Padel versus Pickleball

Fun, sociable, easy to learn. Growing in popularity. Will get you moving and allow you to make new friends (and to spend time with your existing ones). You will get all of that from both padel and pickleball. But if you can’t decide which of the racquet sports you want to play, perhaps it will help you to understand some of the key differences.

What are the differences between padel and pickleball courts?

Measuring 13.5 meters by 6 meters, a pickleball court is smaller than a padel court, which is 20 meters long and 10 meters wide. The biggest difference is that a padel court is enclosed with a glass wall and wire fences, which has a massive impact on how the game is played. With the ball bouncing off those walls and fences, there are lots of different angles in padel, which makes strategies more important than in pickleball. The pickleball net is slightly lower than in padel, which makes it a little easier to get the ball back in play. Another difference is that the pickleball court has something the padel court doesn’t: an area on either side of the net, known as the kitchen, where you aren’t allowed to hit a volley.

What are the different types of equipment for padel and pickleball?

While both are solid, the racquet used in padel tends to be heavier than the paddle for pickleball. A padel racquet comes in different shapes, such as diamond or round, and a pickleball paddle tends to be more rectangular shaped. While padel is played with a felt-covered rubber ball (which is slightly slower and less bouncy than a tennis ball), pickleball is played with a lighter, perforated plastic ball. As the movement is different in padel and pickleball, players may wish to wear shoes that are specifically designed for those sports.

What are the differences in the rules for padel and pickleball?

Both sports can be played as singles or doubles but playing doubles is much more common, which means that these racquet sports will feel fun and sociable.

If you have played tennis before, you will already be familiar with the scoring in padel, which goes 0 or love, 15, 30, 40 and then game, and with sets played to 6 games (if the scores are tied at 6 games each, a tiebreak is played). You can win a point when serving or returning. In pickleball, on the other hand, the object is to be the first player or team to get to 11 points and you can only win a point when serving. If the scores are tied at 10-10, you have to continue until a player or team is one point clear.

In both padel and pickleball, you must serve underarm. The difference between the two sports is that in padel you must let the ball bounce on the ground before hitting it while in pickleball you can do that or hit it on the full. When playing all other shots after the serve, the ball can only bounce once on the ground, though in padel it can also bounce off the walls that surround the court. When playing pickleball, you can’t hit a volley until the ball has bounced on both sides of the net, and even after that you can’t hit a volley if you’re in the ‘kitchen’.

What are the different shots used in padel and pickleball?

As a padel court is surrounded by glass walls and wire fences, you are probably going to end up playing a greater variety of shots than you would do on a pickleball court. In pickleball, you will often find yourself playing a dink, which is a soft shot that only just clears the net and doesn’t bounce very high. On a padel court, you might wish to play La Chiquita, which requires touch, as you hit the ball softly enough that it bounces below the height of the net, or you can attempt La Bandeja, which is usually described as being somewhere in between a smash and a forehand volley. Many of the shots you play on a padel court will look similar to what you play in pickleball, as in both sports you’re going to need to hit underarm serves, groundstrokes and volleys if you’re going to win matches.

Does athleticism matter more in padel or pickleball?

Athleticism is more of a factor in padel, which is played on a larger court with a heavier ball and, because of the walls, can often mean quickly changing direction to react to a sudden new angle. Pickleball is lower impact but you still need to move well to cover the court.

Which one are you going to try first?

Hopefully this article has given you a better idea of what to expect when playing padel and pickleball. Ultimately, you’re going to have to get on court to try them out and see which of these sports is for you. Have fun.