Quick Answer: Padel is always doubles, played on a 20m x 10m glass-and-mesh-walled court, with tennis-style scoring (15-30-40-game, sets to 6 with a tiebreak at 6-6). You serve underhand and below the waist after one bounce, diagonally into the service box. The rule every newcomer misses: once the ball has bounced once in the court, it’s legal to play it off the back or side glass before hitting it back — that wall play is what makes padel padel. As of the FIP’s 2026 rulebook, deuce also has three possible formats depending on the event — and since January 2026, the newest one, Star Point, is the default on tour.
Verified August 2026 — court specs, net height, and the tour-level deuce default reconfirmed against the current FIP rulebook.
If you’ve watched five minutes of padel and thought “wait, why did they let it hit the wall,” you’ve already found the one rule that actually matters. Everything else in this sport is borrowed straight from tennis — the same 15/30/40 scoring, the same underhand serve motion, the same “win by two” logic at the end of a set. The wall is the entire twist, and once you understand where it’s legal and where it isn’t, you understand padel.
By the numbers
- A regulation padel court is 20 meters long and 10 meters wide, per the International Padel Federation’s court standard — about half the footprint of a tennis court, which is why rallies feel faster and closer.
- The back walls stand 4 meters tall, built from 3 meters of solid glass topped by 1 meter of metal mesh; the side walls step down from 4 meters near the back to 3 meters toward the net.
- According to the FIP’s rulebook (in effect from January 1, 2026), matches can be played under three deuce formats — Classic Advantage, Golden Point, or the newly introduced Star Point — and Star Point is now the default on the Premier Padel, FIP Promises, and FIP Beyond tours, while clubs and recreational leagues can still pick any of the three.
- The net sits at roughly 0.88 meters at the center, close to a tennis net’s height but spanning a much narrower court.
How serving works
- Stand behind the service line on your side, bounce the ball on the ground, and strike it underhand, at or below waist height.
- The ball must land diagonally, inside the opponent’s service box — the mirror image of a tennis serve.
- Under the FIP’s 2026 rule clarification, the ball can’t cross the service line (or its extension) before contact, which closes a dispute that used to come up constantly at the recreational level.
- A serve that clips the net and still lands correctly is a let and gets replayed, exactly as in tennis. A serve that misses the box, goes above the waist, or is struck overhand is a fault — two faults in a row loses the point.
If you’re still choosing your first racket before you worry about serve technique, our best padel racket for beginners guide covers the forgiving, round-shaped frames that make learning the serve easier on your arm.
Scoring: mostly tennis, with one 2026 twist
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| Points within a game | 15, 30, 40, game — identical to tennis |
| Winning a set | First to 6 games, win by 2 |
| Set tied at 6-6 | Tiebreak to 7 points, win by 2 |
| Deuce (40-40), classic rule | Advantage system — win 2 points in a row |
| Deuce, Golden Point option | Next point wins the game outright (sudden death) |
| Deuce, Star Point (tour default since Jan 2026) | One deciding point at "Deuce 3" settles the game |
The point values and set logic are lifted straight from tennis, so anyone switching sports (see our padel vs tennis comparison) will find scoring the easiest part of the transition. The one thing to actually check before you play a match: which deuce format your club, league, or tournament has adopted. The FIP’s rulebook update effective January 1, 2026 gives organizers a choice between the traditional advantage system, sudden-death Golden Point, and the newly added Star Point — and Star Point has already become the default at the pro level (Premier Padel, FIP Promises, FIP Beyond), even though clubs and recreational leagues can still run any of the three, so ask before you assume.
Wall play: the rule that makes padel different
This is the part that confuses every tennis or pickleball player in their first session, so read it twice:
- The ball must bounce once inside the court before anything else happens to it.
- After that bounce, it’s completely legal to let the ball carry into your own side’s back or side glass and play it off the rebound — including off the mesh above the glass.
- What’s not legal: the ball hitting a wall before it bounces in the court, or bouncing twice on your side before you return it. Both are faults and lose the point instantly.
- A ball that lands on your opponents’ side and then bounces out through the door or over the fence is their problem to handle before the second bounce — not yours.
That single distinction — wall contact allowed after the bounce, never before it — is the entire mechanical difference between padel and every wall-less racket sport. It’s also why the smash, padel’s signature shot, works: an attacking player can drive the ball off an opponent’s back glass at an angle no tennis court would allow.
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Doubles is the default — singles exists, but you’ll rarely find it
Every match you’re likely to play, from a first-timer’s Tuesday night booking to the Premier Padel tour, is two against two. The FIP does define an official singles format — played on a narrower court (about 20m x 6m, versus 10m wide for doubles) — but almost no clubs build or book courts for it, and it isn’t used on the pro tour. The doubles-only service boxes and the standard 10m-wide court are built around four players sharing the space, which is the structural reason padel feels social and forgiving from your very first match, not just a cultural habit. If you’re deciding between padel and a sport you already know, our padel vs pickleball comparison covers how the doubles-first format changes strategy versus a sport where singles is common.
The faults beginners make most
- Playing the wall before the bounce. Instinct from tennis or squash makes new players want to volley a ball off the glass — in padel that’s only legal after the court-bounce. Every beginner does this at least once in their first month.
- Standing too close to the back glass. Since wall rebounds are legal, experienced players give themselves room to play the ball after it comes off the glass. Beginners who crowd the wall get jammed and can’t generate a proper swing. Our how to choose a padel racket guide covers why a lighter, more forgiving racket helps while you’re still learning this positioning.
- Serving overhand out of tennis habit. The underhand, below-waist serve motion feels unnatural to tennis converts for the first several sessions — it’s worth the awkward stage, since it’s non-negotiable under FIP rules.
- Not knowing the deuce format going in. With three legal options as of 2026 — and Star Point now the tour default — showing up assuming “advantage” when your club runs Golden Point can cost you a game you thought you’d keep fighting for.
The bottom line
Padel borrows its scoring wholesale from tennis and its serve motion is a simplified, underhand version of the same idea — the only genuinely new rule to learn is that the ball can legally play off the walls after it bounces in the court, never before. Get comfortable with that one distinction, keep an eye on which 2026 deuce format your club uses, and you’ll be playing a full, legal match within your first hour on court. Want the exact court measurements behind these rules — service line distance, net height, wall specs? See our padel court dimensions breakdown, or if you’re weighing padel against another wall sport, our padel vs squash comparison. Signing up for your first club event? Our padel tournament formats guide covers how Americano, Mexicano, and King of the Court scoring differs from the match rules above. Want ongoing competition instead of a single event? Our how do padel leagues work guide covers club ladders and the National Padel League’s structured season. From here, our best padel racket pillar guide and best padel racket for beginners roundup will get you outfitted for that first match.