International Padel Federation

Players must wear appropriate sports attire, including athletic shoes with non-marking soles suitable for the court surface. Clothing must not contain offensive imagery or messaging.

The use of walls is the defining tactical element of padel: After the ball bounces on the ground on the receiving side, it may rebound off any wall (back glass, side glass, or metallic mesh) and still be played by the receiving pair.; Players may not hit the ball directly into a wall on their own...

In professional and sanctioned tournament play, matches are officiated by a chair umpire who sits in an elevated position at the net post. The chair umpire is responsible for calling the score, ruling on disputed calls, enforcing the rules, and managing player conduct.

Players change ends at the end of the first, third, and every subsequent odd-numbered game of each set, as well as at the end of each set if the total number of games in that set is odd. During changeovers, players have a maximum of 90 seconds of rest.

The FIP Code of Conduct provides a graduated penalty system for behavioral violations: First offense: Verbal warning from the chair umpire.; Second offense: Point penalty — one point awarded to the opposing pair.; Third offense: Game penalty — one game awarded to the opposing pair.

The padel court is a rectangle measuring 20 meters long by 10 meters wide (65.62 ft × 32.81 ft), enclosed on all sides by walls and fencing. The court is divided into two equal halves by a net.

The enclosed court design provides inherent safety benefits — balls are contained within the playing area, reducing the risk of balls striking spectators. Access doors must open outward (away from the playing area) and must not protrude into the court when closed.

If the ball bounces twice on the ground on one side of the court before being returned, the point is awarded to the opposing pair. This is the most common way points end in padel.

Padel is played exclusively as a doubles sport — two players per side, for a total of four players on court. There is no official singles format in FIP-sanctioned competition.

All glass panels used in padel court construction must be tempered safety glass (also known as toughened glass), typically 10 mm or 12 mm thick. Tempered glass is designed to shatter into small, granular pieces rather than sharp shards in the even...