Court Conduct
- Play at your own risk
- If renting a Padel bat – payment must be made before play starts
- Play is only permitted for the duration of your booking time
- Dress code – active/sports wear
- No playing barefoot – Proper sports shoes required (Preferably Padel, Tennis or running shoes)
- Before play starts – Padel bat must be looped around the wrist
- Only 4 players allowed p/court unless otherwise stated or due to squad training etc.
- Please immediately return any rental padels back to the Padel Centre on completion of your booking
- Please leave your gym bag, sweat towel and water bottle outside the court
- Retrieve all balls that you may hit outside the court
- No jumping over the net
- No high heeled shoes on the court
- Only Padel balls are allowed to be played with on the court
- No tennis or squash raquets allowed on Padel courts
- No smacking the glass, turf, steel or net intentionally
- No Glass or Alcohol allowed on the court – please use the basket outside each court to hold your drinks
- No playing whilst inebriated
- No food or eating allowed on the court
- No gum chewing on the court
- You may not bring your own food or alcohol to Irene Country Club
- No small children unaccompanied on the court
- No Smoking/vaping inside the court (Alleyways between and around the courts are also a non-smoking area).
- Please do not litter – use bins provided.
- The Management reserves the right of admission
Padel Rules
Scoring
- Padel uses the same scoring system as tennis.
Service
- With regard to the serve, the following rules apply:
– The server must allow the ball to bounce once before hitting it and the ball must be hit at or below waist level.
– The server must keep at least one foot on the ground when hitting the serve.
– The server’s feet may not touch or cross the service line while serving.
– Contact with the ball across the centre service line is allowed.
– The serve must land in the opponent’s service box.
– If the ball bounces in the service box and strikes the side or back wall, it is a valid serve and must be played by the opposing player.
– If the ball hits the net then bounces in the service box and strikes the side or back wall, it is a let and must be replayed.
– If the ball lands in the service box and hits the wire fencing, it is considered a fault.
– If the ball hits the net then lands in the service box and hits the wire fencing, it is considered a fault.
– In padel as in tennis, you get a second serve.
What’s In
– The following are allowed:
– The lines are considered in play only during the initial serve.
– Otherwise, they are not a factor in determining the outcome of each point in the game.
– All players are permitted to play a ball off any of the walls on their own side of the court.
What’s Out
– The opposition wins a point if:
– The ball bounces twice in any area on your side of the court.
– The ball strikes you or your teammate while in play.
– The ball hits the wire fencing, posts or any other fixture before going over the net or landing on the opponent’s court.
– The ball hits the wire fence or walls before bouncing on the opponent’s side of the court.
Volleys
- – The ball can be taken out of the air by any player except on the initial serve and the return of serve.
Padel Background
Padel is a form of racquet sport and is a close relative of tennis. Although not as popular as tennis across the world, it is particularly popular in Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico, Spain and Argentina.
As a sport it is growing and the game is spreading into more and more countries across the globe year-on-year and its popularity in Spanish holiday resorts has exposed it to a lot of British visitors, making the UK one of the countries with the quickest uptake of the sport.
Popular too in the USA, it is known there as Paddle and is often thought of as a game played in exclusive country clubs by the more affluent members of society. However, more and more schools are beginning to form Paddle clubs.
As a game, it is very similar to tennis, however there are some slight differences. Played only in doubles, it is also played on an enclosed court that is significantly smaller than a tennis court and has walls that can be used during the game. However, the balls used are almost identical (although with slightly less pressure) and the scoring system is the same.
Padel is a relatively new sport invented in Mexico in 1969 by a gentleman known as Enrique Corcuera when he modified a plot of his land and paced walls all around it and began playing a form of tennis on it with a friend Mr Corcuera from Spain.
The first official court was installed in an exclusive Marbella club and was popular with Argentinian Polo players who then took the game back to South America where its popularity spread even more. Padel is overseen by the International Padel Federation.