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What is padel? Presentation of this sport and equipment!

Have you never heard of padel? It is a racquet sport in full development in France . We had already told you a little about it on Startin’ Sport a few months ago, especially here. Here is a brief overview of this highly popular discipline at the moment.

Padel is a racket sport that is on the rise

Padel is a sport similar to tennis . Indeed, the activity in question, classified in the category of racket sports, is a mix between squash and tennis .

Find in this video, very nice exchanges:

The International Padel Federation maintains that the sport was born in Mexico in 1969 thanks to the initiative of Enrique Corcuera . Today, it is experiencing strong growth, especially in Europe where there are more and more practitioners and many centers are flourishing.

How do you play it?

Padel, like tennis, consists of an exchange of balls between two opposing camps . The opposing parties, called the server and the receiver respectively, can place themselves wherever they wish as long as they do not exceed their square.

To do this, the game includes essential steps including serving, rallying and rebounding .

Service

The face-off starts underarm with two try serves, the first of which engages the ball after a bounce and hits it below the belt.

The exchange

The Exchange , proper begins when the ball bounces into the opposite service box and is returned by the receiver. Note that the ball can be volleyed except for serve and service return.

The rebound

Also, the ball can only hit the ground once. However, as soon as the rally has started, it can bounce on any other surface except the ground of its own side .

How are points counted?

Points are counted the same way as in tennis . Thus, to win a match, each team must win two sets knowing that each set is made up of 6 games. In the event of a tie, a decisive game will decide between the two camps. This decisive game takes place in 7 points (with 2 points difference as in tennis).

What equipment do you play padel with?

Padel is played with rackets that more or less resemble beach tennis rackets. .

Rackets can be three different shapes:round, diamond or teardrop . Choose a racquet shape that matches your style of play.

Here is an infographic with everything you need to know about padel rackets and their characteristics:

What is padel? Presentation of this sport and equipment!

The best known racket brands are Babolat , Head and Dunlop .

To find out more, do not hesitate to visit the racket-de-padel.fr website which offers advice on buying a padel racket.

The dimensions of the padel court

A padel court is represented by a rectangle 10 meters wide and 20 meters long, bordered by walls and fences .

Usually covered with synthetic turf sanded or semi-sanded, it has a minimum free height varying from 6 to 7 meters.

Service squares , of the same dimensions, are each 5 meters from the sides of the court. They are also delimited by a central line, perpendicular to the let which extends over 20 cm, in addition to the service lines whose respective widths are 5 cm.

More info

Padel is beginning to experience great popularity in France, whether among adults or among the youngest. Thanks to its friendly aspect, perhaps less complicated than tennis , we can expect that the enthusiasm for this game will grow strongly in the years to come.

Find all the official information on padel on the website of the Fédération Française de Tennis here:https://www.fft.fr/jouer-sante/padel/tout-savoir-sur-le-padel