Padel (Spanish: pádel) is a racket sport played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court. Although Padel shares the same scoring system as tennis, the rules, strokes, and technique are different. The balls used are similar but with a little less pressure. The main differences are that the court has walls and the balls can be played off them in a similar way as in the game of squash and that solid, stringless bats are used. The height of the ball being served must be at or below the waist level.
The sport was invented in Mexico by Enrique Corcuera in 1969, after he modified his squash court to incorporate elements of platform tennis.
Many well-known professional padel players have previously competed in tennis, including former WTA Tour players Roberta Vinci and Lara Arruabarrena.
Rules
- Players: Padel is a combination of tennis and squash. The game is played on a court that is 20m long and 10m wide, with a net in the middle. The Padel court is surrounded by walls, which means that the ball can be played off the walls during a rally. The game is usually played in doubles, but it can also be played in singles.
- Serves: The serve is an important part of the game of Padel, and there are some specific rules to follow. The serve must be underhand, and the server must keep at least one foot on the ground. The ball must be hit into the diagonal service box on the other side of the net, and it must bounce before it is returned.
- Score: The scoring in Padel is the same as in tennis, with a few differences. The game is played to 6, but if the score reaches 5-5, a tiebreaker is played to 7 points. To win a point, the ball must be hit over the net and land inside the court. If the ball hits the net and goes over, it is still in play.
- Ball: Padel balls are required for official matches and to set an optimum player experience. Shape and color are similar to tennis balls. Tennis balls can be used but not recommended.
- Padel Racquet: Solid with no strings. Has to be perforated by rule.
- Walls: Walls are used as part of the game.
- Levels: 1 beginner to 7 professional.
Scoring
Padel follows the same scoring as the tennis scoring system with the following exception:
In the 2020 season, World Padel Tour introduced the “Gold Point” or “Golden Point”, a new scoring method for main tournaments (Master Final, Master, Open and Challenger) organized by the World Padel Tour. This method of scoring has been widely adopted throughout non-professional tournaments as well.
The golden point in Padel: The golden point occurs when the score reaches deuce during any game. The receiving team chooses whether the service will come from the right or left of the court. The team that wins that one single point will win the game.
Court
The padel rules state that the playing field should be a rectangle 10 metres (32 ft 10 in) wide (back wall) and 20 metres (65 ft 7 in) long (side wall) (with a 0.5% tolerance), enclosed by walls. At the middle of the playing field there will be a net dividing the court in two, the net has a maximum height of 88 cm in the center raising to 92 centimetres (36 in) at sides (with a 0.5 centimetres (1⁄5 in) tolerance).
The superstructure is made from connecting 3m high x 2m wide panels, with an additional 1m mesh height over the glass back walls (10m walls). This additional 1m height is continued for 2m from each corner over the side walls also. This means that the back walls and service corners are actually 4m in height, with the remaining side walls are 3m in height.
Glass panels make up the back walls and service side walls (closest 2 side panels to back walls), whilst metal mesh panels occupy the sides.
The service lines are placed 3 metres (9 ft 10 in) before the back wall and there will be also another line in middle that divides the central rectangle in half. All lines have a 5-centimetre (2 in) width and should be clearly visible. The minimum height between the playing field and an obstacle (for e.g. the ceiling) is 6 metres (19 ft 8 in).
Benefits with padel
- Fun
- Easy to play
- Social
- Accessible
- Makes you more active
