PADEL

What is Padel?

Padel is a sport which combines action with fun and social interaction. It’s a great sport for players of all ages and skills, as it is both quick and easy to pick up. Most players get the basics within the first half an hour of playing so that they can enjoy the game.

Padel is not as dominated by strength, technique and serve as it happens in Tennis and therefore is an ideal game for men, women and youth to compete together. An important skill is match-craft, as points are won rather by strategy than by sheer strength and power.

What are the rules?

Padel is the fastest growing sport in the world and now has over 25 million players in over 90 countries.

THE PADEL COURT

Padel is a mix between Tennis and Squash. It’s usually played in doubles on an enclosed court surrounded by walls of glass and metallic mash. The court is one third of the size of a tennis court.

The ball can bounce of any wall but can only hit the turf once before being returned. Points can be scored when the ball does bounce twice in the competitors’ field.

DIMENSIONS

A Padel court is 20 meters long and 10 meters wide with the back walls being made of glas up to a hight of 3 meters, whereas the glas side walls end after 4 meters. The walls can be made of glas or another solid, even material like concrete. The rest of the court is closed using a metallic mesh to a hight of 4 meters.

At the middle of the playing field there is a net dividing the court in two. It has a maximum height of 88 cm in the center, raising to 92 cm at both sides. These fields are than divided in the middle by a line and another line three meters from the back wall marks the service area.

PADEL BASIC RULES

Players

Played most commonly in doubles but single courts are now available at COURTX

Serves

Both 1st and 2nd serves must be underhand

Score

Scoring method is the same as in tennis

Ball

Looks like tennis balls but are less pressurized

Padel Raquet

Solid with no strings. May be perforated

Walls

Walls are used as part of the game

Start of the game

Rule 1. Position of the players

The game is played in pairs.

The players stand in the areas located on either side of the net. The server puts the ball into play and the receiver returns the ball.

The receiver may stand in any part of their area of the court as can the partner of the receiver and the partner of the server.

Players change sides when the number of games played is an odd number. If an error is made and the players do not change sides they should rectify the error as soon as it is discovered to follow the correct order of play.

Maximum rest time between games is 90 seconds.

Rule 2. Choice of side and service

The choice of sides and the right to serve in the first game is decided by a draw. The pair who win the draw have the right to choose between:

Serving or receiving the service, in which case the other pair choose the side of the court,
The side of the court, in which case the other pair can choose to serve or receive,
Requesting that their opponents choose first.

The serve

Rule 3. The serve

The serve must be carried out in the following way:

The player who serves (the server) must have both feet behind the service line between the central service line and the side wall. The ball is served over the net diagonally into the opposite service area, the ball must bounce inside or on the line which limits the service box. The first serve being from the right hand side after which the ball is served from alternate sides.
The server must bounce the ball behind the service line and in the area between the central line and the side wall.
A disabled player with only one arm may bounce the ball using the racket.
The server may not touch the service line with their feet, nor enter the boxed area delimited by the continuation of the central line given that the serve is diagonal.
At the moment of serving the player must hit the ball at or below waist level and at the time of hitting the ball must have at least one foot on the ground.
When serving the player (server) may not walk run or jump, small movements which do not affect the initial stance not being considered a change of position.
Should the player miss the ball when trying to hit it, the service will be considered as taken.
If the ball is served inadvertently from the wrong side the error should be corrected as soon as it is discovered. All points obtained in this situation are considered valid however, if only one service fault has been made this should also count.

Rule 4. Service faults

The following are considered service faults:

The server infringes rule 3. (see THE SERVE above)
The server completely misses the ball when attempting to serve
Once served, if the ball bounces outside the lines of the service area of the player receiving service. The lines are counted as in
Once served, if the ball hits the servers partner
Once served, if the ball passes over the net, bounces and touches the fence which marks the boundary of the opponents’ court before the second bounce (service only)
Once served, if the ball touches one of the walls in the service area of the server even when later the ball goes over the net and into the opponents area
If the ball bounces incorrectly and it is not possible to hit or recuperate it
If the server takes more than 25 seconds to serve following the previous point

Rule 5. Service order

The players who have the right to serve in the first game of each set decide which of the two partners will serve first. At the end of the first game the pair receiving starts serving, this alternation continuing for all the games of a set. Once the service order has been decided it can not be changed until the beginning of the following set.

At the beginning of each set the players who have the serve decide which of the two will serve first and from then on the service is taken in turns.

If a player serves out of turn, the player whose turn it should have been must serve as soon as the error is discovered. All points counted before the error are valid but if there has been only one service fault before the error is discovered this will not be counted. In the case that a game finishes before the error is discovered, the service order continues as it is (in error) until the end of the set.

Return of serve

Rule 6. Service return

The player who returns the serve must wait until the ball bounces in their service area and hit it before the second bounce.
If the ball bounces twice inside the area even after hitting one of the [back] walls the service is considered good and the point goes to the side who served.
In installations with “edges” (in the case of the ball hitting the corner or edge which forms the union between the wall and the lateral wall with the fence) the serve will only be considered good if after bouncing the ball hits the mentioned edge/ corner and carries on in the direction of the receiver.
If the receiving player hits the ball before it bounces or is a fault in the service they lose the point.

Rule 7. Return order

The players who receive the service in the first game of each set decide who will be the first to receive the serve. That player will continue to receive the first serve of each game until the end of the set.

The players alternate in receiving the serve, once the order has been decided it cannot be changed during the set but can be changed at the start of the following set.

If during a game the order of receipt of serve is altered by the players receiving the serve play continues in this way until the end of the game in which the error occurred. In the following games the receiving players must adopt the initial order of play, if the error is discovered when the wrong player returns the service the receiving players lose the point.

Rule 8. Number of serves

The server is allowed a second serve if the first is not valid. The second serve is made from the same side as the first and immediately after it.

Rule 9. Preparation of the receiver

The server must not serve until the player who is receiving the serve is ready and if the receiver is not ready, or makes no effort to return the ball, the server cannot claim the point even if the service was good. Likewise, the receiver cannot claim the point if the service is out. The receiving player may stop play if not ready. However the 25 second rule, RULE 4 (h), must be respected.

Rule 10. A serve touched by a player

If the player who is receiving the service or their partner is hit by, or touches the ball with the racket before it bounces, the point is won by the server.

Rule 11. Repetition of a point or "let" ball

The ball touches the net or the net posts (if inside the area of play) and then falls in the area of the receiver of the serve, as long as it does not touch the metal fence before the second bounce.
If after the ball has touched the net or posts (if inside the area of play) it then hits either player or any part of their body
A “let” is played if the person receiving the serve is not ready (RULE 9).
If the “let” is produced in the first service this should be repeated. If the “Let” is produced in the second service the server only has the right to one more serve.

A point being played is a “let” under the following conditions:

If the ball splits or breaks during the game.
If play is interrupted by unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the players.

The player who during the game considers that a situation in which a “let” is required must immediately make it known to the umpire, not letting play continue, as the right to stop a point is lost once the point has finished.

The umpire can order the repetition of a point in which case the server has the right to two serves.

Rule 12. Interference

When a player is disturbed by anything out of their control with the exception of the installations of the court or partner a “let” must be played and the point repeated.

If a player deliberately or involuntarily disturbs an opponent during play, in the first case the umpire will concede the point to the opponents and in the second will order a “let” when the point is won by the player who created the disturbance.