All about padel

Are you wondering about the main rules of padel. Here is a general point on the regulation of padel governed by the French Tennis Federation (FFT).

Field

• The playing area is a rectangle 10 m wide and 20 m long.
• This rectangle is divided in the middle by a net.
• There are no hallways.
• The court is closed with side grilles and the bay window (or a wall) at the bottom.
• The lines :
  • service lines parallel to the net are 6,95 m from the net.
  • centers (or the center line) allowing to define identical service squares is therefore located 5 m on each side of the court.
  • central (or central line) extends 20 cm beyond each service line.
• All lines are 5 cm wide.

Equipment

The net

The net measures 10 m in length, for a height of 0.88 m in its center. It is slightly raised at its ends, up to a maximum height of 0.92 m.

The ball

The balls used in official competition must be approved by the French Tennis Federation.

The ball should be uniform in color, yellow or white. Its diameter must measure from 6.35 to 6.77 cm. Its weight must be between 57 and 59,4 g.

Racket

The racket padel must comply with the names of the International Federation of Padel (FIP).

It must not exceed 45.5 cm in length, 26 cm in width and 38 mm in thickness.

Its weight is approximately 370 g. A wrist strap is connected to the handle. It is mandatory to wear it in competition.

Rules

Player positions

Le padel is played almost in doubles. The practice in competition approved by the FFT is only done in duplicate.

The two pairs (made up of 2 players each) can position themselves anywhere in their own camps.

Please note:

•  the server as the mandatory rebound before serving must be behind the baseline.
• The receiver must be on the diagonal of the server. In general, the receiver is always behind the service league because it is forbidden to volley on a service.

 Dots

Le padel borrows his points system from tennis.

It takes 6 games to win a set and the team that wins 2 sets wins the game.

A game is broken down exactly as in tennis: 15/0, 30/0, 40/0, ​​with the application of the decisive point in the event of a tie at 40A.

In the event of a tie:

• 6 games everywhere, we play a decisive game, like tennis.
• in one round everywhere, a super 10-point tie-break will be played as the third round.

 The service

• The throw-in is done by spoon, with 2 service attempts (first and second ball).
• The server first bounces the ball (behind his own service line) and then hits it under the belt.
• The server must play behind the service line.
• The ball must bounce in the opposite service box before it is struck by the catcher
• If the ball does not bounce in the square, it is a foul.
• After passing the net, any ball that first touches a surface other than the ground is the server's fault.
• If she bounces in the square and touches the fence before having passed the service line (receiver side), she is also foul.
• If the ball hits the net and rebounds into the square. she is let.
• If she hits the fence before the second rebound, she is at fault.

Exchange and rebound

With the exception of serve and return of serve, a ball may be volleyed.

The ball is only allowed one bounce on the ground. In the rally, after a bounce on the ground, the ball may touch any other surface except the ground of its own court. Thus, the door handle, the fences and the walls are an integral part of the land.

The second rebound on the ground causes the loss of point.

The ball may be taken out of the court if and only if a second bounce on the ground has not been made.

There is a winning point if, after a rebound in the opposing court, the ball returns to its own court without having been touched by an opponent.

Once the ball is in play, all the balls which pass the net must first bounce on the ground of the opposing camp before touching a wall.

Players can hit the ball after a bounce (or more) on a wall to return it to the opposing court.

Like in tennis, the ball can only bounce once in your court and it can only be hit once.