Resources
What you need before your first few sessions make sense: how the game works, and the words people will use around you while you play it.
How the game works
Padel is played in pairs on an enclosed court twenty metres long and ten metres wide, with glass at the ends and mesh along the sides. Scoring is the same as tennis — 15, 30, 40, game.
Three things separate it from tennis, and all three take getting used to:
- The serve is underarm. You bounce the ball behind the service line and strike it at or below waist height, into the diagonal service box.
- The walls are in play. Once the ball has bounced on the floor it can come off the glass and still be played. Rallies last far longer because of it.
- The net is the prize. The pair at the net controls the point. Most padel tactics come down to taking that position, or taking it back.
The words on the court
Padel keeps its Spanish vocabulary almost everywhere it is played. You will hear these at any club, so they are worth knowing before someone shouts one at you.
Bandeja
The overhead you play instead of a smash when the lob is too deep to attack. Sliced, hit at around head height with the body sideways, it keeps the ball low and keeps you at the net. Literally “tray” — the arm moves as though carrying one.
Víbora
A more aggressive cousin of the bandeja, hit with sidespin so the ball skids away after the bounce. It sits between the bandeja and a full smash. “Viper”.
Chiquita
A soft, low ball played to the feet of the opponents at the net. Not a weak shot — it is how you take the attack away from them and buy time to come forward.
Bajada
The shot you play after the ball has come off the back glass. Your timing has to wait for the wall, which is the hardest adjustment for players arriving from tennis.
Globo
The lob. In padel it is an attacking shot, not a panic one: a good globo pushes opponents off the net and hands you the position.
Remate
The smash. Used less often than beginners expect, because a smash that does not win the point usually costs you the net.
The glass
The back and side walls. The ball may be played after it has bounced on the floor and come off the glass, which is why points last far longer than in tennis.
The golden point
At deuce, a single deciding point rather than advantage. Standard in professional padel and common in club competition.
Next
The guides go deeper on each of these. Read them here →