Rules
How you lose a point in padel
Direct answer
Most padel points end on a second bounce, a ball into the net or out, or a double fault. You also lose if you touch the net while the ball is in play, hit the ball twice, the ball hits your body, you drop your racket, or the mandatory wrist cord breaks.
Winners get the highlights. The rulebook is full of quieter endings. Knowing them keeps club nights shorter and fairer.
This is a player-facing summary. Tournament officials apply the FIP Rules of Padel.
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Ball and bounce
You lose the point if the ball bounces a second time before you return it, or if you serve two consecutive faults. You also lose if you hit the ball before it has crossed the net.
A common tennis-convert error: returning a ball that strikes the opponent’s walls or fence without bouncing on their floor first. In padel the ball generally has to bounce on the opponent’s court (or meet the other “good return” cases in the rules). Driving straight into their glass from your side, without that bounce, is a lost point.
Net, bodies, and partners
If you, your racket, or your clothing touches the net, posts, or the opponent’s court while the ball is live, you lose the point. If the ball hits you instead of the racket, you lose. If you throw the racket at the ball, you lose.
Only one player in the pair may hit the ball. If both partners hit it, the point is lost. It is not a double hit when one player hits the ball and the partner accidentally hits their teammate’s racket.
Wrist cord and dropped racket
The safety cord must be around the wrist. If it breaks or the racket is dropped during the point, the pair loses that point. Check the cord. Use it. It is a safety rule that also sits on the scoreboard.
Out-of-court play
Some venues authorise chasing a ball that has left through a door or over a side. Many Pakistani clubs do not. If it is not authorised, once the ball has left in the ways the rules describe, the point is over. Ask before the match, not after a sprint into a corridor.
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