What is padel? The sport explained for beginners

Padel (said "paddle") is a racket sport usually played as doubles on a small, enclosed court. It keeps tennis scoring, but the glass walls around the court are part of the game, a bit like squash. Source: LTA Padel: How to get started playing padel; Financial Times: How padel took over the world.

How a game of padel works

Every point starts with an underarm serve, hit after the ball has bounced, diagonally into the opposite service box. In a rally the ball has to bounce in your opponents' half before it touches their walls, and you can let it come off the glass on your side after one bounce before you hit it back. Scoring follows tennis: 15, 30, 40, game, and six games (with a two-game lead) wins a set. Source: LTA Padel: How to get started playing padel.

That's enough to play your first match. For the detail, see our padel rules and scoring guide.

The padel court

A padel court is 20m long and 10m wide, roughly 25% smaller than a tennis court, with a net across the middle. The ends are 4m high: the first 3m is glass or another solid material, with 1m of metal mesh on top. There's a door on each side, so in some situations players can even run out of the court to keep a rally alive. Source: LTA Padel: Padel FAQs; LTA padel court data sheet (PDF); LTA Padel: Padel rules.

According to the LTA, around 90% of padel courts in the world are built for doubles, although you will also find purpose-built singles courts. Source: LTA Padel: How to get started playing padel.

Rackets and balls

A padel racket (many people call it a bat) has no strings. It's shorter than a tennis racket, with a thick, solid foam face drilled with holes, and is usually made from carbon fibre or fibreglass. Heads come in three shapes: round, teardrop and diamond. The LTA suggests beginners start with a round racket for control. Source: LTA Padel: How to get started playing padel; LTA: Padel vs tennis.

Padel balls look like tennis balls, but they're not quite the same. A new padel ball is pressurised to about 11psi, against 14psi for a tennis ball, so it bounces lower and slower. Padel balls are also very slightly smaller (6.35cm to 6.77cm across, compared with 6.54cm to 6.86cm), while the permitted weight is the same. Source: LTA Padel: Padel FAQs.

Most venues hire out rackets and sell balls, so you don't need to buy anything to try it. When you do, our guide to choosing a padel racket and padel shoes guide sum up what the experts advise.

Where did padel come from?

Padel as it's played today was created in 1969, when Mexican businessman Enrique Corcuera built a court at his holiday home in Acapulco. Source: LTA Padel: Padel FAQs.

How popular is padel in the UK?

Very, and growing fast. The LTA said on World Padel Day 2026 that 1.5 million people in Britain now play, up from 15,000 in 2019 (our report). Data platform Padel Genie counted 3,053 courts at 890 UK clubs in October 2026 (our report). Source: PadelNation: LTA marks World Padel Day as Britain reaches 1.5m players; The Padel Paper: UK passes 3,000 padel courts (Padel Genie data).

Is padel hard to learn?

Padel is generally considered easier to pick up than tennis, the LTA says, thanks to the smaller court, the underarm serve and a slower ball that makes rallies easier to start. Source: LTA: Padel vs tennis. If you're ready to try it, start with our beginner's guide to playing padel and find a court with our guide to where to play padel in the UK.