If you have heard about padel and want to start playing, this guide gives you everything. The rules. The gear. The cost. Where to play. How to find your first game. Read it once. You will be on court this week.
What Is Padel?
Padel is a racket sport that sits somewhere between tennis and squash. You play it on an enclosed court — glass walls at the back, mesh fencing on the sides — about a quarter smaller than a tennis court. The walls are not boundaries. They are part of the game. The ball can bounce off them, and good players use them constantly.
It is always played in doubles. Two against two. The scoring is identical to tennis — 15, 30, 40, game. Serves go underarm. The ball looks like a tennis ball but has slightly less pressure, which makes it slower and easier to control.
The sport was invented in Mexico in 1969 and found its real home in Spain through the 1990s. Today it is the fastest growing sport in the world, played by more than 30 million people across 130 countries.
In India, the curve is sharper than anywhere else right now. The country had under 25 padel courts in 2022. By 2026 the number has crossed 300. Indian search interest in padel grew 128 percent last year — the third highest growth rate globally. New courts are opening monthly in cities that did not have one until recently.
The Rules — Explained Simply
The Court
A standard padel court is 20 metres long and 10 metres wide. Glass walls at the back and lower sides. Metal mesh fencing on the upper sides. A net through the middle, just like tennis.
The Serve
Always underarm. The server bounces the ball once on their side of the court, then hits it diagonally into the opponent's service box. The serve has to land in the right box and cannot directly hit the side wall before bouncing.
Scoring
Same as tennis. Points go 15, 30, 40, then the game. A set is the first team to win six games with a two-game margin. Most matches are best of three sets.
The Walls — This Is What Changes Everything
After the ball bounces on the ground once, it can hit any wall and stay in play. You can play it off your own back wall to return a smash. You can lob over your opponents and watch the ball spit off their back wall. New players see the wall as a problem. Experienced players see it as the most useful tool in the game.
Out of Bounds
A ball that hits any wall or fence on your opponent's side without bouncing on the ground first is out. The floor always comes first.
What Equipment Do You Need?
The Racket
A padel racket is solid, with small holes drilled through the face and no strings. It is shorter than a tennis racket and heavier in the hand. Always loop the wrist strap on. Rackets fly out of grips when you swing hard, and a loose racket can hurt someone badly.
Do not buy a racket before you have played five or six times. Every court in India rents rackets for 100 to 200 rupees a session. Play with a few different ones first. You will quickly learn what feels right in your hand.
When you do buy your first racket, get a round-shaped one with a large sweet spot. They are forgiving and built for control. Diamond and teardrop shapes are designed for power and only really help advanced players who can hit the middle of the racket every time.
The Ball
Padel balls look like tennis balls but with less air pressure. The ball moves slower and gives you more time to react. Courts in India almost always include balls in the booking fee.
Shoes
Tennis shoes or padel-specific court shoes. Running shoes do not work — they are built for forward motion, not the sideways movement padel demands. Shoes with a herringbone sole grip the surface best and stop you slipping.
Clothing
Any sportswear. T-shirt and shorts is what most people wear. No dress code.
How Much Does Padel Cost in India?
Court rental runs between 800 and 2,000 rupees an hour depending on the city, the venue, and the time of day. Most groups split this between four players, so your share is usually 200 to 500 rupees an hour.
Evenings and weekends cost more. Mornings and weekdays are cheaper. Premium venues in cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru sit at the top of the range. Tier 2 cities are more affordable. If you take a coaching session, add another 800 to 2,000 rupees per hour for the coach.
For most players, a regular padel habit works out to a few thousand rupees a month. Cheaper than gym memberships in most cities. Cheaper than golf by a wide margin.
Where to Play
We are mapping every padel court, coach, and WhatsApp community across India city by city through The Padel Company. The directory is updated regularly as new courts open and new communities form.
You can find your nearest court, the WhatsApp group attached to it, and everything else you need at thepadelcompany.in. Pick your city, pick your area, and the rest follows.
How to Find Your First Game
This is the question every new player has. The answer is almost embarrassingly simple — join your city's padel WhatsApp community.
Indian padel runs on WhatsApp. Every active court has a group. Players post when they need a fourth, organise weekend games, share court availability, and welcome new players warmly. The booking apps help, but the WhatsApp groups are where the actual community lives. Join two or three groups in your area. Within a week you will have a game lined up.
There is something about this sport that pulls people in fast. 92 percent of first-time padel players come back the following week. The reason is the learning curve — you can rally and play actual points within your first 30 minutes on court. No other racket sport gives you that.
5 Things to Know Before Your First Game
1. Let the ball bounce off the wall before you play it
Beginners panic and rush at every ball headed for the back glass. Do not. Let it bounce on the floor first, watch the rebound off the wall, then play your shot calmly. The wall buys you time.
2. Talk to your partner
Padel is doubles. Silence loses points. Call your shots. Say "yours" or "mine" on every ball. Tell your partner what you are going to do before you do it. Good doubles teams sound like they are having a conversation throughout the match.
3. Stop trying to hit winners
Padel rewards patience. The longer the rally goes, the more likely your opponent makes the mistake. Keep the ball in play. Place it well. Power without placement loses every time.
4. Take a coaching session in your first month
Two or three lessons with a real padel coach will improve your game faster than 20 self-taught matches. You will pick up bad habits otherwise that take months to fix later. Find a coach near you.
5. Show up every week
The biggest factor in getting good at padel is just playing regularly. Two games a week for one month and you will go from beginner to confident intermediate. Most communities run weekly fixtures. Block the slot and keep showing up.
Padel vs Tennis — What Actually Changes?
If you already play tennis, padel will feel familiar in some ways and completely foreign in others. The court is smaller and enclosed. The racket has no strings. The serve is underarm. The walls are in play. The game is always doubles. The learning curve is much shorter.
The scoring is identical, so that part transfers immediately. But the technique is different. Padel rewards control, soft hands, and smart positioning. Tennis players who try to muscle the ball usually struggle in their first few sessions until they adjust. Once they do, they tend to improve very quickly because the racket skills carry over.
The Real Reason Padel Is Exploding in India
Beyond the sport itself, padel is becoming the social and professional network sport for urban India. Founders, CXOs, wellness circles, social sports groups — all converging on the same courts in the same cities at the same time. Conversations that used to happen on golf courses are now happening on padel courts in half the time and a fraction of the cost.
The way golf defined Indian business networking for the last three decades, padel is shaping the next one. The people playing right now understand this. Most people do not yet.
You are not just learning a sport. You are walking into a movement at exactly the right moment.
What to Do Right Now
- Find your nearest court on The Padel Company directory
- Join the WhatsApp community for that court
- Book a court for next week with three friends, or post in the group asking to join a game
- Rent equipment at the venue — do not buy until you have played a few times
- Book one coaching session in your first month
The hardest part of starting padel is getting on court the first time. Once you do, you will understand why this sport is taking over the world.
This guide is part of Padel Digest by The Padel Company. Updated regularly as the sport grows across India.