The Game
WHAT IS PADEL - THE GAME
If you are a South African then there is a good chance you have never heard of the the sports phenomenon game of padel. So, what is it? How do you play it? And why all the fuss?!
Padel is a game that can be described as a mixture of tennis and squash and is a refreshing addition to the racket sports genre. It is played by four players on a court that is surrounded by glass walls and mesh fencing that is about a third the size of a tennis court. It is easy to pick up compared to the more traditional racket sports, and one could easily grasp the fundamentals of the game in one session.
The gameplay is identical to tennis, with the key differences being the walls that form part of the game. Padel is a very social game that you can play with friends and family, and because the game is played in a tightly enclosed space it is fast and moves at an exciting pace with matches normally finishing within an hour, that’s if you don’t want the inevitable rematch!
THE RULES
Padel is a doubles game, that is played on a synthetic court surrounded by glass walls and mesh fencing. The court measures in at 20m x 10m and is separated by a net in the middle. The walls are there to give you another chance at playing the ball, so the ball can essentially bounce twice, once off the ground and then off of or into the wall and back over the net. The scoring system is identical to that of tennis.
- A serve is made diagonally as in tennis, with two serve attempts allowed and one net let
- The serve must be played off a bounce, underarm, below or inline with the waist level
- After the ball has been served the ball is in play and can be played by either of the players
- Players can hit the ball on the volley, after it bounces, off the wall and even back into the wall and over
- A direct hit over the net and into any off the walls surrounding the court is a foul
- The scoring system is identical to tennis in that points are given as 15, 30, 40, Point or Deuce.
- The best of 3 sets is played (the team winning 2 sets wins the match).
- The set is won when a team gets to 6 games with a 2-game difference and if it ends at 6-6 then there is a tie-break just as in tennis.
There are a number of padel tours around the world where the world’ best players compete. The Three biggest are the World Padel Tour, Premier Padel, and the APT. Some of these events are now even broadcast by SuperSport.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
RACKET
A padel racket is a stringless racket made from a mixture of fibreglass and/or carbon fibre composites. It consists of an inner foam core, strong outer frame, and a surface that is pierced with holes to help with aerodynamic movement.
BALLS
The padel ball is identical in look and feel to a tennis ball, with the key differences being that a padel ball is slightly less pressurised and is a fraction smaller.
SHOES
Due to the unique aspects of the artificial grass and its sand infill, it requires footwear specifically for the game. Similar to clay tennis shoes, the soles are designed to move sand out of the groves and enable you to find more grip.
