SportRules.org
Padel serve rules

The padel serve is legal only if the whole sequence works.

A serve can look fine at contact and still be a fault after the bounce. The server has to stand correctly, bounce the ball, strike it underhand below waist height, land it in the diagonal service box, and avoid the side fence problem that catches many new players.

Quick ruling: a legal padel serve is bounced before contact, hit underhand at or below waist height, sent diagonally into the correct service box, and does not hit the metal fence before the second bounce.
Decision path

How to check a serve

  1. Confirm the correct player is serving from the correct side.
  2. Check the server's feet are behind the service line and not touching or crossing it at contact.
  3. Make sure the ball bounced before it was struck.
  4. Check contact height and underhand motion.
  5. Watch the landing spot and what the ball touches after the bounce.
Contact

Underhand and below the waist

Padel is not served like tennis. The server bounces the ball, then strikes it below waist height with an underhand action. A tennis-style toss and overhead serve is not legal.

Landing

The service box comes first

The ball must land in the opposite diagonal service box. Lines count as good on the serve, so a serve that clips the correct service-box line can still be legal.

Fence fault

Glass and fence are different

A serve that lands correctly and then hits the glass can be good. A serve that lands correctly and then hits the metal side fence before the second bounce is a fault.

Let serve

Net contact does not always kill the serve

If the serve touches the net and then lands correctly, it is normally a let and is replayed. If it touches the net and does not land correctly, it is a fault.

Second serve

Two chances, then the point

The server normally gets a first and second serve. If both serves are faults, the receiving pair wins the point.

Common arguments

Misunderstandings to avoid

  • "It landed in, so it is good" misses the side-fence fault.
  • "Net contact is a fault" is wrong if the serve lands correctly after touching the net.
  • "The ball was low, so the serve is legal" ignores foot position and service-box placement.
  • "The receiver's partner can return it" is wrong. The designated receiver must return the serve.
Effective ruleset

Worked rulings use the FIP rules in force from 1 January 2026

This page applies the International Padel Federation Rules of Padel in force as of 1 January 2026. A tour or local organiser may publish additional competition regulations, but those additions should not be used to rewrite the basic FIP service sequence. For a disputed serve, record the server, service side, foot position, bounce, contact height, first landing, and later contact in that order.

The first landing and the next object touched answer different questions. A ball must first land in the proper diagonal service box. After that legal bounce, contact with glass is treated differently from contact with the metallic fence under the FIP service rule. A let question is another separate step. Keeping the sequence in frames prevents a viewer from calling the whole serve legal merely because the first bounce was inside, or calling it out merely because the rebound looked unusual.