How padel scoring works, explained simply

If you have ever watched tennis, you already know most of padel scoring. Padel keeps the same points, games, sets and tie-breaks. What is different is what happens at 40-40, and a few habits that make club matches run smoothly.

How are points counted in padel?

Each game is scored love (0), 15, 30, 40, game. Win a point when you are on 40 and you win the game, unless both pairs are on 40.

The server's score is always called first. "30-15" means the serving pair has 30 and the receivers have 15.

What happens at 40-40 in padel?

40-40 is called deuce. There are three ways to play it, so agree on one before the first serve:

• Advantage: win the next point for advantage, then one more to take the game. Lose the point after advantage and you are back to deuce. This can go on for a while.
• Golden point: the next point wins the game, and the receiving pair chooses which player receives it. Most social games, Americano nights and many club leagues use golden point because it keeps matches moving.
• Star point: introduced by the International Padel Federation for professional events from 2026. You play advantage up to twice. If the game is still level after the second advantage, one deciding point (the star point) wins it, and the receivers choose the side.

At most UK clubs you will play golden point unless someone says otherwise.

How many games are in a padel set?

The first pair to win six games, with a two-game lead, wins the set. So 6-4 ends the set, but at 5-5 you play on to 7-5. At 6-6 you play a tie-break.

A match is usually best of three sets. In club leagues and tournaments with tight schedules, the third set is sometimes replaced by a deciding tie-break.

How does a padel tie-break work?

The tie-break is scored 1, 2, 3 and so on. The first pair to seven points, two clear, wins it and the set 7-6.

1. The player whose turn it is to serve serves the first point, from the right side.
2. After that, the serve changes every two points, and each server starts from the left.
3. Pairs change ends after every six points.

How does the serve affect the score?

You get two attempts to serve. A fault on the first serve costs nothing; two faults in a row (a double fault) give the point to the receivers. The essentials:

• Bounce the ball behind the service line and hit it at or below waist height, underarm.
• Serve diagonally into the opponents' service box.
• After it bounces in the box, the serve may hit the glass. If it hits the wire mesh after the bounce, it is a fault.
• A serve that clips the net and lands in the box is a let: serve again.

Since January 2026 the federation rules ask for one foot behind the service line when you serve, rather than both.

Who serves, and when do you change ends?

Each player serves a whole game, and the serve rotates around all four players: one pair, then the other, then the second player of the first pair. Change ends after the first game, then after every two games (games 3, 5, 7 and so on), and at the end of a set if the number of games is odd.

A quick way to keep score with friends

• Call the score out loud before every serve. It avoids most arguments.
• Agree on golden point or advantage before you start.
• If you lose track, the last score both pairs agreed on stands.

Want to play at your level and have your results count? The XPLAY app shows open games at clubs near you and moves your level after every confirmed match. If you run a club, XPLAY for clubs handles the bookings and the leagues.