Pickleball and padel are two of the most popular, and fastest-growing, sports — around the world. While there are a lot of similarities between padel and pickleball, they also have many differences. Learn more about both pickleball and padel, and what makes them alike and different at the same time.
Pickleball
Pickleball is a racquet sport that is a combination of many sports, including: badminton, tennis, volleyball, and more. It is played indoors or outdoors on sport court material, concrete, gym floor, and more.
Like tennis, pickleball has a net in the middle of the court and a “kitchen” area on each side of the net where you cannot volley the ball.
Pickleball is most commonly played as doubles (four players), although singles pickleball (two players) is also becoming popular.
Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington and slowly spread throughout the United States, and has since grown internationally.
Learn more about the history of pickleball.
Padel
Padel is a racquet sport that is commonly referred to as a combination of squash and tennis. Although it shares many similarities with tennis (most notably: the scoring and the ball), it is placed in an enclosed court like squash.
Padel also has a net in the middle of the court. Although the ball has to cross the net, like in tennis, the walls of the court are fair game — a player can hit the ball after it has bounced off the wall or fence.
Like pickleball, doubles padel (four players) is the most common form of padel, although singles (two players) can also be played.
Padel was invented in the 1960s in Alcapulco, Mexico, but was brought to Spain and Argentina sometime in the 1970s, allowing it to grow quickly on at least three continents.
Pickleball paddles vs. padel racquets
Paddles for pickleball and padel are very different, and are one of the main things that separate the two sports. Besides the shapes and sizes, they are also called different things: they are known as a pickleball paddle and a padel racquet/racket.
Pickleball paddle
A pickleball paddle is shorter and narrower than a tennis racket, although sizes can vary based on player preference. Pickleball paddles usually come in power, control, or hybrid versions.
The dimensions of a pickleball paddle should not exceed:
- 24 inches (60.96 cm): width + length.
- 17 inches (43.18 cm) long.
- There is no restriction on paddle thickness.
Padel racket
A padel racket, or racquet, is closer to a pickleball paddle than it is to a tennis racket, but still very different. The padel racket has a short handle like a pickleball paddle, and generally a foam core and carbon fiber or fiberglass outer layer.
The dimensions of padel racquet should not exceed:
- 45.5 centimeters long (17.9 inches).
- 26 centimeters wide (10.2 inches).
- 38 mm thick.
Perhaps the most important difference from a pickleball paddle is that a padel racquet has perforated holes on its surface. Like a pickleball paddle, padel racquets come in many different shapes and sizes.
Pickleball vs. padel court dimensions
Because of their origins, the courts for pickleball and paddle are very different, and calculated in different types of measurements. Pickleball is measured mainly in feet/inches and padel is mainly measured in meters/centimeters.
Pickleball
- The playing area of a pickleball court is 44 x 20 feet.
- Each half of the court is 22 x 20 feet.
- All lines are 2 inches wide.
- The net is 34 inches high at the center and 36 inches high at each end.
Learn more about pickleball court dimensions.
Padel
- The playing area of a padel court is 20 x 10 meters, or around 65.6 x 32.8 feet.
- Each half of the court is 10 x 10 meters (32.8 x 32.8 feet).
- All lines are 5 centimeters wide (1.97 inches).
- The net is 88 centimeters (34.6 inches) high at the center and 92 centimeters (36.2 inches) high at each end.
- The padel court is enclosed by glass or concrete walls.
- The back and side walls should be 3 meters high.
- Each side of the court has a gate as well, because you are allowed to play a point from outside the court.
Pickleball vs. padel balls
Pickleball and padel balls are also very different. Both are regulated by separate entities, and are more different than they are alike.
Pickleball balls
USA Pickleball regulates pickleball balls. The specifications for the pickleball ball include:
- The ball should be made of a durable material molded with a smooth surface and free of texturing.
- The ball will be one uniform color, except for identification markings.
- The ball may have a slight ridge at the seam, as long as it does not significantly impact the ball’s flight characteristics.
- The ball should be 2.87 inches (7.29 cm) to 2.97 inches (7.54 cm) in diameter.
- The ball should weigh between 0.78 and 0.935 ounces (22.1 and 26.5 grams).
Learn more about USA Pickleball ball specifications.
Padel balls
Padel balls are very similar to tennis ball, but are usually slightly smaller. The International Padel Federation regulated padel balls. The specifications for the padel ball include:
- The ball should be a rubber sphere with a uniform exterior surface in either white or yellow.
- The ball’s diameter should measure between 6.35 and 6.77 cm (2.5 to 2.67 inches).
- The ball’s weight should be between 56.0 and 59.4 g (1.98 to 2.1 oz.).
Padel also has different specifications for balls when a game is played at 500 m above sea level or above.
Learn more about padel ball specifications.
Scoring
Like tennis vs. pickleball, pickleball and padel have very different scoring. Here are some of the basics of scoring in both sports.
Pickleball scoring
Pickleball can be played as singles or doubles, but the scoring stays pretty much the same.
- Pickleball is usually played to 11 points, and you have to win by two.
- Tournaments can be played to 15 or 21, win by two.
- Pickleball can be played as singles or doubles.
- Every rally begins with a serve.
- Only the serving team can score a point by winning a rally.
- In doubles, each player on a team has a chance to serve.
- Only one player serves during the first serve of the game before it is handed over to the other team.
Before each serve, the serving player will call out the score by saying:
- Their team’s score.
- The opposing team’s score.
- Their server number (1 or 2).
An example of this would be 2-0-1, which is 2 (your team’s score), 0 (the opposing team’s score), and 1 (whether you are the first or second server on your team).
Learn more about pickleball scoring.
Padel scoring
Padel scoring is very similar to the scoring in tennis, which makes it much easier for former tennis players to learn.
- Padel is usually played as sets and games.
- You have to win six games to win one set (win by 2).
- Just like tennis, to win a game, you have to win four points (15, 30, 40, win).
- The winner of a match has usually won three sets (in friendly rec play, this may be shortened or adjusted).
Pickleball vs. padel
Pickleball and padel are both racquet sports that started around the same time and have spread dramatically in the last few years. But they are actually very different in a lot of ways. The equipment, rules, and scoring are not the same — but if you play one of them, you should be able to pick up the other one easily.
Pickleball can be played on many surfaces, while padel has to be played on a very specific court, making it harder to find in many countries. Because padel and pickleball have grown in different areas of the world, you will have the most luck choosing which sport to play based on if there are courts near you.