Padel Serve Rules: What's Legal, What's a Fault, and Why It's Different

The padel serve looks simple but has specific rules that differ from tennis in ways that catch new players off guard. Getting the serve right from the start means not unlearning bad habits later.

The underarm requirement

In padel, the serve must be struck underarm. The ball must be hit at or below waist height — waist is defined as the level of the server's hip at the moment of contact. Overhead serving is not permitted. This is a fundamental rule, not a recommendation: an overhead serve is an automatic fault.

The serve starts with the server bouncing the ball within the service box on their side of the court. After the bounce, they strike it underarm and direct it to the diagonally opposite service box across the net.

The bounce requirement

The ball must bounce before the server hits it. A server cannot toss the ball and volley it across the net — the bounce is mandatory. This bounced underarm format keeps serve speeds significantly lower than tennis, which is intentional: padel is designed so that the serve is not a dominant weapon. Every point should be winnable from both sides of the net.

Diagonal service target

Like tennis, the serve must land in the diagonally opposite service box. Right service box serves must land in the opponent's right service box (from the server's perspective). Missing the target box — including hitting the net post dividers — is a fault.

Unlike tennis, if the ball hits the back wall or side wall after bouncing in the correct service box, it's still in play. The receiver must return it, even if it comes off the glass at an awkward angle. This is one of the ways the serve-return dynamic in padel differs most from tennis — a good serve can create back-wall pressure immediately.

Let serves

If the ball clips the net and still lands in the correct service box, it's a let — the serve is replayed. If the ball clips the net and lands outside the service box or doesn't clear the net: fault. This is the same rule as tennis.

Two serve attempts

Padel allows two serve attempts, same as tennis. First fault on the first serve means a second serve. Fault on the second serve means the point goes to the receiving team. Most recreational padel is played with only one serve attempt by informal agreement to speed up play — this is not the official rule but is common.

Foot faults

At the moment of striking the ball, both of the server's feet must be behind the service line and within the imaginary extension of the center line and sideline. A server cannot step forward into the court before contact. Foot faults are rarely called in recreational play but are enforced in tournament contexts.

Why the serve is not a weapon

The underarm, bounce-first requirement limits serve speed deliberately. Padel is a glass-wall game built around rallies, wall play, and team positioning — not service dominance. If you're approaching padel from a tennis background, the instinct to "bomb" the serve needs to be replaced by a positioning mindset: get the serve in, set up your approach to the net, and win the point from there.