About sport
Padel is a modern racket sport that originated in Spain and combines elements of tennis and squash. It is played in doubles on a smaller court surrounded by glass walls, which are an active part of the game.
Thanks to the simpler stroke technique and emphasis on teamwork, padel is very easy to learn. At the same time, it offers plenty of room for tactics and fun game situations.
How to play padel
Padel is always played by four players. The game is fast-paced, fun, and suitable for beginners as well.
An ideal sport for friends or family groups.
Rules
Padel is always played in doubles on a court measuring 20 × 10 m, divided by a net and surrounded by glass walls and partly by mesh.
The court surface is artificial grass with fine silica sand; service boxes are marked on the court.
Serve from the right side of the court diagonally into the opponent's service box; the server has two attempts and alternates serving sides like in tennis.
On serve, after tossing, the ball must bounce on the court beyond the back line and be hit with the racket at no higher than waist level; the server stands with at least one foot on the ground and behind the service line.
The serve is a fault if the ball, after bouncing, hits the mesh; a rebound off the glass is allowed on serve.
After the serve, the ball may be played on the volley, after a bounce, or after a rebound off the wall; a rebound off the mesh is not allowed in play.
The ball may bounce on your own side only once before being played; a rebound off the glass wall on your side is allowed.
The ball on the opponent's side must land in the playing area or be played as a volley; if it first touches glass or mesh, it is a fault by the attacking player.
A ball that, after bouncing on the opponent's side, goes over the four-meter enclosure may also be returned from outside the court.
A point for the opponent means a double fault on serve, the ball bouncing a second time on your side, hitting the enclosure on the opponent's side, rebounding off the mesh, hitting the net, hitting a teammate, or failing to return a ball that left the court.
If the ball rebounded on your half into the glass wall, you must play it back after the rebound off the wall.
You can also use the glass walls on your half to play the ball over to the opponent's side.
Scoring is the same as in tennis. The match is best of three sets, and at 6:6 a tiebreak follows.