What a first padel session is really like when you have never played

France had around 4 000 padel courts at the end of 2025, a 118 % increase in three years, and 850 000 players. Which means someone will eventually invite you to a game. Here is what actually awaits you, backed by the official rules, so you do not discover on court that you cannot serve.

Do you need to play tennis first?

No, and that is the discipline’s main selling point. Padel is played exclusively in doubles according to the French tennis federation, on a much smaller surface than a tennis court, with a short solid racket that forgives far more than a strung frame.

The figures from the Padel Observatory published in November 2025 say the same thing differently. Women make up 16 % of players, but 22 % among newcomers. And 85 % of players play with friends. This is a sport you enter through an invitation, not an entry test.

That said, do not count on your tennis experience for everything: three specific rules, detailed below, have no equivalent.

What does the court look like?

An official court measures 10 metres wide by 20 metres long, inside measurements. The back walls are 4 metres high, of which 3 metres of solid wall topped by a metre of metal fencing. The net is 0,88 metre high at the centre and 0,92 metre at the posts. Clear height above the court must be at least 6 metres.

Those walls are not a boundary, they are part of the game. That is the most disconcerting difference for anyone coming from tennis: a ball that goes past you is not necessarily lost.

How do you serve in padel?

This is the rule that surprises everyone, and the one to know before stepping on court. The server must bounce the ball on the ground before hitting it, keep one foot behind the service line until the strike, and hit the ball at or below waist level. As in tennis, there are two attempts.

Watch the wording. The international rulebook speaks of a strike at or below waist level, which is not quite the same as the widespread below the belt version. The French tennis federation simply sums it up by saying the serve is played underarm.

One last trap: if the serve bounces correctly in the opposing box and then touches the metal fence before the second bounce, it is a fault.

When are you allowed to play off the walls?

Always after a bounce on the ground, never before. The rule is explicit: the receiver must wait for the ball to bounce in their box and hit it before the second bounce. A ball taken straight off the glass, without a prior bounce, is not playable.

Once that condition is met, you may hit the ball into your own wall so that it goes back into the opposing half: that is perfectly legal. If your shot touches the metal fence on your own side, however, the point is lost. On the opponent side, contact with the fence after a bounce is allowed.

How is the scoring done?

Exactly as in tennis, which is good news. Fifteen, thirty, forty, game, with deuce at forty all. The pair winning six games with a two game margin takes the set, and the match is best of three sets. Players change ends after the first game, the third, then every odd game.

In other words, you have nothing to relearn about scoring. All your attention can go to the serve and to the walls.

What should you bring to your first session?

Very little. Sports clothing, clean shoes suited to the surface, and a racket you do not need to buy yet: several clubs rent them for around 5 euros, and some beginner lessons include one. It is not a federal obligation, so ask when you book.

One useful word of caution. A scientific review published in 2026 covering 14 studies and 3 581 players places the elbow as the most affected area, ahead of the shoulder, and notes that amateur players tend to sustain more severe injuries than professionals. That is not a reason to give up, it is a reason to warm up wrist, elbow and shoulder before starting and not to play three hours on day one.

The rest comes down to logistics rather than technique: you need four people. That is the only real difficulty of padel for a beginner, and it is also the only one you can settle before arriving at the court.