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How to play padel.
Completely new to padel? Don’t worry, we’ve got you. Check out resident Powerleague Padel expert, Goncalo Alves’ simple four-point breakdown on how to play to game.
1. Getting to know the court
Our court is your new playground, a unique set up enclosed by glass and steel mesh walls. These walls are your secret weapons, as crucial as your racket.
Just like squash, you can hit the ball off these walls, meaning your mind will need to be as quick as your hands.
Service boxes are marked on each side of the court and are used during serves, much like in tennis. This unique setup, combining elements of various racket sports, makes padel both exciting and accessible to all.
2. Serving
- Stand between the service line and the back wall
- Serve the ball underhand (easy enough, right?)
- Let the ball bounce on the ground and hit it below waist height
- Aim to hit the ball diagonally into the opponent’s service box
- The ball must first bounce in the opponent’s box and then can touch the glass after that
- If a serve bounces and hits the wire mesh instead of the glass then the serve is out.
- If the ball hits the net and lands in the correct service box, it’s a let, and the serve is retaken.
3. Playing the point/rally
After the ball has bounced, you can let the ball rebound off the wall and then play it.
You also don’t have to wait for the ball to bounce, you can volley it, and when returning a shot, you can hit the ball directly over the net or play it off your own glass walls, creating various options for attack and defence.
4. Scoring
With a scoring system just like tennis, padel is easy to grasp even for the newbies.
- First point: 15
- Second point: 30
- Third point: 40
At 40-40 (deuce), a player gains an ‘advantage’ by winning the next point. If they win the following point, they win the game. If they lose, the score returns to deuce.
Occasionally a ‘golden point’ is played, meaning the next point (after deuce) takes the game.
To win a set, a player or team must win six games with at least a two-game margin. If the score is 6-6, a tiebreaker is played. The first team to win two sets wins the match.
Let’s hit the court, shall we?
