In padel you serve underarm after bouncing the ball, hitting it at or below waist height diagonally into the opponent's box, and points are scored like tennis: 15, 30, 40, game. The ball must bounce on the floor before it touches a wall on the opponent's side, but after that bounce the walls are in play, and you can return the ball off your own wall too.
Padel looks like tennis played in a glass box, and the first time you play, the walls will confuse you. The good news is that there are only a handful of rules you need, and once the walls click, padel is one of the easiest racket sports to pick up. This guide uses the FIP's 2026 rulebook, which FindYourFit's tournaments follow.
The serve is the one shot with strict rules, and it's the one beginners get called on most.
It's a fault if the serve lands outside the box, or bounces in the box and then hits the metal mesh. It's good if it bounces in the box and then hits the glass. If the serve clips the net and lands in the right box, it's a let and you serve again.
New in 2026: the FIP clarified that you can't hit the ball after it has crossed the service line. Strike it before it travels past the line.
The receiver must let the serve bounce in the service box before hitting it. If you volley the serve, or it hits you before bouncing, you lose the point. After the return, anything goes: volleys, lobs, smashes.
This is the part that makes padel padel.
The habit to learn early: let the ball come off the back glass instead of rushing to hit it. Beginners lose most points by swinging too early.
Padel uses tennis scoring:
What happens at deuce (40–40) depends on where you're playing:
| System | How it works | Where you'll see it |
|---|---|---|
| Advantage | Win two points in a row to win the game | Traditional matches |
| Golden point | One deciding point at 40–40; the receivers choose who receives | Most club games and FindYourFit tournaments |
| Star Point (new in 2026) | Play advantage, but at the third deuce one deciding point wins the game | Premier Padel and FIP tour events |
Tournaments with a full day of matches often shorten sets. At FindYourFit's Padel Palooza, group matches have been a race to five games with a tiebreak at 4–4, and knockout matches first to six games with a tiebreak at 5–5. The format is always explained at check-in.
The best way to learn the rules is a game with people who've just learned them too. FindYourFit Sports league nights provide paddles and racquets and need no experience, and our team leagues keep a place for beginners. Find your city on the FindYourFit Sports page, and read Padel in India 2026 for courts and prices near you.
Sources: FIP Rules of Padel (2026), summary at padel.how; FIP: introducing the Star Point (December 2025); The Padel Brief: 2026 rule changes; FindYourFit tournament formats.
Yes, with one condition. The ball must bounce on the floor of your opponents' side before it touches their walls. After a bounce on your own side, you can play the ball after it comes off your walls, and you can also hit it into your own walls to send it over the net.
Stand behind the service line, bounce the ball, and hit it underarm at or below waist height, diagonally into your opponent's service box. You get two attempts.
At 40–40, instead of playing advantage, one deciding point wins the game. The receiving pair chooses which player receives it.
The FIP's 2026 scoring option. At deuce you play advantage, but if the game reaches deuce a third time, the next point decides the game. It's used at Premier Padel and FIP tour events.
No. The serve must bounce in the service box before the receiver hits it. Volleying the serve loses the point.
If it touches the net and then lands in the correct box, it's a let and the serve is replayed. If it then hits the metal mesh before bouncing twice, it's a fault.
Only where the club or tournament allows play outside the court and there's enough safe space. In most Indian clubs and in FindYourFit events, a ball that leaves the court after a legal bounce wins the point for the player who hit it.