How a Padel Game Works: From the Serve to the Scoreboard

Padel is a doubles racket sport played by two pairs on an enclosed court, with a net between them. The walls are part of play: a ball that bounces on your side and then rebounds off the glass can still be returned before its second floor bounce.

In scoring, a game is not the same as a whole match. Points build games, games build sets, and the standard match is best of three sets. That distinction matters when reading a scoreboard—or comparing match statistics. These basics follow the International Padel Federation’s rules effective from 1 January 2026.

The court and equipment

The regulation court measures 20 metres long by 10 metres wide inside the enclosure: 200 square metres of playing area, not the total space needed to build a facility. For the distinction between playing dimensions and surrounding clearances, see our padel court dimensions guide.

Players use perforated padel rackets and padel balls. The racket’s safety cord must be worn around the wrist; it is not an optional accessory. Court dimensions and equipment requirements are specified in the FIP rulebook.

How a point starts and ends

Every point starts with a serve. The essential sequence is:

1. Serve from behind the service line. Start each ordinary game on the right-hand side, then alternate sides after each point, except for the deciding-point choice described below. Do not step on the service line or its imaginary centre-line boundary.
2. Bounce the ball before hitting it. Bounce it in your serving area behind the service line. Contact must be at or below waist height, with at least one foot touching the ground.
3. Serve diagonally into the opposite service box. A ball landing on the box’s boundary line is good. If the first serve is a fault, you get a second attempt.
4. Let the serve bounce before returning it. The receiver cannot volley the serve.

A serve that lands correctly and then hits the glass can remain valid. A serve that lands correctly but touches the metal fence before its second bounce is a fault. If it clips the net and lands in the correct box without touching the fence before its second bounce, the serve is repeated. Two consecutive service faults lose the point. See FIP Rules 6–9 and 13.

Once the rally begins, you may volley or return the ball after one floor bounce. If it bounces and then hits your wall or fence, it remains playable before the second floor bounce. You may also hit a return off your own wall—but not your own metal fence—before it crosses the net.

The important distinction is floor first on the opponents’ side: unless they volley it, your shot must bounce there before hitting their wall or fence. A shot straight into their glass is not good. A second floor bounce, a player or their racket touching the net during play, or both partners hitting the ball loses the point under FIP Rules 12–14.

How to win a game, set and match

Points within a game are called love, 15, 30, 40, game. A pair can therefore win a game with four points, provided the opponents have not also reached 40. At 40–40, or deuce, the chosen scoring system determines what happens next.

The 2026 FIP rules list three options:

For Golden Point and Star Point, the receiving pair chooses which side receives the deciding serve, but cannot swap receiving positions. In mixed matches, the receiver for that point must be the same sex as the server.

Star Point is not simply another name for Golden Point. Golden Point decides the game immediately at the first deuce. Star Point allows two opportunities to win through advantage first. FIP announced Star Point for Premier Padel, the CUPRA FIP Tour, FIP Promises and FIP Beyond starting in 2026.

Under the standard set format, the first pair to six games wins with a two-game margin. From 5–5, a pair can win 7–5; at 6–6, a tie-break decides the set. That tie-break is first to seven points, still requiring a two-point margin. Winning two sets wins the match. FIP also permits alternative formats, including a deciding match tie-break, so check the competition format before interpreting a result.

For example, 6–4, 3–6, 7–6 records three sets, not three games. The winning pair took the first and third sets; the final 7–6 means the last set was settled by a tie-break.

Before playing, agree on the deuce system and whether a full third set or a deciding tie-break will be used. If using a match tie-break, also agree whether the target is seven or ten points, always with a two-point margin.