Padel glossary
Every padel term worth knowing, defined clearly and cross-linked. Jump to a term or scan the full list.
- Padel
Padel is a racquet sport played in doubles on an enclosed court about a third the size of a tennis court, using solid stringless rackets and where the walls are part of play.
Padel blends elements of tennis and squash. Points can continue after the ball bounces off the glass or mesh walls, which rewards positioning and strategy over raw power. It is almost always played as doubles.
Related: Padel court, The walls, Padel racket
- Padel court
A padel court is an enclosed 20 m × 10 m playing area surrounded by glass and metal-mesh walls that are in play.
The court is divided by a net and marked with service boxes. The back and side walls are made of glass (or sometimes solid panels) topped with metallic mesh, and balls rebounding off them stay live.
- The walls
In padel, the surrounding glass and mesh walls are part of play — a ball that bounces on the floor and then off a wall is still live.
Related: Padel court, Bandeja
- Padel racket
A padel racket is a solid, stringless bat with a perforated hitting surface and a wrist strap, shaped round, teardrop, or diamond.
Rackets are made from carbon or fiberglass faces around an EVA or foam core. Shape shifts the balance point and therefore the trade-off between control and power.
Related: Round racket, Teardrop racket, Diamond racket, Sweet spot
- Round racket
A round padel racket has a low balance and a large, central sweet spot, making it the most forgiving and control-friendly shape.
Related: Padel racket, Sweet spot, Control
- Teardrop racket
A teardrop padel racket sits between round and diamond shapes, balancing control and power for all-round and intermediate players.
Related: Padel racket, Round racket, Diamond racket
- Diamond racket
A diamond padel racket has a high balance and a smaller sweet spot near the tip, maximizing power for advanced, aggressive players.
Related: Padel racket, Power, Sweet spot
- Sweet spot
The sweet spot is the area of the racket face that delivers the cleanest, most efficient hit; round rackets have larger, more central sweet spots.
Related: Round racket, Diamond racket
- Control
Control describes how precisely a racket lets you place the ball; lower-balance round rackets generally offer more control.
Related: Power, Round racket
- Power
Power describes how much pace a racket generates for a given swing; higher-balance diamond rackets generally offer more power.
Related: Control, Diamond racket
- Bandeja
The bandeja is a controlled overhead shot hit with slice, used to keep your team at the net without over-committing to a smash.
Spanish for "tray," the bandeja is one of padel's signature shots. It trades power for placement and lets the attacking team maintain net position.
- Víbora
The víbora is an aggressive sliced overhead, more attacking than a bandeja, that imparts side-spin to trouble opponents off the wall.
Related: Bandeja
- Golden point
The golden point is a sudden-death deciding point played at deuce (40–40) in many padel formats, where the receiving team chooses the return side.
Related: Padel