Padel looks complicated from the outside. Four people in a glass box, balls flying off walls, someone yelling "vamos". It's actually simple. Learn five or six rules and you can play a proper game on your first night.
Here are the padel rules you need, in plain English, updated for the International Padel Federation's 2026 rules, plus the mistakes every beginner makes and how to avoid them.
The basics
- Padel is almost always played as doubles. Two vs two.
- The court is 20m x 10m, enclosed by glass walls at each end and mesh fencing down the sides, with a net across the middle.
- You use a solid, stringless padel racket with a wrist strap, and a pressurised padel ball (not a tennis ball, more on that in padel balls vs tennis balls).
- Scoring is the same as tennis.
- The walls are part of the game, but only after the ball has bounced.
How to serve
The padel serve is not a weapon. It's how you start the rally and get to the net, where points are actually won.
- Stand behind the service line, inside your half of the court.
- Bounce the ball on the ground first, within your service area.
- Hit it underarm, at or below waist height, with at least one foot on the ground. No jump serves.
- Serve diagonally into your opponent's service box.
You get two attempts, just like tennis. Serves alternate sides each point: start on the right, then the left, and so on.
The 2026 update: under the FIP's latest rules, you only need one foot behind the service line when you hit the serve, rather than both. Small change, but it makes life easier for anyone with a dodgy stance.
Serve faults
Your serve is a fault if:
- It lands outside the correct service box, including on the wrong side
- It hits your partner
- It bounces in the box and then hits the mesh fence before bouncing again
- You swing and miss
- You don't bounce it first, serve overarm or hit it above waist height
If the serve bounces in the right box and then hits the back glass or side glass, that's fine. Play on.
Lets
If the serve clips the net and lands in the correct box, it's a let and you replay that serve. If it clips the net, lands in the box and then hits the mesh fence before the second bounce, that's a fault.
Returning serve
The receiver must let the serve bounce before hitting it. You can't volley a serve. After the bounce, the ball can come off the back or side glass and you can still return it.
Receivers usually stand well back, near the back glass, and let the ball come to them.
How the walls work
This is the bit that makes padel padel.
- When the ball comes to your side, it must bounce on the ground first. After that bounce, it can hit any wall (glass or mesh) and you can still play it, as long as it doesn't bounce on the ground twice.
- You can hit the ball back off your own walls to get it over the net. Yes, you can deliberately hit it into your own back glass and let it rebound over.
- When you hit the ball to your opponents, it must land on their ground first, not their walls. If it hits their glass or fence before the ground, you lose the point.
- You can volley (hit the ball before it bounces) during a rally, just not when returning a serve.
The golden rule: ground first, then walls. On both sides.
Playing the ball outside the court
At advanced levels, a big smash can bounce out of the court through the open sides or over the glass. On courts with doors or open exits, players are allowed to run outside and play the ball back in. You'll see this in pro matches and occasionally at Tuesday night social, followed by a lot of shouting. For now, just know it's legal.
How scoring works
Exactly like tennis:
- Points go 15, 30, 40, game.
- Six games wins a set, but you must win by two. At 6 games all, play a tiebreak.
- In a tiebreak, the first to 7 points wins, by two clear points. Players change ends every 6 points.
- Matches are usually best of three sets.
- Teams change ends after odd-numbered games (1, 3, 5 and so on).
What happens at 40-all?
There are three ways to settle it:
- Advantage: win by two points, like tennis. Can go on for a while.
- Golden point: next point wins the game. The receiving team chooses which side receives. Fast and dramatic.
- Star Point: a newer format the FIP has made the professional standard for 2026.
Your Tuesday night social will almost certainly be using advantage or golden point. Agree before you start, or you'll be arguing at 40-all.
You lose the point if...
- The ball bounces twice on your side.
- Your shot hits your opponents' wall or fence before their ground.
- Your shot goes into the net or out of the court without bouncing in.
- The ball touches you, your partner or your clothes.
- You hit the ball twice, or your partner and you both hit it.
- You touch the net with your body or racket.
- You hit the ball before it has crossed to your side of the net.
Positions: drive and backhand side
In doubles, one player covers the right side (often called the drive side) and the other covers the left side (the backhand or revés side). Right-handers on the left side get their forehand in the middle, which is why the stronger smasher often plays left. Work it out with your partner and stick to it for the set.
Shots you'll hear about
- Bandeja: a controlled overhead with slice, used to keep the net. Not a smash.
- Víbora: a more aggressive overhead with side spin.
- Bajada: attacking a ball as it comes off the back glass.
- Chiquita: a soft, low ball at the feet of net players.
- Lob: the most important shot in padel. Use it to push opponents back off the net.
Etiquette
- Say sorry when you win a point off the net cord. Everyone knows you're not sorry.
- Call your own faults and doubles fairly.
- Don't walk behind a court mid-rally.
- Bring your own balls, and don't make your opponents play with your dead ones.
Mistakes every beginner makes
- Hitting the ball too early. Let it come off the back glass. The wall is your friend.
- Swinging like it's tennis. Shorter swings. More control. Less drama.
- Staying at the back. Points are won at the net. Get there after your serve.
- Smashing everything. Most overheads should be bandejas. Big smashes against good players just come back off the glass.
- Playing with dead balls. Flat balls die off the glass and make the walls much harder to read. You'll think you're bad at padel. You're not. Your balls are.
Padel rules FAQs
Can you hit the ball off the wall in padel?
Yes, on your side, after it has bounced. You can also hit it into your own walls to get it back over the net.
Can you serve overarm in padel?
No. Padel serves must be underarm, after a bounce, hit at or below waist height.
Can you volley the serve in padel?
No. The receiver must let the serve bounce first.
What is golden point in padel?
At 40-all, the next point wins the game. The receiving team chooses which side to receive from.
Can you play padel one on one?
Yes, on a narrower singles court, but they're rare. Most padel is doubles.
Ready to play?
Find a court: padel in Sydney or padel in Melbourne. Need a racket? Here's how to choose one. Still deciding between sports? Read padel vs pickleball.
Learn the game with balls that bounce
It's much easier to learn the walls when the ball comes off them properly. We send fresh padel balls on your schedule. Start with the Playing the Field bundle to find your favourite.