Many times while playing padel, we encounter situations where we have a doubt: was that ball a fault or not?
The official rules of padel can be found here, but the situations described below tend to cause confusion and debate even in professional tournaments, so it’s worth revising them and knowing how to act if the situation arises.
Let’s have a look and attempt to clarify some of the most common doubts that padel players face.
Case 1 – The ball bounces right in the angle between the back wall and the ground. Was it out or in?
This is known as huevo in Spanish, which means egg. I’m not sure why that is so, but that’s what it’s called. In order to understand whether it was in or out, we need to consider the angle of the trajectory taken by the ball after its bounce. If the ball’s trajectory forms a 45 degree angle or bigger with the ground, then it is considered in, while if it bounces off closer to the ground then it was out. It’s quite logical really, just applying the laws of physics.
Case 2 – We serve and the ball bounces on the ground and then rebounds off the part between the mesh and the side wall, called pico in Spanish, and border in English.
If the ball rebounds in the direction of the receiver, then it’s a valid serve, if not it is a bad serve. This is a rule that is very often confused at beginner level, and it is commonly given as a let. This is incorrect, and the rule just described should apply instead. It has to be either a good or bad serve, and never a let.
Case 3 – We run up to the net to return a ball, and we don’t manage to break fast enough and touch the net by mistake.
The net cannot come into contact with our bodies or rackets at any point during the match, hence we automatically lose the point in this case.
Case 4 – In the attacking position, close to the net, we hit the ball while our racket is in our opponents’ side of the court.
Whether it’s a valid point or not depends on the situation:
- If the ball hasn’t yet crossed to our side of the court, then it’s not a valid point and play is stopped as this is an infraction of the rules.
- If the ball has crossed to our side, rebounded against the walls and is heading back towards our opponents’ side, then we are free to invade our opponents’ court with our racket to return the ball. It is important not to touch the net while doing so.
Case 5 – In our attacking position, we hit the ball on our side of the court but subsequently our racket invades the opponents’ side of the court due to swing inertia.
It’s valid, keeping in mind that we can at no point in time touch the net with our racket or any part of our body or clothing.
Case 6 – We serve and the ball bounces more than one time in the receiver’s box.
It’s a valid point for the server as the receiver cannot let the ball bounce twice in his side of the court.
Case 7 – We serve while stepping on the imaginary central line that there is from the center of the court till the end of our side of the court.
It’s a bad serve as we cannot invade the other side of the court while serving, nor step on the imaginary line.
Unfortunately many amateur players do this and even insist that it’s allowed. No doubt, seeing professionals do it and not being sanctioned encourages this kind of nonsensical behavior.
Here’s an example from a tournament in 2019, a quarter final no less. Agustin Silingo, a top player, repeatedly serves illegally in a very clear way, and has the audacity to pretend that he didn’t know what the problem was when the referee faults him on one of his illegal serves.
Case 8 – When serving, we bounce the ball inside the box.
This is a bad serve, since we should bounce and hit the ball outside of the box. Keep in mind that you cannot step on the box’s back line either.
Case 9 – We serve and the ball bounces on the serving line or the center line of the receiver’s box.
It’s a valid serve, the lines are included in the receiving box area.
Case 10 – The ball bounces on our side and rebounds off the fence at the back of the court, above the glass wall.
The ball remains in play, there are no issues. However you cannot bounce the ball off this part off the fence yourself, as you would when bouncing the ball off the back wall to return it.
Case 11 – We hit a high ball, or globo, and the ball hits the ceiling.
Play stops and a point is awarded to your opponents. The same thing happens if the ball hits the floodlight or any other external object.
Case 12 – While returning the ball I carry it. Instead of the usual hitting the ball, there is that extra moment or two of contact between the racket and the ball, as I accompany the ball instead of hitting it. This is typical of balls that end up very close to the back wall after a lob, or during the execution of a chiquita, or during a dropshot.
The point is valid. Check this video of Bela doing an incredible dropshot:
This is the excerpt from the official rules in Spanish:
Regla 14, Punto g), Reglamento FIP: Devolución correcta.
Si se “acuchara” o se empuja la pelota se considerarà correcta la devoluciòn siempre que el jugador no la haya golpeado dos veces, el impacto se efectùe durante un mismo movimiento y no varìe sustancialmente la salida natural de la pelota.
Do you have any other questions or doubts about padel points? Let me know and I’ll add more Q & As.
Hi Jean,
Concerning case 6, upon serving the ball bounces twice in the receiver’s box and then hits the fence.
