginners rally in their first session.
Can you volley in padel?
Yes, anywhere on the court, except on the return of serve, which must bounce first.
What is a golden point in padel?
At 40-40, the next point wins the game, and the receiving pair chooses which side receives. The pro tours now use a Star Point instead: two advantages, then one deciding point.
Can the serve hit the wall in padel?
Yes, the glass, after it bounces in the service box. If it hits the mesh before its second bounce, it's a fault.
Do I need a partner?
No. Pick-up games at Volta will be grouped by level.
Start playing padel at Volta.
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