Padel rules for beginners: the serve, the glass and the score

Padel rules in one sentence: it is played in pairs on a court 20 metres long and 10 metres wide; every point starts with an underarm serve hit at or below the waist after the ball bounces; the ball must land in the other pair's court before it touches any wall, after which the glass is in play; and the scoring is the same as tennis. This is a short guide to padel rules for beginners, with the drawings we made from the glass and the fence.

The court and the net

The official court is 10 metres wide and 20 metres long, closed in by glass walls at the back and along part of each side, with metal fencing for the rest. The net is 0.88 metres high in the middle, rising to about 0.92 metres at the posts. Each half has a service line and two service boxes, left and right.

Plate II: A Measured Rally shows that court in crayon, seen from the stands in the middle of a rally, on paper, canvas or metal.

The serve

The server stands behind the service line, lets the ball bounce, then hits it at or below waist height. It must cross diagonally into the opposite service box and land inside it or on its line. After that bounce, touching the glass is fine; touching the metal fence is a fault.

Padel rules for the glass

This is where padel parts ways with tennis. The core rule: the ball you hit must land on the floor of the other pair's court first. You may not hit it straight into their glass before it bounces on their side.

On your own side, the walls work for you. If their ball bounces on your floor and then hits the glass, you can wait for it to come back off the wall and play it. You can even hit it into your own glass so that it rebounds over the net. During a rally, a ball that bounces in the other court and then touches the fence stays in play.

That moment is the subject of Off the Glass: a crayon drawing of the glass wall with a ball coming off it, on the back of the tee and the front of the tank. In Back Glass the court is stitched small on caps and beanies, with one shot going to the glass and coming back.

Playing outside the court

On courts with side doors and a safe area beyond them, the sport's international federation allows a player to run out through the door and return a ball that has bounced out over the fence, as long as the court is built for it. Where it is not, the point ends when the ball leaves. Out the Door comes from that rare point: a crayon drawing of the court door with a ball going through it, on the back of the tee.

Common beginner faults

Most points a beginner loses in the first weeks come from the rules themselves, not from a weak shot. The usual ones:

• Hitting the ball straight into the other pair's glass before it bounces on their floor: the point is lost, however good the shot looked.
• Serving from above the waist, as in tennis.
• A serve that lands in the box and then touches the metal fence: a fault, even if everything else was right.
• Rushing a ball that has bounced on your side instead of letting it come back off the glass.

The beginner's rule of thumb: let the ball come off the glass. It gives you more time than you think.

The score

Padel uses tennis scoring: 15, 30, 40, game, with deuce and advantage at 40 all. Many events play the golden point instead: at deuce, one deciding point is played with no advantage. Once the rules make sense, the overheads come next: see our guide to padel shots.

Padel on our pieces

Our padel tees and tanks carry crayon drawings with one line underneath: one racket and one ball in One Shot, One Return, and four rackets and a few balls in Next Court. On tees and crewnecks a small mark is stitched at the chest, a padel ball at the end of a dashed yellow arc or a racket and a ball, and Back Glass is embroidered on caps and beanies. Every padel piece, embroidered designs included, is in the padel collection. Each one is made for you after you order, with free shipping.

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