Padel is a variation of tennis that is typically played in doubles. It might look the same to an untrained eye but if you look a little closer you will see significant differences. in this article, we will show you the basic padel rules.
What are the main differences between Padel and Tennis?
-A padel court is 25% smaller than a tennis standard court and it is encased between glass walls.
-The rackets are stringless and solid.
-The walls and the glass can be played off similarly as squash.
-Although it could be played in singles, most padel games are played in doubles.
The padel serve
The game starts with one player making a serve from behind the line. The player must bounce the ball on the ground and hit it below the waist in a diagonal direction into the area of the opponent’s court. If you manage to do this without the opponent returning the favour, you score!
The serve will not be valid if after the first bounce the ball hits the side fence, although it is valid if it hits the wall or glass after the bounce.
Keep in mind each player has two chances to serve the ball. If the player commits two faults in a row, the point is automatically awarded to the opponent.
Let
If during the serve the ball hits the net and then lands in the opponent’s area, this is known as a let and the player is allowed to serve again.
One point equals 15, two points equal 30, three points equal 40 and if you manage to score four points and you are two points ahead, you win the game.
Once a pair of players have won 6 games and is at least 2 games ahead of their opponent, they win a set. To win the match, players must win 2 or 3 sets faster than their opponents.
At the end of each odd game, players change sides on the court.
Deuce
When the score is tied 40-40, players need to win two straight points to win the game.
If the player scores one point during deuce, it is considered to have an advantage. In this case, the player only needs one more point to win the game.
Tiebreak
In the case of a 6-6 draw in the set, a tie-break is played, to determine who wins the set. The first person to score 7 points wins the tie break.
Players return will be considered correct if:
-After a single hit, the ball bounces in the opponent’s area before touching the walls or the glass.
-If the ball bounces on the opponent’s area and then leaves the court it is also considered correct.
-The ball touches any part of the player’s body.
-The racket touches the net.
-A player hits the ball and it touches the metallic mesh on its area.
-A player touches the ball with the racket more than once.
Now you know the basic Padel Rules, check our article about how to hold a racket like a Pro or 5 Padel tips.