Is this a valid serve or not?
Thanks!
Hello Jean!
We had an occurrence in our game yesterday that we were unsure of how the rules applied.
So I hit the ball and it first touched the court of the opponents, then their back wall, then the side fence, then it also bounced on the top of the net and then finally the opponent hit the ball back in our court to win the point, is this a valid point for them? 🙂
Thanks
Nothing on this? 🙁
Hi Jean. If I hit the ball against the side glass on my side and then it lands on the court on my opponent’s side, is it valid same as if I hit it against the back wall?
Yes, congrats, that’s a hard move to pull off 😉
Just refreshing rules as not played for ten years and now mu local club in UK has built some courts!
Can I play the ball against the wore mesh before going over net to opponents side please? Is ball long if it hits the back wall before the ground ?
We had an unusual point last game: a lob landed on top of the cage(fence-side) and bounced back in. Is that ball still in play or out because it hit the top of the fence first?
Thanks!
Still in play.
Hi,
When serving if the first bounce is on the opponent court and the second one is out of the court (with the ball exiting through the door), is this a point or a fault?
Hi Gil,
Have I missed the point somewhere? You have not answered my question yet!!!
Hi David Daniel,
I don’t understand very much your reply but anyway.
Here is the answer to your previous question :
Yes you are allowed apply downward force in the ball while on the serve.
Even though it is a legal move, it is not very advised just for the simple reason of consistency.
You want to practice your serve to be predictable and consistent, if you just release the ball gravity will always do the same job. While when pushing it down, you will add more potential moments for mistakes to happen.
Thiese are my 5 cents, in any case do whatever feels more confortable for you, and enjoy the game.
Hi Gil,
Thats fine and thanks for the reply. I will send the reply out to my padel group. Your answer has been fine. Thank you.
Hi, if I play a ball and the ball hits the fence on my side and then proceeds to my opponents side, is that a legal ball? Can I hit a ball against the fence on my side or is it only the glass?
Only the glass.
So in this FIP rule “wall” can only be glass not fence?: RULE 14. CORRECT RETURN
The return is correct if:
a) After being hit the ball is volleyed by either one of the opposing team. Or if
it hits any part of the opposing team’s body, clothing or even the racket.
b) The ball after being hit bounces directly into the opposing court or hits the
wall in the players own court first and it then bounces into the opponent’s
court.”
Hi Jean,
When serving should the ball just be dropped and allowed to bounce before making contact with the racket or can the ball be bounced with some downward force before it is hit.
Hi Marius, Did I get an answer from you?
What happens if I shout OUT or LONG as instruction to my partner at the back glass, but ball is in and we continue to play. I heard something about that we then loose the point because we called it out. Is this true? And if sow which words are OK to use as instructions?
No you don’t lose the point; play continues as normal. You can shout out whatever you want when the ball is on your side, the only rule is that you don’t shout and distract the opponent when he is playing the ball.
Hi thank you very much for this very informative. One question can the ball once served bounce twice (in the box or must just bounce while serving?
In other words can you drop the serve?
Thanks
On the receiver’s side if it bounces twice in the box it results in a point for the server.
Hello, I have a question.
If the opponent during the game hits the ball, then it bounces once on my side then it hits the fence and bounces off , can I play that ball back to their side? The fence rule is like the wall rule ? Thank you
Yes, balls off the fence are playable and it functions the same as the wall when the point is in play, except for the service, whereby if the ball from the server hits the fence after bouncing in the box, it is considered out, and thus he moves on to his second serve.
Hi Jean! Is it a legal shot if you hit the ball direct to the net post and the ball bounces to the opponents side. We had this situation yesterday when we played. Thanks for the answer!
In my view yes that is a valid point.
Hi, what happens if my first service is hitting the net but goes over in the opponents service field and bounces a couple of times. Is it then a new first service for me like in Tennis?
The question I have because I had a match, where I hit a first service that bounced of the net, down in the opponents field twice and then striked the metal fence. We replayed the first service.
Best Regards
Mark
Yes, in that case you would replay the first serve.
Thank you for the content and all the Q&A. I played today and had a weird thing happen. I hit the ball to my opponents and their shot back went between the net and the post holding up the net (there was about a 20cm gap between the post and the net). I thought the ball should always fly over the net but in this situation it didn’t and my opponents said that was ok using the same logic that a player could run outside of the court to hit a shot.
Question: does the ball always have to go over the net or could a gap between the post and net, leaving a hole, mean that a player could hit lower the net and between the net and the post?
