Padel

2 to 4 players

Padel is a racket game played on an enclosed court with glass walls, almost always as doubles: 4 players, two teams. It scores like tennis, but the ball stays in play off the walls, so rallies run longer and are more fun. Easy to learn in an hour, hard to master in a year.

Find a padel court missing a fourth.

How to play

1 Players 4 in doubles, which is the standard game, or 2 in singles. Courts are booked by the hour, so a fourth who does not show costs everyone. 1

2 Gear A perforated stringless padel racket and a ball like a tennis ball with less pressure. The court is 10 by 20 metres, with a net in the middle and glass and mesh walls around. 2

3 Serving Underhand, after one bounce on the floor. It goes diagonally into the opposite service box, and you get two attempts like tennis. 3

4 Play The ball must bounce once on the floor before it hits a wall. After that you can play it off the wall, or take it in the air. Two bounces on the floor and the point is gone. 4

5 Scoring 15, 30, 40, game. At 40 all it is a golden point or advantage, as agreed. Six games with a two-game margin win the set. 5

6 Winning Best of three sets, so the first team to two. For a casual booking one set is plenty and everyone goes home happy. 6

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