Getting started. Everything you need to know about Padel

You don’t need an athletic background to play the world’s fastest growing sport. Here’s a simple breakdown to get you ready to step on the court.

From Europe to Asia, high-spec courts and professional tournaments are now home to some of the world’s greatest metropolitan cities. A social sport at its core, padel’s increasing popularity can be credited to the game’s simplicity and accessibility to players of every age. As long as you can source a partner, good shoes, a ball and a padel, you’re ready - no matter how old you are.

The Approach

Strategy is key on the court. Padel isn’t as dependent on strength or serving competency as other racket sports. Instead, you need to have solid coordination and cooperation between you and your partner - which makes the sport incredibly social.

The Court

Padel is played on a court similar yet smaller than tennis, with a net in between your opponent and walls surrounding the court. These walls are used in padel, similarly to how they’re used in squash. Matches can be played in doubles or singles depending on the court size - a doubles court is 20 m x 10 m and singles use a narrower space of 20 m x 6 m.

The Padel

Rackets are light-weight, perforated and ergonomically designed to allow airflow. With a face measuring 26 x 29 cm in size and an overall length of 45 cm, they’re easy to handle and control.

The Basic Rules

Each match begins with a serve.

The serve is done by bouncing the ball on the ground and hitting it below hip height.

A match is usually the best of three or five sets.

A set is the first team or player to win six games.

You can use your side of the walls to play off of.

Scoring

Exactly like tennis, the points go up by 15, 30, 40 and game. A deuce is called if both sides reach a tie and won by the first player to lead by two clear points.

You score if:

Your opponent hits the ball into the net.

Your opponent hits the ball into their own grid.

Your ball bounces on the ground twice on the opponent's side.

Your opponent hits the ball outside the play area (outside of the cage or against one of your walls).

Your opponent is hit by the ball.