Padel tutorial
What Is Padel? A Beginner's Guide to the Sport
Padel is a doubles racket sport played on an enclosed 20 by 10 metre court, where the glass walls are part of the game. Here is how it works, where it came from and how to get started.
Padel is a racket sport played on an enclosed court 20 metres long and 10 metres wide. The official rules are written for doubles, with two players on each side of a net. The walls around the court are part of the game: once the ball has bounced, players can let it come off the glass and hit it back. Scoring follows tennis, the serve is underarm, and the racket is a solid, perforated paddle with no strings.
The Cambridge Dictionary pronounces it /ˈpæd.əl/, the same as "paddle", in both British and American English. In Spanish it is written pádel.
How a game of padel works
A rally starts with an underarm serve. The server bounces the ball behind the service line and hits it at or below waist height, diagonally into the opponent's service box. The receiver lets it bounce and returns it. After that, the ball can be volleyed or played after one bounce, much as in tennis.
What makes padel different is the enclosure. On your opponents' side, your shot must land on the floor before it touches their walls. On your own side, once the ball has bounced, it can come off your back or side glass and you can still play it. That gives you a second chance on balls that would be winners in tennis, and it makes rallies longer.
Points are counted 15, 30, 40 and game, sets are played to six games, and matches are usually the best of three sets. Depending on the format, 40-40 is settled by advantage or by a single deciding "golden point". Our padel rules guide covers the serve, the walls, faults and scoring in detail.
The court, racket and ball
The court is a 20 by 10 metre rectangle, completely enclosed (see padel court dimensions for every measurement). The back walls are 3 metres high with a metre of metal mesh above them. The side walls combine glass or solid panels with mesh. A net across the middle is 88 cm high at the centre. Service lines sit 6.95 m from the net on each side.
The racket is shorter than a tennis racket, at most 45.5 cm long. It has a perforated hitting surface instead of strings, and a wrist cord that must be worn. The ball looks like a tennis ball. The International Padel Federation's rules set its size, weight and bounce: a new ball dropped from 2.54 m must bounce back 135 to 145 cm.
Because the court is small and the walls keep the ball in play, you do not need a big serve or a long reach to have good rallies from the start.
Where padel came from
Padel was invented in 1969 in Acapulco, Mexico. According to the International Padel Federation, Enrique Corcuera did not have room for a full tennis court at his house in Las Brisas. Instead he built a 20 by 10 metre court enclosed by 3-metre walls, with a tennis net in the middle. His wife, Viviana, wrote the first set of rules.
The sport reached Spain in the early 1970s. Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe, who had spent summers at Corcuera's home, built courts at the Marbella Club Hotel in Andalusia. At around the same time, an Argentine member of his Marbella tennis club, Julio Menditeguy, took the game to Argentina.
From there it grew into an organised sport:
- 1988. The world's first national padel association, the Asociación Padel Argentino, is founded.
- 1991. The International Padel Federation (FIP) is founded in Madrid on 12 July by the Argentine, Spanish and Uruguayan associations.
- 1997. Spain and Argentina agree in Barcelona to unify the rules and standardise the name "padel". In Argentina it had been called "paddle".
- 2013. The World Padel Tour replaces the earlier Padel Pro Tour and runs until 2023.
- 2022. Premier Padel is launched as the FIP's official professional tour, backed by Qatar Sports Investments.
- 2024. After Qatar Sports Investments agreed to buy the World Padel Tour in 2023, the two circuits merge into a single Premier Padel tour.
How big padel is today
The FIP's World Padel Report 2025 gives the clearest picture of the sport's size:
- more than 35 million amateur players worldwide, more than half of whom play at least once a week (October 2025)
- more than 850,000 federated players, 42% more than in the previous survey
- more than 77,000 courts worldwide (end of June 2025)
- more than 24,600 clubs and facilities (October 2025)
- padel played in 150 nations and 20 dependent territories
Europe is the sport's centre. The report puts more than 61% of players there, followed by South America with 19%. Spain has by far the most courts in Europe, followed by Italy and Sweden. Our ranking of European countries by padel courts uses the same report.
Padel has also entered the multi-sport games. It was a medal sport at the 2023 European Games in Kraków, and the European Olympic Committees have confirmed it for Istanbul 2027 (FIP). In November 2025 the Olympic Council of Asia recognised the FIP, bringing padel into the Asian Games programme. It is not an Olympic sport: the FIP is not on the IOC's list of recognised international federations.
Why people take to it so quickly
Padel is easy to start and hard to master, and the court explains why:
- Short court, short swings. The court is 20 by 10 metres, and the serve is hit underarm, so there is no overhead serve to learn before you can start a rally.
- The walls forgive mistakes. A ball that gets past you can come back off the glass, so beginners keep rallies going far longer than they would in tennis.
- It is social. The official rules are written for pairs, so a booking usually means four people on court.
- Skill still counts. Using the walls, choosing when to go to the net and placing lobs are what separate good pairs from beginners. That keeps the game interesting as you improve.
How to start playing padel
You do not need a partner group or your own equipment to try it.
- Find a court near you. Search our directory by country or city. Most listings link straight to the club's booking page or the platform it uses, such as Playtomic.
- Book a slot. Clubs rent courts by the hour or the half-hour slot, and some booking platforms let you join an open match if you do not have a full four.
- Ask about racket hire. If you do not own a racket, ask the club whether it rents them before you buy one.
- Wear court shoes. You will move sideways and stop sharply, so wear court shoes rather than running shoes, and check whether the club has footwear rules.
- Take a lesson or a beginners' session. A coach can show you the underarm serve, how to let the ball come off the back glass, and where to stand as a pair.
- Learn the key rules. Read our padel rules guide before your first match, and our step-by-step guide to how to play padel.
If you come from tennis, expect to shorten your swing and to let more balls pass you. If you have played pickleball, our padel vs pickleball comparison explains what carries over and what does not.
Common questions
What is padel in simple terms?
A doubles racket sport played on an enclosed 20 by 10 metre court. You serve underarm, score like tennis, and can play the ball off the walls after it bounces.
How do you pronounce padel?
The Cambridge Dictionary gives the same pronunciation in British and American English: /ˈpæd.əl/, like the word "paddle".
Is padel the same as paddle tennis or pickleball?
No. Padel is played on an enclosed court with glass walls that are part of the game. Pickleball uses a smaller open court, a light perforated ball and a non-volley zone next to the net. Platform tennis is a separate American sport, played outdoors on a small court surrounded by wire screens.
Is padel an Olympic sport?
Not yet. Padel is not on the Olympic programme, but it was a medal sport at the 2023 European Games in Kraków and is confirmed for Istanbul 2027. The Olympic Council of Asia has also recognised the International Padel Federation.
How many people play padel?
The International Padel Federation's World Padel Report 2025 counts more than 35 million amateur players worldwide, in 150 nations and 20 dependent territories.