The saque (serve) in padel is underarm. You bounce the ball behind your service line and hit it at or below waist height, diagonally into your opponent's service box. You get two attempts, as in tennis.
The serve rules in plain English
- Stand behind the service line, between the centre line and the side wall.
- Bounce the ball once on the floor behind the line before hitting it.
- Hit the ball at or below waist height, with at least one foot touching the ground.
- Serve diagonally into the box opposite. The ball must bounce in that box.
- After the bounce it may hit the glass, but if it hits the metal fence (reja) it is a fault.
Lets
If the serve clips the net and lands in the correct box, it is a let and you replay it, unless it then hits the fence, which is a fault.
Tips
- Serve deep to the glass or into the body to make the return awkward.
- Follow your serve to the net: that's where padel points are won.
Related: padel scoring · wall rules · all padel terms