Padel is a racket sport that can be regarded as a mixture of tennis and squash. Padel is one of the world's fastest-growing sports. It is easy to learn and fun to play.
The rules were established in the early 1970s and the International Padel Federation was set up in 1991. The first world championship was held in 1992, and since then Padel has grown into a popular recreational and professional game worldwide; so much so, that it has become Spain’s second most popular game after football.
Padel is played on a 10×20 meter court that is divided with a net, similar to tennis – just smaller. However, it also has similarities to squash, for walls are also being used in this game; a 2,5-meter high wall runs around the court, and above that is a further 1-meter high wire mesh.
Rules
- On an ordinary court (10x20m) doubles is always played.
- Scoring is the same as in tennis.
- The lines on the court are only used when serving.
- Serves must be hit underhand and bounce in the opponent's service box.
- A serve may bounce up onto the glass wall, but if it bounces on the mesh it is a fault.
- Players have two serves.
- If the ball goes directly in the opponent's wall it is counted as out. Before the ball hits the opponent's wall it must bounce on the ground.
- The ball may also be hit onto the player's own glass wall to get it over to the opponent's half of the court.
- The player may not hit the ball into the mesh on his/her own side.
- In many cases the rules in padel are the same as in tennis, however, there are some exceptions.