What is Padel?
Padel is a racket sport typically played in doubles on an enclosed court roughly one-third the size of a tennis court. Scoring is the same as normal tennis, and the balls used are similar but with a little less pressure. The main differences are that the court has walls and the balls can be played off them in a similar way as in the game of squash and that solid, stringless bats are used. The height of the ball being served must be at or below the waist level.
Padel is different from the sport known in Canada and the United States as paddle tennis. It is also not to be confused with platform tennis, a winter and summer sport typically played at country clubs in Canada and the US, with courts heated from below to eliminate snow and water. The court, rules, and styles of play are very different.
No Pain No Gain
Padel Scoring
Scoring works exactly the same as in the game of tennis, namely 15, 30, 40 and game, with deuce at 40-40. In case of deuce two consecutive points need to be won in order to win the game.
Most of the time, padel matches are played in the best-of-three format, meaning that two sets need to be won in order to win the match. A set is won by the team that first wins 6 games, with a two game difference. So in case the score is 6-5, one more game needs to be won by the team with 6 in order to win the set. In case of a 6-6 draw in the set, a tie-break is played. Tiebreaks are played till 7 points, with a two point difference. This means you keep playing when the score is 7-6 until either team has a two point advantage over the other team. in which case that team wins the tiebreak and thereby the set.