Padel Basics: Rules, Scoring, and Pro Tips
The fastest-growing racket sport — court, serve, walls, and how to actually win points.
Padel is played in doubles on a 20m × 10m court enclosed by glass walls and wire mesh — the walls are part of the game, which is what makes it different from tennis.
Scoring follows tennis: 15, 30, 40, deuce, advantage — best of 3 sets. If you can count tennis, you can count padel.
The serve is underhand only: bounce the ball behind the service line and hit below waist height. One serve attempt — there is no second serve.
Walls are the signature: after the ball bounces on your side, it can hit the glass and stay in play — you can return off your own back wall. But your shot must bounce on the opponent's floor before hitting their wall.
Placement beats power: the winning padel habit is the lob that dies on the back wall, and the dink into the corners. Overheads exist, but control wins more points.
First session advice: rent the solid stringless racket, wear court shoes, and play the walls — they are your friend, not your enemy.