🏛️Official — International Padel Federation
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Racquet Sports
2–4 players
both
racket, paddle
10 essential rules
Padel was invented in 1969 in Acapulco, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera, who adapted his squash court by adding walls and lowering the net to create a new racquet sport that could be played in his backyard. Corcuera's friend, Spanish businessman Alfonso de Hohenlohe, brought the sport to Marbella, Sp...
Players must wear appropriate sports attire, including athletic shoes with non-marking soles suitable for the court surface. Clothing must not contain offensive imagery or messaging.
The use of walls is the defining tactical element of padel: After the ball bounces on the ground on the receiving side, it may rebound off any wall (back glass, side glass, or metallic mesh) and still be played by the receiving pair.; Players may not hit the ball directly into a wall on their own...
In professional and sanctioned tournament play, matches are officiated by a chair umpire who sits in an elevated position at the net post. The chair umpire is responsible for calling the score, ruling on disputed calls, enforcing the rules, and managing player conduct.
Players change ends at the end of the first, third, and every subsequent odd-numbered game of each set, as well as at the end of each set if the total number of games in that set is odd. During changeovers, players have a maximum of 90 seconds of rest.
The FIP Code of Conduct provides a graduated penalty system for behavioral violations: First offense: Verbal warning from the chair umpire.; Second offense: Point penalty — one point awarded to the opposing pair.; Third offense: Game penalty — one game awarded to the opposing pair.
The padel court is a rectangle measuring 20 meters long by 10 meters wide (65.62 ft × 32.81 ft), enclosed on all sides by walls and fencing. The court is divided into two equal halves by a net.
The enclosed court design provides inherent safety benefits — balls are contained within the playing area, reducing the risk of balls striking spectators. Access doors must open outward (away from the playing area) and must not protrude into the court when closed.
If the ball bounces twice on the ground on one side of the court before being returned, the point is awarded to the opposing pair. This is the most common way points end in padel.
Padel is played exclusively as a doubles sport — two players per side, for a total of four players on court. There is no official singles format in FIP-sanctioned competition.
All glass panels used in padel court construction must be tempered safety glass (also known as toughened glass), typically 10 mm or 12 mm thick. Tempered glass is designed to shatter into small, granular pieces rather than sharp shards in the even...
Do not strike the glass walls or metal frame with your racquet in frustration
Hitting your racquet against the court's glass panels or metal frame after a missed shot damages shared club infrastructure, creates alarming noise, and is widely viewed as a serious loss of composure. Most clubs will sanction or remove a player who repeatedly does this.
More explicitly enforced in padel than in tennis because the enclosed glass-and-metal court is permanent shared infrastructure belonging to the facility.
Acknowledge a net cord with a raised hand or apology
When a ball clips the top of the net and falls in for a winner, the player who hit it must immediately raise their racquet or free hand and say 'sorry' or 'lo siento.' Failing to acknowledge a lucky net cord is among the most criticized social violations in padel club culture.
Observed more strictly in padel than in tennis, reflecting the sport's strongly social and friendly club culture, particularly in Spain and Latin America.
Greet opponents at the net before and after the match
Players tap racquets or shake hands and exchange 'buenas' before play begins, and repeat the gesture at the net after the final point. Skipping the pre-match greeting or leaving the court without the post-match handshake is seen as disrespectful regardless of the result.
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Make honest line calls and give borderline balls to the opponent
In non-officiated matches — the vast majority of padel played worldwide — players call their own lines. Any ball that cannot be clearly and immediately identified as out must be called in. Consistently calling close balls out is treated as a serious breach of sportsmanship.
Most padel courts have no line judges; self-officiated honest calling is the only system available at club and recreational levels.