PADEL

 WHAT IS IT?

Padel is a racket sport that looks like tennis but plays like a chaotic cousin of squash. You’re in a glass box, the ball’s always in play thanks to the walls, and the rallies last forever. It’s fast, social, and addictive — which explains why it’s the world’s fastest-growing sport. Think of it as tennis made friendlier, funnier, and just a bit more forgiving… until it isn’t.

  • Padel is mostly always played in doubles on an enclosed 10x20m court with walls that the ball can bounce off, like in squash. You serve underarm, diagonally across the court. The ball must bounce once on the ground before hitting the walls, and you’re allowed to use the glass or mesh after it bounces to keep rallies alive. Simple—until the walls get involved and chaos takes over.

  • 10×20m mini tennis court - astro turf is popular. Back walls and ½ of the side walls towards the back are in play - smooth glass in most cases. Front half of the side walls are mesh - the ball can still hit this, but the bounce could be crazy!

  • Very similar to a tennis ball but slightly under-pressured because the court is smaller.

  • Points are scored with the same 15–30–40–game system as tennis. First to 6 games wins a set, best of 3 sets wins the match.

  • Born by accident: Padel was invented in 1969 in Mexico when a guy didn’t have enough space for a tennis court, so he walled it in… and the rest is history.