Padel Rules, Scoring & Court Lines (Complete Guide)
Learn Padel rules in detail: serving, lets, walls, faults, scoring, Golden Point, and exact court lines—plus how to start playing in Hamilton.
Nic Woods
October 20, 2025
Padel Rules, Scoring & Court Lines (Complete Guide)
A padel court is 20m × 10m with a net across the middle. Service lines are 3m from each back wall (7m from the net) and a center service line divides the boxes. You serve underhand (below waist), the ball must bounce before any wall contact, and scoring mirrors tennis.
Court layout (what every line means)
Size: 20m long × 10m wide; full width is in (no doubles alleys).
Net: across the middle; play happens on both sides of the glass/mesh enclosure.
Service line: drawn 3m from the back wall on each side (so 7m from the net).
Center service line: perpendicular to the net, splitting each side into left/right service boxes.
Walls: after the first bounce, the ball may hit glass or fence and stay in play; hitting a wall/fence before the bounce is out.
Ceiling/roof/fixtures: contact is out.
Serving (the full picture)
Underhand only: strike below waist height after a clear bounce on your side behind the service line.
Direction: serve cross-court into the opposite service box.
Two serves: as in tennis—you get two attempts per point.
Let serves: if the serve touches the net and then lands correctly in the box (without touching the fence), it’s a let; replay the serve.
Glass vs fence on serve: after landing in the box, a serve may rebound off the glass and remain good; if it touches the side fence after the bounce, it’s a fault.
Foot faults: at contact you must be behind the service line and within the side limits of the box.
Order & positions (doubles):
Start serving from the right box; alternate right/left each point.
Server team chooses its initial server; receivers choose who returns on deuce/advantage sides and keep those return sides for the set.
Change server to the opposing team after the game; change ends every odd number of games.
During rallies (legal/illegal)
First bounce rule: the ball must bounce once on the floor before it may hit glass/fence.
Volleying: you may volley (hit before the bounce), except on the return of serve (the return must bounce first).
Over-net reach: if a ball bounces on your side and spins back over, you may reach over the net to play it so long as you don’t touch the net and contact still happens over your opponent’s court.
Touching the net: any player, clothing, or racket touching the net or posts while the ball is in play is a loss of point.
Double hit: allowed if part of a single continuous swing.
Body/clothing: if the ball hits you or your partner before contacting the floor, you lose the point.
Out of court retrieval: some venues/tournaments allow going out a side door to retrieve a high rebound.
Scoring & formats
Game scoring: 15–30–40–game (deuce/advantage - or golden point, see below).
Set: first to 6 games, win by 2 (common tiebreak at 6–6 to 7 points, win by 2).
Golden Point (optional): many club/tour matches play no-advantage; at deuce, a single deciding point is played (receivers choose return side).
Match: best of 3 sets is the norm and would normally take around 70-80 minutes.
Common beginner mistakes (quick fixes)
Crushing the return: prioritize height and depth; use the glass to reset, not to panic. Lobs are your friend.
Standing too close to the wall: leave a half-step to turn and play the rebound.
Both players chasing the same ball: call “mine”/“yours” early; trust your lanes.
Most points are won at the net: finding ways to regain, or hold the net are super important!
Skipping lobs: the lob is your best reset—use it to regain the net.
Your first session at Padel Park (Hamilton)
Book a court — 60 or 90 mins on our indoor maroon courts. → Book a padel court
.png)
