Padel vs tennis: the main differences

Padel and tennis share the same basic scoring system (games, sets, deuce), with padel-specific options at 40-40, but almost everything else is different. Padel is played on a smaller court enclosed by walls, with an underhand serve, a solid racket without strings and walls that stay in play. Below are the main differences side by side, using the FIP rules for padel and the ITF rules for tennis.

Padel vs tennis at a glance

The court

A padel court is 20 m long and 10 m wide inside. A tennis doubles court is 23.77 m by 10.97 m, so it is longer and a little wider, and it has no walls.

The padel court is closed in. Each end has a 3 m wall with 1 m of metal mesh on top, 4 m in total. The sides have walls at each end and mesh in between. The padel service lines sit 6.95 m from the net on each side.

The net is a little lower in padel: 0.88 m in the centre against 0.914 m in tennis. The difference is bigger at the edges: 0.92 m at the ends of a padel net, 1.07 m at the posts in tennis.

The serve

This is where the two sports feel most different.

In padel, the server stands with one foot behind the service line (the 2026 FIP wording), bounces the ball on the ground first and hits it at or below waist height. That waist-height rule is why every padel serve is underhand. The serve goes diagonally and must bounce in the receiver's service box. Then a padel-only fault applies: if the ball bounces in the box and then touches the metal fence before its second bounce, it is a fault.

In tennis, the server stands behind the baseline, releases the ball by hand and hits it before it touches the ground. Overhead serves are allowed.

Both sports give you two serves, and a double fault loses the point.

Walls change the rally

In tennis there are no walls in play. In padel the walls are part of the game:

• The ball must be returned before its second bounce, as in tennis.
• After it bounces on your side, the ball can come off the walls and you can still play it.
• You may also hit the ball into your own walls so that it then crosses the net.
• Your shot must bounce on the opponents' side first. If it hits their wall or fence before bouncing, you lose the point.
• If your shot touches the fence or the ground on your own side, you lose the point.

Rackets

A padel racket is solid and perforated, with no strings. Under FIP rules it can be at most 45.5 cm long, 26 cm wide at the head and 38 mm thick. A wrist safety cord, non-elastic and no longer than 35 cm, is mandatory. The FIP rules set no weight limit and no shape.

A tennis racket is strung and can be up to 73.7 cm long and 31.7 cm wide under ITF rules. You cannot use a tennis racket for padel, or a padel racket for tennis.

Balls

The two balls look alike but are not the same:

• Size. Padel balls are 6.35–6.77 cm across; tennis balls (Types 1–2) are 6.54–6.86 cm, so padel balls are slightly smaller.
• Weight. Both weigh 56.0–59.4 g.
• Bounce. Dropped from 254 cm, a padel ball bounces 135–145 cm; a tennis ball (Type 2) bounces 135–147 cm.
• Pressure. According to manufacturers, padel balls typically have a little less internal pressure. The official rules can't settle this, because the ITF gives no pressure range for pressurised tennis balls.

Scoring

The base is the same in both sports: 15, 30, 40, game; sets to 6 games with a 2-game margin; a tie-break at 6-6.

The difference is what happens at 40-40. Both sports have a no-advantage option with one deciding point, where the receiver chooses the side. In padel it is called the golden point, and the receiving pair picks right or left.

Padel added a third option in 2026: Star Point. FIP approved it on 28 November 2025. At deuce, up to two advantage points are played; if the score returns to deuce a third time, one decisive point settles the game. It has been used on the Premier Padel Tour and the FIP tours in 2026.

FIP rules also allow a super tie-break instead of a third set: first to 10 points with a 2-point margin. In club play, the club or league decides which format to use.

Doubles, almost always

Tennis is played as singles or doubles. Padel is played almost always as doubles, four players on one court. Some clubs also have single courts for two. When you book, you book and pay for the whole court, usually for 60, 90 or 120 minutes depending on the club.

Next steps

Many tennis players find the scoring and the strokes familiar; the serve and the walls are what you will need to learn. Our padel for beginners guide covers shoes, booking and the basic rules. To try it, search clubs by city on padelsworld and filter for clubs that offer beginner lessons.