The Court
Padel rules states that the playing field should be a rectangle 10 metres wide and 20 metres long, 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 centre raising to 92 cm at sides.
The back walls should be 3 metres high covering the entire back of the field and the side walls should be 3 meters high and 2 metres long ending on another wall 2 meters high and 2 metres long (known as step-type, see picture below). The rest of the court is closed using a metallic mesh also 3 metres high, the wall closed sides can also have a metallic mesh up to 1 metre tall.
The service lines are placed 3 metres 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 (e.g. lighting) is 6 metres.
The Play
Padel tennis uses a solid 'bat' with holes in, similar in size to a racket ball racket, and balls similar to tennis balls with slightly lower compression. It is a cross between tennis and squash. Taking the basic rules and scoring system from tennis and the fact that you can use the glass panels to play off from squash. Padel is predominantly a doubles game but it can be played in singles using a narrower court.
PadelCrunch are keen to promote Padel worldwide and give a great introduction to all you need to know about Padel. Visit the PadelCrunch website https://padelcrunch.com/ and learn all the basics before taking on the sport.
Watch the pros do it here
Achim Schwarzkopf - My own work, done with Visio and saved as JPEG
History of Padel Tennis
Originating from South America the sport has become very popular in Spain and from there british holiday makers have brought the sport over to the UK.
The Britsh Padel Association(now LTA Padel) was set up in 1992 by ex-pats looking to to compete on the world stage and has been steadily growing ever since. Now organising tournaments for all levels all over the UK, they are passionate about promoting padel tennis and helping spread it to more people throughout the UK.
For an in-depth history check out the LTA Padel website.