A Beginner's Guide to Playing Padel

Introduction to Padel

Padel is a fun and exciting racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash. It's played on an enclosed court and is easy to learn but challenging to master. Let&aposs dive into the basics of how to play padel.

1. The Serve

The serve in padel is underhand and must be performed below waist level. Here's how to do it:

• Stand behind the service line
• Bounce the ball once on your side of the court
• Hit the ball diagonally into the opposite service box
• The ball must clear the net and hit the ground before touching any walls

Each player gets two attempts to make a valid serve. If both attempts fail, it's a double fault, and the point goes to the receiving team.

2. In and Out Rules

Understanding the court boundaries is crucial in padel:

• The ball is 'in' if it lands within the court lines or hits any part of the line
• The ball can be played off the walls, but must bounce on the ground in the opponent's court first
• If the ball hits the wall on your side before bouncing, it's out
• The ball can be played after bouncing off the back wall, as long as it hasn't touched the ground
• Hitting the ball into the opponents glass/fence directly without bouncing is a fault

3. Scoring System

Padel uses a scoring system similar to tennis:

• Games are scored as 15, 30, 40, and game point
• If both teams reach 40, it's called 'deuce'
• After deuce, a team needs to win two consecutive points to win the game
• A set is won by the first team to reach 6 games with a two-game advantage
• If the set reaches 6-6, a tiebreak is played to 7 points
• Matches are typically best of 3 sets