Thanks!
You’re welcome. I’ve never seen such a net and it probably isn’t according to the regulations. In such a case the sensible thing to do would be to repeat the point.
Outdoor play is not always allowed, it has to be predetermined by the tournament organizers or the players if it’s a friendly match. Unless there is the designated area for outer play then by default it is not allowed to recover the ball from outside the court’s perimeter. Even in the World Padel Tour’s qualifying stage most of the matches are played with no off court play permitted due to the courts having limited space between them.
I return the ball, but have a double contact on the racket. One continious move of the hand but double contact. Allowed or not allowed?
It is not allowed. Carrying the ball (when there is one contact on the racket but its duration is longer than the usual quick touch) is allowed, but two distinct contacts on the racket means you lose the point immediately.
Hi Jean! Our opponents hit the ball toward our side and it hit the back glass without hitting the ground first. BUT we returned it having not noticed the error in our minds until a few seconds later.. does the play continue because we failed to pay attention and returned the ball? Or is the point still for us?
If everyone realizes what happened the rules of fair play would say that the point is awarded to you. If it was very dubious and everybody continued to play then whoever wins the point takes it.
Hello! I ended up here while trying to find an answer to situation bit similar as Adam had. Opponent hits hard volley and ball bounces to our court then our backglass and keeps going back to their side. I run towards the net and jump over it while hitting the ball from opponents side. What are the options here? Is it always illegal to jump over the net even I might hit the ball throught the door or straight to their side of net or over their backglass. I remember someone saying that it’s allowed to jump over the net if the point ends to your shot. This didn’t quite happen to me but it crossed my mind.
Thanks for very accurate answers!
Invading the other court is always illegal, so you would automatically lose the point after landing on the other side of the court. An argument could be made that the ball might have already bounced twice before you land (improbable) thus meaning the point would have already ended, however I think that you would still probably lose the point in that case. I’ve never seen this scenario play out in any amateur or pro match though.
Thanks for this – enlightening!
I have two cases I can’t find an answer to:
1. I manage to hit a ball that first lands on the opponents half and then bounce onto my half. Do we still play or does opponent always have to hit the ball?
2. Can you bounce on the wired fence on your on half during play, just like you can from the walls?
That’s an easy one 🙂
1. Unless the opponent manages to reach over and hit the ball before it bounces back on your side, it will be your point and play stops.
2. No.
Hello! if If the ball rolls of the net and hits the fence on the opponents side (while the ball is in play, not serve/return but mid point). Is the ball still in play or have i lost the point since the ball has not touched the ground yet on the opponents side of the court. I suppose that I lose the point since the ball did not bounce but at the same time it bounces on the net.
Thanks in advance!
You lose the point in that case, although I don’t expect that to occur again in your whole life hehe
Great answers!
When a ball is smashed and via the ground and opponents back wall goes over the side wall. May it be hit through the door straight into the opponents side of the net (without hitting the ground first)? This seems to happen quite often in the WPT, but I don’t see how it would be considered valid.
Yes totally valid point if outer play is allowed. In many amateur matches and tournaments the organizers or players themselves decide beforehand that outer play is not allowed, mostly because there is limited space between one court and another.
Hi,
What happens if I volley the ball (but not the serve), but it hits the ground on my side and then crosses the net? Does play continue or did I lose the point?
Thanks
You lose the point, after hitting your racket the ball cannot hit the ground on your side again.
You say “again” but the ball has only hit the ground on my side once.
I wasn’t very clear, sorry. After hitting your racket, the ball can only hit the side or back walls, and the top of the net, before crossing over to the other side of the court. Thus, if you volley and the ball hits the ground on your side, it immediately terminates the point. The situation you’re describing reminds me of the table tennis serve, where you serve, the ball bounces on your side and then on the other side. This is not allowed in padel, just like it isn’t allowed in tennis.
Hi there, is it possible to return a ball off the wire fence from your own side of the court?
So let’s say the opposition has hit the ball to your side of the court it then bounces once before you hit it against the wire fence back into the opposition’s half.
Thanks for a great read, learned a lot of technical rules.
Glad you like it Luke. What you mention is not a valid point, bouncing the ball off the wire fence on your side of the court automatically loses you the point.
Your Q&As are really helpful. Thank you. May I ask you to clarify. You mention two instances where your racket goes over the net into your opponents’ side. One is where the ball has bounced off a wall and is going back over the net and the other is where you hit a return and the momentum carries your racket over the net.
