Padel
Everything you need to know
Introduction
Padel is a very young and dynamic racket sport that is spreading with spectacular pace. Friends of tennis or squash will find Padel easy to play because it combines ideally the best elements of these two sports. Beginners enjoy Padel as it also easy to learn. Simple rules, manageable bat and a short settling-in period help players to get the grasp of the game after a few strokes resulting in long rallies.
Padel is played always in doubles and inherits the principles of double tennis game, like the scoring. However, Padel has some special features, such as strategic and systematic use of the back and sidewalls and the serve “underhand”, i.e. performed below the hip. The International Padel Federation provides on its website a detailed set of rules in English for download.
Padel Court
The Padelcourt (20 m x 10 m) is similar to the tennis court; it is divided in two fields by a net and is surrounded in its whole perimeter by three to four-meter-high glass walls and grid. The entrances to the court are located at one or both grid side walls and are installed symmetrically with respect to the net.
The carpet of the Padelcourt consists nowadays on synthetic turf with fine quartz sand spread on it to improve the mobility. The Padel net is a few centimeters lower than the tennis net (network center: 0.88 cm instead of 0.91 cm, network edges: 0.92 cm instead of 1.07 cm).
Equipment
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Padel bats are different from rackets from other racquet sports. They do not have linings but consist of a solid synthetic surface perforated with an unlimited number of holes to reduce weight and air resistance.
The surface consists mainly of carbon or graphite, while the core of the racket consists of elastic foam. At the end of the racket grip, a strap is attached, that must be set around while playing for safety reasons.
Although Padel balls are visually identical to tennis balls, they are smaller, heavier, and have a lower internal pressure, to make them slower and to avoid too high bounces of the ball.