Padel rules in 60 seconds: know the score

The court

1. The serve

Bounce the ball behind the service line, then hit it underarm, at waist height or below. Send it diagonally into the service box opposite. It can come off their side glass after it bounces, but not off the fence.

2. When it’s out

• Two bounces on your side and the point’s gone.
• If your shot hits their glass or fence before it bounces, it’s out.

3. Use the glass

This is the bit that makes padel padel. Once the ball has bounced on your side, it can come off your glass or fence and you can still play it, as long as you hit it before it bounces a second time.

4. Scoring

Just like tennis: love, 15, 30, 40, game. A set is first to six games, two clear, with a tie-break at 6-6. Best of three sets wins the match.

At our events nobody keeps score, so this one is mostly for bragging rights.

5. Net cords

• On the serve: if it clips the net and lands in the right box, it’s a let. Serve again.
• In a rally: fine, as long as it goes over and lands in.

6. Where to stand

Start behind the service line to receive, then move up towards the net with your partner as the rally goes on. The pair at the net usually wins the point.

7. Play as a team

Padel is almost always played as doubles. Talk to your partner, call “mine” or “yours”, and high-five the misses as well as the winners. At our events you get a new partner every game and a host on every court, so there’s always someone to ask.

A few unwritten rules help too: read padel etiquette. Want the full afternoon? Read what to expect at padel speed dating, or padel for beginners in Surrey for ways to get a game in beforehand.