Padel has fewer rules than tennis and most of them are intuitive once you have played a game. These are the ones worth knowing before you walk on.
Scoring
Identical to tennis. Points run 15, 30, 40, game. Deuce at 40-40, and you need to win by two. Six games wins a set, and most casual sessions are played as one or two sets or simply until the hour runs out.
The serve
- Serve underarm, striking the ball at or below waist height.
- Bounce the ball on the floor behind the service line first, then hit it.
- The serve must land diagonally in the opposite service box.
- You get two attempts, as in tennis.
- After bouncing in the correct box, the ball may hit the side glass and stay in play. If it hits the metal mesh fencing, it is a fault.
The walls: the part that makes it padel
Once the ball is in play, the walls are your friend. The rule that governs everything is simple: the ball must bounce on the floor before it touches a wall on your side.
- A ball that bounces on your floor then hits your back glass is still live. Let it come off and hit it.
- A ball that flies straight into your glass without bouncing first is your point, because it never had to be played.
- You may hit the ball into your own wall to send it over the net, though it is a defensive shot rather than a first choice.
- The ball may not touch the walls on the opponents’ side before bouncing on their floor.
Faults and lost points
- The ball bounces twice on your side.
- You hit the ball into the net, or out of the court entirely.
- The ball touches you or your partner.
- You touch the net with your racquet or body while the point is live.
- You hit the ball before it crosses the net.
The one that catches everyone out
New players instinctively smash a ball that has come off the back glass, because it arrives slow and sitting up. Nine times out of ten it comes straight back off the opposite wall and the point is lost. The better shot is a controlled lob to push the other pair off the net. Padel is a game of position, not power, and that lesson usually costs a set to learn.
Court etiquette
Call your own lines honestly, replay the point if either pair is unsure, and let the pair beside you finish their rally before collecting a stray ball. At a private venue none of that applies to anyone but your own group, which is part of the appeal when you are still learning.
Padel 88 is a private indoor court in Prestons, in the Liverpool area of south-west Sydney. Every booking gives your group the whole court to itself, and bookings go through the Playtomic app.