Padel is the fastest growing racquet sport in the world. Already popular in Spain and Latin America, the game is quickly attracting new players around the globe. Padel clubs are opening in the UK, Germany, France, the Middle East, Australia, Canada, and the United States.
Padel rules states that the playing field should be a rectangle 10 meters wide and 20 meters long (with a 0.5% tolerance), enclosed by walls. At the middle of the playing field there will be a net dividing the court in two, the net has a maximum height of 88 cm in the center raising to 92 cm at sides (with a 0.5 cm tolerance).
The back walls should be 3 meters high covering the entire back of the field and the side walls should be 3 meters high and 2 meters long ending on another wall 2 meters high and 2 meters long (know as step-type, see picture). The diagonal-type side wall is also accepted, instead of a step, it runs as straight line between the two heights of the side wall. The rest of the court is closed using a metallic mesh also 3 meters high, the wall closed sides can also have a metallic mesh up to 1 meter tall.
The service lines are placed 3 meters before the back wall and there will be also another line in middle that divides the central rectangle in half. All lines have a 5 cm width and should be clearly visible.
The minimum height between the playing field and an obstacle (for e.g. the ceiling) is 6 meters.
Padel is a great sport for players of all ages and skills, as it is both quick and easy to pick up, and it is less physically demanding than similar sports like Tennis. Most players get the grasp of it within the first 20 minutes of playing and find it easy to achieve a level of proficiency so that they can enjoy it because the game is not as dominated by strength, technique and serve as it is in Tennis. It is considered a family game and a very social sport. Men, women and youth can compete together without physical strength being key to win.
It is a sport that combines the best elements of Tennis, Squash and Racquetball. Padel has gained tremendous popularity due to its simplicity and similarities to already existing racquet sports.