Padel is a racket sport played as doubles, two against two, on a small court closed in by glass and mesh. You serve underarm, you score like tennis, and the walls are part of the game.
You'll hear it called padel tennis. Same sport. The LTA and the FIP just call it padel.
I started playing about two and a half years ago and I've since played in the Algarve, Malaga and Madrid, plus a lot of clubs around London, Essex and Manchester. The basics below are what I'd tell a mate before their first game. Every line in the card links to more detail.
Padel at a glance
| The short answer | More | |
|---|---|---|
| Court | 20 m long, 10 m wide, fully enclosed | The court |
| Teams | Doubles, two v two | How a point works |
| Walls | Glass or solid wall at the ends, stepped walls and mesh along the sides. In play after the ball bounces | The walls |
| Serve | Underarm, after a bounce, at or below the waist, into the diagonal box | The serve |
| Scoring | 15, 30, 40, game. Sets of six. Tennis rules | Scoring |
| Racket | No strings, holes in the face, 45.5 cm max | Racket and ball |
| Born | Acapulco, Mexico, 1969 | Where it came from |
| UK size | 1,000,000 players, 1,825 courts, 551 venues (LTA, May 2026) | Padel in the UK |
| What to wear | Depends on the club | Padel dress code |
Where padel came from
The FIP's history page puts the start at Las Brisas in Acapulco in 1969. Enrique Corcuera, a tennis enthusiast, didn't have room for a full tennis court at his house. So he built a smaller one, 20 m by 10 m, closed in by 3 m walls with a net across the middle.
That size stuck. The current FIP rules still set the court at 20 m by 10 m, so the court you book today has the same footprint as the first one. From Mexico it went to Spain and Argentina in the 1970s. The full timeline, from Acapulco to the pro tours, is in my history of padel, and the Spanish chapter has its own guide to padel in Spain.
The court
Under the FIP rules, the playing area is a rectangle 10 m wide and 20 m long, split by a net that's 0.88 m high in the middle. Service lines sit 6.95 m from the net on each side.
Every side is closed in, with doors on each side. Those doors matter more than you'd think. More on that in a second.
The walls
The ends are 4 m tall in total. The first 3 m is wall, glass or another solid material, with 1 m of mesh above. The side walls step down: a 3 m section of wall, then a 2 m section, then mesh along the middle.
The walls are what make padel feel so different from tennis when you first play. A ball you'd give up on isn't gone. It comes back off the glass and you get another go.
How a point works
The serve
The LTA's rules page sets it out. Bounce the ball, hit it underarm from behind the service line, and send it diagonally into your opponent's service box. You get a second serve if the first one fails. The FIP rules add that the ball has to be at or below your waist when you hit it.
A serve that bounces in and then hits the back glass is fine. A serve that bounces in and hits the mesh is a fault.
The rally
Once the serve is in, the rules are short:
- The ball must bounce on your opponents' side before it touches their wall or mesh. Hit their glass on the full and you lose the point.
- After one bounce, the ball can come off the glass or mesh and stay live. You can let it come off the back glass and play it before it bounces again.
- You can use your own wall. The FIP rules allow a shot that hits the wall on your side first, as long as it then bounces in your opponents' court.
- Two bounces on your side and you lose the point. Same if the ball touches you, your partner or anything you're wearing.
- You can leave the court to chase it. Where the court meets the FIP's safety-area conditions, players can run out through the doors and play the ball from outside. Check with your club before you try it.
That's the outline. The full sheet, with lets and the odd cases, is on my padel rules page, and how to play padel walks one point through from serve to winner.
Scoring
If you know tennis scoring, you know padel scoring. Points go 15, 30, 40, game. At 40-40 it's deuce, and you need two points in a row to win. Six games with a two-game lead wins a set. At 6-6 there's usually a tie-break, first to seven by two. The LTA says matches are most commonly best of three sets.
The current FIP rules list two other ways to settle deuce. The golden point is one point, winner takes the game, and the receiving pair picks which side receives it. The Star Point, new for 2026, gives two rounds of advantage before a single deciding point. Agree which one you're playing before the first serve.
Racket and ball
A padel racket has no strings. The face is solid and drilled with holes, both sides must be flat, and the whole thing can't be longer than 45.5 cm under the FIP rules.
One rule almost nobody knows: the racket must have a wrist cord, and the FIP says using it is obligatory. It's there as protection against accidents, so put it on. If you want a fresh feel on the handle, an overgrip wraps over the grip, and there's a step-by-step on fitting one.
The ball is a rubber sphere and looks a lot like a tennis ball. The 2026 FIP rules allow white, yellow or another colour that stands out clearly against the court. My beginner's guide covers getting ready for game one.
Padel in the UK: the short version
On 15 May 2026 the LTA published new figures. There are now 1,000,000 adults and juniors playing padel in Britain, on 1,825 courts across 551 venues.
Two quick sums from those numbers. That's roughly 550 players for every court in the country. And the average venue has just over three courts. The LTA also estimates that about two-thirds of those million players play tennis too.
For the year-by-year climb and where each number comes from, see my UK padel statistics. If you want to find somewhere to play, the UK padel clubs guide breaks down the big operators and how booking works.
Why it hooks people
Part of it is the format. Padel is played as doubles, so every booking means four people on a small court, close enough to talk between points. Somebody brings a mate, the mate brings a mate, and a group forms.
Part of it is the walls. A ball that would end a point in tennis can come back off the glass, so rallies keep going. If you're weighing the two sports up, padel vs tennis does the side-by-side.
And then there's the bit after the game. That's the part I make clothes for. Padelism is off-court kit, not match kit. Heavyweight tees in 100% cotton at 305 g/m2, cut oversized, at £48 each or any two for £90 with the 2 for £90 tees. Newer designs land in new in first. For what to actually play in, see the what to wear for padel guide.
FAQ
What is padel, in one sentence? Padel is a doubles racket sport played on an enclosed 20 m by 10 m court, with an underarm serve, tennis scoring and walls that stay in play once the ball has bounced.
Is padel tennis a different sport? No. Padel tennis is just another name people use for padel. The LTA and the FIP both call it padel, and the court, rules and racket are the same whichever name you use.
Why is a padel court 20 m by 10 m? It goes back to the first court. The FIP says Enrique Corcuera didn't have space for a full tennis court at his house in Acapulco in 1969, so he built a 20 m by 10 m court with walls. The FIP rules still use that size today.
Can you leave the court to reach the ball in padel? Yes, on courts that allow it. The LTA's rules page says that if the ball goes out through a door after bouncing in court, you can go outside and try to return it. The FIP rules only allow this where the court has the right safety area around it, so ask your club.
