Is padel the next big racquet sport?

Padel is experiencing a surge in popularity as a participatory sport. Discover the ins and outs of the racquetball sport that arouses passions all over the world!

But what exactly is the racquet-based ball game all about? Scroll on down to find out more about the origin, equipment, rules and the stars who play this game.

What is padel?

Padel is a racquet-based ball sport that combines elements of squash and tennis. It is played within an enclosed space, similar to squash, but shares similarities with tennis.

The game is played with a net in the middle, similar to tennis, and the court also resembles a tennis court. Like tennis, players must pass a ball over the net into an opponent's side by hitting it with their racquet. However, in padel, the walls/fence of the enclosed court are firmly part of the sport's gameplay. Players are allowed to hit a ball after it bounces off a wall/fence to keep the ball in play.

Four people typically play padel in a game of doubles, although it can also be played individually. Playing in pairs harks back to the game's social origins.

The differences between tennis and padel

As mentioned above, padel draws its influence from tennis, and anyone who watches a game of padel can't help but notice that everything unfolds like a game of tennis. There are differences, the key one being that padel is played in an enclosed space. Below are also the differences you'll notice.

• Court size: A padel court is smaller than a tennis court. A padel court doesn't have the same line markings as a tennis court.
• Enclosed walls/fence: they are part of the court and play a part in gameplay
• Racquet: A padel racquet resembles a tennis racquet in shape but is smaller and not strung.
• Balls: the balls used in padel are more petite in diameter than a tennis ball, despite looking the same.
• Serving: In padel, the serve is underarm, not overhead, unlike in tennis.
• Technique: Padel is not as power-based a game as tennis.

Where did padel begin

Enrique Corcuera, a Mexican, is regarded as the founder of the game played today. Corcuera built a court to play a racquet-based ball game at his home in Acapulco in the late 1960s, but this court was slightly smaller than a tennis court due to property constraints. He found that if tennis balls were overhit, they would go all over the place and into neighbouring houses, so he surrounded the court with walls on all sides.

Normal tennis racquets generated too much power on his court, so Corcuera and his friends eventually adopted a wooden beach paddle bat to play with. A rulebook evolved, allowing players to play off walls, and the rest is history.

From those Mexican beginnings, padel gained popularity mainly due to the enthusiasm of Corcuera's friends for the game they played at his property. In 1974, a friend, Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe-Langenburg, took the game to Spain, while de Hohenlohe’s friend, Julio Menditengui, was instrumental in introducing the game to Argentina. In both countries, the game gained popularity to the extent that it is the second most popular sport outside of football.

What do you need to start playing padel?

-The court

The playing area of the padel court measures 20 meters by 10 meters. Each half of the court is a perfect square of 10×10 metres. All lines on the court have a width of five centimetres. The net at the centre line of the court is 10 metres long and should be 88 centimetres high at the centre and 92 centimetres at the end.

Courts are typically enclosed by a combination of perspex glass (or solid concrete) walls and wire mesh. The back walls on the court should always be made of perspex glass and be at least three metres high. These walls are then topped with 1m of wire mesh. The side walls are part perspex glass and part wire mesh, and should be three metres high also.

There are two gates at either end of the net on the side of the court, and they are kept open during play as the rules of padel allow you to play a point out of the court. The court surface may be made of concrete, synthetic grass, or carpet.

-The racquet

There's no long-handed stringed racquet in padel like there is in tennis. A padel racquet looks very different as a result. It features a short handle and a foam core, with an outer shell that can be made from a variety of materials, including fibreglass, carbon fibre, or graphene. A padel racquet must not measure more than 45.5 centimetres long, 26 centimetres, and it should have a thickness of 38 mm.

One of the peculiarities of a padel racquet is that they are perforated with holes throughout. These holes are there to reduce the weight of the racquets. Rackets are also classified by type: Diamond (for greater power), Teardrop (for Control and power), and Round (for greater control).

-The balls

Padel balls are very similar in appearance to standard tennis balls but are smaller in diameter and carry less pressure.

The International Padel Federation (FIP) regulations specify that the ball must be made of yellow or white rubber and have a diameter of between 6.32 and 6.77 centimetres, while the weight must be between 56 and 59 grams. The ball must have an internal pressure of between 4.6 and 5.2 kilograms.

What are the rules of padel?

The rules for padel are similar to tennis in many ways, but there are also differences here.

Padel scoring

Scoring largely follows that of regular tennis.

• A point in padel is awarded if: the ball bounces on the ground twice on a player's side; a player hits the ball into the net; a player hits the ball outside the play area or directly against an opponent's wall/fence without the ball bouncing first.
• Like tennis, matches are made up of three sets or five sets. The first player or team who wins two out of the three sets (or three, when five sets are played) wins.
• The first player or team to win six games wins the set. A team must have a lead of two or more games to win the set.
• In the professional game, a tie-break is played if a set goes to six games each. The first to seven points wins the tie-break.
• Games follow the point-scoring system of tennis as well. So, scores go up to 15, 30, 40, and then the Game Starts. If the scores are level at 40-40, this is a deuce. Two consecutive points need to be won from deuce to win the game. In the professional game, at 40-40, a golden point is now in operation.
• Players change their side of the court every time an even game number is played.

In-game rules

• Serve is by underarm into the opponent's court diagonally from where the server is standing. The server has to let the ball bounce once behind the service line before serving, and the ball must be hit by the server below their waist level. The serve must bounce in an opponent's service box. If the ball bounces onto the fence, that is considered a fault. If it hits a wall, then play can continue.
• In play, you return the ball once it bounces off the surface on your side of the court. You can also play the ball if the ball bounces off a wall or fence and rebounds off it. You are allowed to volley, but that return ball must not hit the glass perspex walls/fence directly.
• A player can play the ball against a wall on their own side of the court, but not off the fence parts of the court.
• A player can leave the court to play a shot if the court has exit gates. This situation arises when a ball bounces on the opponent’s side of the court and then bounces over the perspex glass wall/fence. Players can exit the court to return the ball before it bounces a second time.

Padel tips for starters

Although padel is a sport that you can jump straight into and play, there are many intricacies to the game, including the tactics you can employ and the shots you can play. Here are some tips for those interested in playing or just starting.

Wall play – playing the ball off a perspex wall is a significant part of the game, so don't avoid using it; the wall is not your enemy. When the ball bounces off the wall, it loses speed, so you actually have time to consider what shot you can play, more so than just off a normal return off the surface.

Court position – When positioning at the back of the court, you should stand on the same line as your partner. The ideal position is one step back of the service line and two steps back of the side of the court. At the net, don't stand too close. Instead, take a position two to three steps back from the net.

Ease off the power - focus on just getting the ball back across the net and into play continuously. This will allow you to learn how to control the ball with your racquet properly. Padel is not a power-based game, even at the professional level.

Shoes on court – Many players new to the sport will choose tennis shoes, but actually playing padel puts incredible strain on athlete's Achilles tendons. So choose specific padel shoes from recognized manufacturers as they'll offer maximum comfort and cushioning that is specific to the stresses that a padel player undergoes.