The rules of the service padel are an almost inexhaustible subject. We thought we had written everything about it, but in the end, there are still controversial points to be addressed. On the one hand because these rules are more complex than it seems, on the other hand because they are subject to interpretation.

Thus during a recent and modest P250 category tournament, yours truly was approached by a spectator-player who, with a smirk, explained to him that his service did not comply with the rules.

An irrefutable argument?

Here is the dialogue between the two:

- Myself : “Ah, why not compliant?”
- He : “Because when you bounce the ball, you throw it up instead of dropping it.”
- Myself : “But what matters is not the height of the ball toss, it is the point of impact, which must be below the belt.”
- He : “I promise you it’s forbidden, I read it.”
- Myself : “But where did you read it? What is your source?”
And there he comes up with a supposedly unstoppable argument: “I read it in an article by Padel Magazine, the site you write for!”

A truth that costs

This then triggers a “storm under a skull”, such as Jean Valjean reluctant to report himself to the police to prevent an innocent person from being condemned in his place [Editor's note: our apologies to Victor Hugo and his descendants for this unflattering comparison]. Should I defend this supposed "rule" engraved in the marble of Padel Magazine, a reference site whose each article embodies, honors and engages the moral rigor of its master and founder Franck B.?

Or on the contrary should I be faithful to the motto of the founder of Le Monde Hubert Beuve-Méry (1902-1989): “Telling the truth, even if it costs, especially if it costs. »?

How much pressure to exert on the ball?

In this case, this costly truth is to risk making people lie Padel Magazine by checking whether the following sentence – taken from one of our old articles – complies with the FFT rules: “The server must drop the ball downwards, without giving it too much momentum (i.e. he is not allowed to send the ball up in the air , and to let it fall back; nor to exert too much pressure when releasing".

At the cost of a thorough investigation of about 4'28”, we have dissected in detail the rules of the game padel 2023 of the FFT and analyzed each of the 25 uses of the noun "bounce" and the verb "bounce". At the end of this “investigation”, we are able to affirm that only two sentences govern the throwing of the ball in 2023 on French territory: “The service must be performed "with the spoon", after rebounding on the ground, at belt height or below the belt. The rebound must be made in the server's half of the field and must be behind the service line."

Verdict: what is not forbidden being authorized, nothing imposes to “drop the ball down” and nothing prevents the server from propelling it in the air, as high as he wishes. Finally, everyone can exercise when releasing the pressure of their choice (whether blonde, amber, brown or red!). Moreover, how could one determine from when a pressure is “too strong”?

Room for revisions

Once these clarifications have been made and the truth established, it is time to move on to revisions. If you have (already) forgotten how many times a serve can bounce into the square, where the server's feet should be, or which side of the center line the ball is allowed to hit, you will find the answers in our article titled “The service's controversial rules“. Incidentally, you are reminded that it is forbidden to run or jump while serving and to hit the ball above the waist, that it is mandatory to bounce the ball before hitting it and that a serve lobé coming out of the track after rebounding in the square is a winner…

Note to our readers : the article you have just read is not to be taken literally and claims a certain dose of humor which will not have escaped you; if by chance one of you has an interpretation of the rules different from ours, he/she does not hesitate to let us know.

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme falls into the pot of padel in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves pala in hand! Journalist in Alsace, he has no other ambition than to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

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