But, if the ball is hit to you and the spin after the bounce makes it start to go back over the net towards your opponent, is it legal to hit it if by doing so your racket has to reach over the net?
Yes, it is legal. It is the same as the case I mentioned when the ball has bounced off a wall and is going back over the net.
Hello! In a lot of different videos i see somthing i dont understand. Sometimes both the serving players are standingon the sam side of their court. Could you explain whats going on?
That is how most players prefer to play actually. It is called serving the Australian way. Here in Spain I would say the majority of amateur players that are of a certain levels use that way of serving. You will almost see this method used in professional matches exclusively.
The reason is that most players prefer to specialize in playing on the left or right sides of the court, so there is little sense to change sides while serving.
Hi Jean . I am not clear about one thing so please help on that matter . If i hit a winner for instance a volley and the ball hits the top of the aside cage like it was going go outside court but somehow bounces back with no opponents touch is it still a game going or it was a point for me ? Cheers
Hi Tomislav, the side fence is part of the court so play continues until the second bounce of the ball. The only occasion where play would terminate is it the ball would hit one of the floodlight posts.
To clarify if the ball bounces any top part of the fence/wall and bounces back you are allowed to keep playing as long as the ball doesn’t touch the floor first?
Thanks!
the opponents smashes the ball through the center of the court and it bounces off the wall back over the net. The defending player is allowed to hit the ball on the opponents side, but is he allowed to hit the ball directly in the opponent’s net? Without bouncing on the opponent’s court?
Yes he is, he can also hit the opponent with the ball as has happened various times in WPT. In the latter case the point ends immediately, while in the case of hitting the net the ball can subsequently bounce once and be returned. The point will only end if the ball bounces twice in the court or the player fails in his return (typically by having trouble putting it back over the net since it bounces so low and close to the net).
Hi Jean, can a receiving player hit the ball against the side glass wall before it goes back over the net? We had this in a game today and nobody knew the correct ruling.
Yes 100%, it’s just as valid as hitting the back wall in a return. Some advanced players have this nailed to perfection and use it as a surprise shot at times.
Well thats a good point in that 1. I don’t think the level is high enough that anyone is going to be making outside plays and 2. there are two covered courts side by side with only about 1.5 meters width between them so outside play would actually be difficult even if the skill level was higher. when I hit the ball it had bounced out the door and into the adjoining court before I hit the net. Next time I will be sure to ask what rules before we start. Thanks again
You’re welcome Adam.
Hi I have a question about a net foul.
I ran from the back corner to hit a bad lob that was almost on top of the net. I made a little jump and hit the ball onto the opponents’ court and out the door while I was still in the air rendering it out of play. As I came down my momentum caused me to hit the net. Is this still a foul even though the ball was already completely unplayable???
Nice move 🙂 Unfortunately it would be considered a foul. Think of your movement as being part of the point until you’re back on the ground. This situation or similar variations actually happens fairly frequently during World Padel Tour matches. Another common one is hitting the net with the body or racket after jumping to smash the ball over the back wall. Even though it’s unrecoverable the umpire would still look at the player and call a foul if there is any touching of the net.
Right ok, because rule 13 point a clearly states “while the ball is in play…” I believe then that the wording of that rule needs to be amended. Thanks for your answer and I hope this rule is made slightly more transparent in the future.
You’re right, and I double checked this with various padel coaches to confirm. Since when the ball goes over the back wall the point is immediately terminated, you would be ok with touching the net, as long as the time of contact happens after the ball goes over the wall. It doesn’t matter if the ball hasn’t touched the ground behind the wall, as the point is already yours at the time when the ball passes over the back wall.
In practice, this can be very difficult to judge as all this happens in a second. Typically in WPT, they would ask for a video replay, but when you’re playing with friends, your opponent is likely to only have seen you touching the net and has no idea if that happened before or after the ball flew over, hence the arguments start…
In this case, I would always suggest that the point is given to the player smashing the ball, unless it is very obvious that he touched the net while smashing or even before.
Yes in fact I hit the ball out the door, unplayable, and my momentum carried me forward into the net but by that time, in my opinion the point is over. It was a friendly game so I said ok let’s replay the point but they insisted it was their point…
thanks again 🙂
It’s best to decide before he match whether outside play is allowed or not.
If it is, and you hit the net before the ball bounces for the second time then it would be the opponent’s point. It sounds that in your case outside play was not allowed and hence you are right in that when the ball went out of the door the point had already terminated.
Clear, Jean!
Good to know for my next game! 😀😉