Padel has a rulebook. It's written by the International Padel Federation (FIP), and it's mostly about walls, serves and scoring. It has a short section on conduct too. But almost nobody plays social padel with an umpire, so most of what makes a good game comes down to the four people on court.
These are twenty to hand to anyone new, sorted by when they happen. Where the FIP rulebook backs one up, I've said so. Where it's just how decent people play, I've said that too.
On arrival
1. Do the faff before your slot. Get there ten minutes early. Shoes, grip, water, the toilet. The slot starts when it starts, and every lace you tie on court comes out of the hour all four of you paid for.
2. Leave on the hour, with everything. When your time is up, the next group owns the court. Pick up the balls, the empty bottles, the spare overgrip wrapper. They've been watching you from the door for ten minutes already.
3. Hold at the side door until the ball is dead. Lots of venues line courts up side by side, and the way to yours can run past someone else's. If a point is live, wait. A door opening mid-rally is enough to put anyone off a smash.
4. Bring a tube, and take turns opening new ones. Somebody always ends up supplying the balls every week. Don't let it be the same person every time. If you can't remember whose turn it is, it's probably yours.
The warm-up
5. Hit to them, not past them. The FIP calls the warm-up a "courtesy rally", and the rulebook gives it three minutes in competition (Rule 2.2). The clue is in the name. Feed balls the opposite player can actually hit. Ripping winners in the warm-up only tells everyone you're nervous.
6. Swap net and back halfway. One pair volleys, the other plays from the back glass, then you switch. Everyone gets a feel for both. Nobody spends five minutes picking balls out of the corner.
7. Settle the format before the first serve. Golden point or advantage? One long set, or play to the buzzer? Who serves first? Agreeing at 2-2 is how friendships end. If golden point is new to your group, my golden point guide explains who chooses the side.
During the points
8. Call it against yourself. In social padel you are the umpire. The FIP rules say you lose the point if the ball touches you or your partner (Rule 13.1 j and k), if you touch the net while the ball is in play (13.1 a), or if your shot hits their glass or fence before it bounces (13.1 g). Nobody else may see it. Say it anyway. It's the fastest way to earn trust with people you've just met.
9. Servers wait, receivers don't stall. The rulebook puts this on both players. The server shouldn't serve until the receiver is ready, and the receiver should keep pace with the server (Rule 6.10). So no quick serves while someone is fixing a sock, and no fixing socks to break someone's rhythm. My serve rules page covers what happens when someone isn't ready.
10. Stop for a stray ball, and say so straight away. A ball rolls in from next door? Shout, stop and replay the point. The FIP treats anything from outside the game that comes onto the court as a let (Rule 10.1 b), but only if you call it at once (10.1 e). My rules sheet covers the fine print. The manners part is what happens next: hold their ball until their rally is over, then roll or lob it back gently. Never fire it into the middle of their point.
11. Keep the gaps short. In competition you get twenty seconds between points and ninety at the change of ends, with no break at all after the first game of a set (Rule 2.4 and 2.5). Nobody's timing your Tuesday night. But the hour is fixed, and long chats at the net mean fewer games for all four of you.
12. Don't coach your partner mid-set. Even accredited coaches can only give advice during rest times under the FIP rules. You are not their coach. One helpful word at the change of ends, maximum. And never a sigh after their mistake. They heard the ball hit the glass too.
At the net, and in the heat of it
13. Go for the gap, not the face. At the net you can be only a few metres apart. Hitting at feet and gaps is good padel. Drilling a ball at someone's head from close range in a friendly is not. Read the room: a league match isn't a Sunday social.
14. Raise a hand for the lucky ones. Net cord that dies on their side? Frame shot that drops in? A small raised hand says "I know". You still win the point. You just don't celebrate it like you meant it.
15. Keep your racket off the glass. The FIP rulebook bans throwing your racket or deliberately hitting any part of the court with it, and bans belting the ball away when it's not in play. The person on the next court didn't sign up to dodge your frustration. The rulebook's conduct section asks players to treat everyone courteously, playing or not. That's a good line to steal.
At the bar
This is the part no rulebook covers, and in my view it's half the sport. My first ever Padelism sale happened sitting in the garden at my local club, watching a game. Padel has given me some really close friends, and the time off court is a big part of why.
16. Agree the first round before the first serve. A simple house rule: the losing pair buys the first round. Set it up on the walk to the court, not after a 6-1, when it sounds like a punishment. And a lime and soda counts. Nobody should feel they have to drink, or explain why they're driving.
17. Change your top before you sit down. An hour of padel leaves you soaked, and sitting in a wet top next to someone isn't great for either of you. Keep a dry tee in your bag. The Padel & Pints tee was made for exactly this moment. It's 100% cotton at 305 g/m2, £48, and any two of our £48 heavyweight tees are £90 for two at checkout. The rest of the range is in tees.
18. One replay of the big point, then let it go. Talking through the golden point you lost is part of the fun. Re-arguing whether that ball touched the fence is not. One go each, then move on. The other pair will remember who did.
19. Pull up chairs for the other pair. Don't split into two tables of two. Sit with the people you just played, and wave over the group coming off the next court. That's how a booking turns into a regular four. If you want more of that, an Americano evening mixes everyone up by design, and my Christmas padel social run sheet has rotation grids for 8, 12 and 16 players.
20. Leave with a date for the rematch. The best end to a padel evening is a time in the diary. Get it agreed before anyone heads for the car, while the score still stings.
That's the twenty. If you want the actual rulebook in one place, my one-page padel rules sheet has it. The rest is just being the person everyone wants as a fourth.
FAQ
Who buys the drinks after a padel game? There's no rule. A common house rule is that the losing pair gets the first round. The key is to agree it before you play, so it's a bit of fun and not a forfeit. Soft drinks count.
Should you say sorry for a net cord winner in padel? You don't have to, and you keep the point either way. Most players raise a hand to show they know it was lucky. It costs nothing and keeps the mood friendly.
Is it bad etiquette to hit the ball at someone in padel? Hitting towards a player's feet or body to win a point is part of the game. The FIP rulebook's ball abuse rule is about hitting the ball violently at players when it isn't in play. In a friendly game, avoid drilling it at someone's head from close range.
Can you coach your partner during a padel match? Under the FIP rules, even an accredited coach can only give advice during rest times in competition. In a social game nobody will stop you, but a quick word at the change of ends lands far better than tips after every point.
