Padel Match Rules

Padel match rules are simple once you know the basics: a padel match is a 2v2 game played between two teams of two, scored tennis-style, with walls in play and an underhand serve. Learn how to play a padel match — the format, scoring and serving — before you step on court.

• A padel match is played 2v2 — so there are 4 players in a padel match, two per team — unlike a 1v1 singles game.
• The match format can vary, including best-of-three sets, single elimination or round robin, which is why it helps to know the rules before you start.
• Players should agree the match format before play begins so everyone knows how the game is won.
• Your chosen format shapes strategy and preparation, from how you pace points to how you manage the walls.

What match formats can a padel match use?

How you play a padel match depends on the tournament or league you're in, so check which format applies before the first serve.

• Best-of-three sets: the first team to win two sets wins the match.
• Single elimination: a team is knocked out of the tournament after losing a match.
• Round robin: every team plays every other team, and the team with the most wins is declared the winner.

How does scoring work in a padel match?

Padel scoring uses the same numbers as tennis, with a point won on every rally, and the serving team's score is always called first — plus padel's own Golden Point at deuce.

• Points are scored 15, 30, 40 and game; the server's score is called before the receiver's.
• A game is won when a team reaches four points with a two-point lead.
• At 40–40 (deuce) you either play advantage — win two points in a row to take the game — or, in Golden Point events, a single deciding point where the receiving team chooses which side the serve goes to.
• A set is won when a team reaches six games with a two-game lead; at 6–6 a tiebreak to 7 points is played.

What are the padel serve and wall rules?

Padel shares much of its rulebook with tennis but adds the glass walls and an underhand serve that make the game its own — these are the padel rules every beginner needs.

• The serve is hit underarm at or below waist height, bounced once inside the server's own service box, then sent diagonally into the opponent's service box; you get two serves, and a let is replayed if the serve clips the net and still lands in.
• The receiver must let the serve bounce before returning it, and every shot must bounce on the floor before it can hit a wall.
• You win the point if the ball bounces twice on the opponents' floor, or if they hit it into the mesh or fence before it bounces.
• Players can use their own glass and mesh walls to keep the ball in play, but a ball that hits the opponents' wall before bouncing on their floor loses the point.