20 × 10 m · Doubles · enclosed court

Padel

The walled game — tactics, angles and teamwork in a glass box.

Beginner trap: Walls are in play after the bounce — but never on the serve.

01 Court

20.00 × 10.00 m interior, split in half by the net (0.5% tolerance allowed).
Net: 0.88 m at the centre, 0.92 m at the ends; posts no higher than 1.05 m.
Service lines run parallel to the net, 6.95 m from it on each side; a central service line divides the area into two service boxes.
Enclosed: end walls 4 m high (3 m solid wall + 1 m mesh); side walls 3 m high, rising to 4 m near the corners.
Minimum 6 m clear height above the court (8 m recommended for new facilities).

Bounce the ball on the ground first (behind the service line), then strike it underarm at or below waist height, with at least one foot on the ground.
Stand with one foot behind the service line — don't touch the service line or the imaginary centre line with your feet.
Serve diagonally over the net so it bounces inside the receiver's service box. Alternate the target box each point.
The receiver must wait for the bounce and play it before it bounces a second time.
Two serve attempts are allowed. If the ball clips the net and lands in the box, it's a let — the serve is replayed.

After bouncing in the opponent's court, the ball may hit the glass or mesh walls and must still be returned before its second bounce.
You can play off your own walls too — hitting the ball against your own back glass so it crosses the net is legal.
If the ball bounces in and gets stuck on top of a wall, or passes through a hole in the fence, the hitter wins the point.
Where courts have doors or openings, a ball that bounces correctly and leaves over the end wall may be chased and returned from outside the court.

Games use 15 / 30 / 40 / Game. At 40–40 (deuce), tournaments choose one of three: Advantage (win two in a row), Star Point (up to two advantages each, then a sudden-death point), or Golden Point (one sudden-death point).
A set is won by the first side to 6 games with a 2-game margin. At 6–6 a tiebreak is played: points counted 0, 1, 2…, first to 7 with a 2-point lead.
Matches are best of 3 sets.
Change ends after the 1st, 3rd and every subsequent odd game of each set.

Serve faults: breaking the serve procedure, missing the ball on the swing, landing outside the service box, the ball touching the server or partner, or the ball touching the metal fence before its second bounce.
A serve that bounces in the box then flies straight out through the court gates is a fault.
In rallies you lose the point for: a double bounce, touching the net or posts while the ball is live, hitting before the ball crosses the net, a double hit, or both partners touching the ball.

Deuce — 40–40; the next point doesn't win the game under advantage scoring.
Advantage — one point ahead after deuce; win the next to take the game.
Let — a serve or point replayed, e.g. a net-cord serve that lands in.
Star Point — the 2026 FIP format: at most two advantages each, then sudden death.
Golden Point — a single sudden-death point played at deuce; receivers choose the side.

International Padel Federation (FIP) — Rules of Padel, 2026 editionChecked Oct 2026