Padel is a racket sport played in pairs on an enclosed court 10 metres wide and 20 metres long. The ball can bounce off the walls and stay in play. Players use a solid racket with a perforated face, and scoring follows the tennis pattern of 15, 30 and 40. You will also see it called padel tennis, and in Australia the spelling racket and racquet both turn up.
Padel at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where is it played? | On an enclosed court, 10 by 20 metres, with glass or solid walls and a metal fence |
| How many players? | A standard match is two pairs |
| What do you hit with? | A solid, perforated racket, no longer than 45.5 cm |
| What do you hit? | A ball 6.35 to 6.77 cm across, 56.0 to 59.4 g |
| How do you serve? | Bounce the ball, then hit it at or below waist height into the diagonal service box |
| How is it scored? | 15, 30, 40, game. First pair to win six games, with a two-game lead, takes the set. Matches are best of three sets |
| Can the ball hit the walls? | Yes. After it bounces on your side, you may let it come off a wall and then return it |
Court, ball, racket and serve figures come from the International Padel Federation (FIP) rulebook, review of application 1 January 2026. Our padel rules guide explains each rule in full.
How a rally works
The server stands behind the service line, bounces the ball inside the service box, then hits it at or below waist height so it crosses the net diagonally. If the first serve is a fault, the server gets a second. Two faults in a row lose the point.
After the serve, the ball may be hit out of the air as a volley or after one bounce on your side. Once it has bounced on your side, the ball stays in play if it hits a wall or the fence, and you may still return it before the second bounce. Your return can also come off the opponents' wall or fence, but only after it has bounced in their court. A point ends when the ball bounces twice on one side, goes out of the court, or one of the other faults in the rulebook happens.
That wall rule is the main reason padel rallies look different from tennis rallies. A ball that passes you is often still playable.
The court
The FIP rulebook sets the court at 10 metres wide and 20 metres long. The net is 0.88 metres high at the centre and 0.92 metres at the ends. The service line sits 6.95 metres from the net. The back wall is 3 metres of glass or solid wall topped by a 1 metre metal fence, 4 metres in total. The side walls are built in one of two layouts, a stepped version or a glass version, and metal mesh closes the gaps up to 4 metres at the ends.
Because the court is 200 square metres, it is close to the size of a tennis singles court (23.77 by 8.23 metres, about 196 square metres) but holds four players. The area figures are our calculation from the FIP and ITF dimensions. For the full comparison, read padel vs tennis.
Equipment
The FIP rules limit a padel racket to 45.5 cm in total length, 26 cm in width and 38 mm in thickness. The hitting surface is solid with perforations, 9 to 13 mm across in the centre. Every player must wear a non-elastic wrist cord, no longer than 35 cm, attached to the handle. Dropping the racket or breaking the cord loses the point.
The ball looks like a tennis ball. FIP specifies a diameter of 6.35 to 6.77 cm and a weight of 56.0 to 59.4 g, and a new ball must bounce 135 to 145 cm when dropped from 2.54 metres onto a hard surface. The ITF lists tennis balls at the same weight range, with a standard diameter of 6.54 to 6.86 cm.
Weight and shape vary between rackets, and the choice depends on your level. Our padel racket guide uses the specifications of the rackets we stock. You can browse them in the padel rackets collection, and balls are in the padel balls collection.
Where padel comes from
According to the FIP, padel was invented in 1969 at Las Brisas, a house owned by Enrique Corcuera in Acapulco, Mexico. The FIP says it reached Spain in the early 1970s through Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe and the Marbella Club. The federation itself was founded on 12 July 1991 in Madrid. The first World Padel Championships took place in Spain in 1992, and Premier Padel, the current professional tour, was established in 2022.
Padel in Australia
In November 2022, Tennis Australia said the country had six padel venues and an estimated 2,000 regular players, ahead of the first Australian Padel Open in January 2023. Padel Australia's 2025 review reports that the national court total passed 100, a 40 percent rise on the year before, and that more than 90,000 Australians have played. It also notes that the Australian Sports Commission officially recognised padel in 2025.
Court counts change quickly and sources disagree, so check the Padel Australia court finder for a venue near you. Court hire prices vary by venue, and we have not listed any here.
What padel does to your body
There is little published data on padel specifically, and we found no reliable calorie figures, so we do not quote any. A 2023 mini review of 13 studies and 231 players (Guijarro-Herencia and colleagues, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living) found mean heart rate ranged from about 127 beats per minute in amateur players to about 159 in top national male players. The authors say maximum heart rate in padel is very similar to tennis and badminton. If you have a medical condition, ask your doctor before taking up any new sport.
Who padel suits, and who it may not
A standard match needs four people and a court with walls, so you book a venue rather than turning up at an open court. If you prefer to practise alone, or you live far from a venue, that is a real limit. If you already play tennis, squash or badminton, you will recognise the scoring and the idea of the wall, though the rules differ in the serve and the walls.
Trying a racket before you buy
Padel Code has a showroom at 35-39 Bourke Road, Alexandria NSW. Its Demo Racket Try & Buy program lets you test selected rackets for a full week before deciding to buy. The terms are listed on the demo racket page. For opening hours, see the contact page. If you are new to padel, start with the beginner section of the racket guide, then try two or three shapes before you decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is padel the same as tennis?
No. Both use a net and the 15, 30, 40 scoring, but padel is played on a smaller enclosed court, the ball can come off the walls, the racket is solid, and the serve is hit at or below waist height after a bounce. See the full list in padel vs tennis.
Can I use a tennis racket?
The FIP rules describe a padel racket as a solid, perforated surface within set size limits. A strung tennis racket does not fit that description. Check with the venue about borrowing or renting a padel racket for a first session.
What is the golden point?
At deuce (three points each), one deciding point is played. The receiving pair chooses which side receives, and whoever wins the point wins the game. The FIP rulebook lists it as one of three scoring options, along with the traditional advantage system and the star point.
What is the star point?
The star point is a newer option. After deuce and advantage have each been reached twice, a third deuce is settled by one deciding point. The FIP General Assembly approved it on 28 November 2025, and it has been used from 2026 in Premier Padel and some FIP tours. The first event to use it was FIP Bronze Melbourne in January 2026.
Is padel played in singles?
The FIP rules are written for pairs. Ask your venue whether it offers singles formats.
Sources
- FIP Rules of Padel, review of application 1 January 2026
- FIP, history of padel
- FIP, introducing the star point (18 December 2025)
- Padel Australia, a breakout year for padel in Australia (2025 review)
- Australian Open, new era: Australian Padel Open debut (29 November 2022)
- Guijarro-Herencia et al. (2023), Conditional performance factors in padel players: a mini review
- ITF Rules of Tennis, for the tennis court and ball figures
Last checked 6 November 2026.
