Padel Serve Rules: Where to Stand, the Bounce, and What Counts as a Fault

October 15, 2026

Coming to padel from pickleball or tennis? The serve is the first thing that feels different. It is underhand, it starts with a bounce, and the walls change what counts as a good serve. The good news: the rules are short and easy to learn. Here is how the serve works under the official FIP rules, the Rules of Padel published by the International Padel Federation.

If any of the terms are new to you, keep our padel glossary for new players open in another tab.

The padel serve in 30 seconds

Stand behind the service line, inside your half, with your feet off the lines.
Bounce the ball inside your own box, then hit it at or below your waist.
Keep at least one foot on the ground when you hit.
Serve diagonally into the receiver's box. The lines count as good.
You get two tries. Two faults in a row and you lose the point.

Where you stand

The FIP rules (Rule 6.1) say the server must start "with one foot behind the service line", between the imaginary extension of the center line and the side wall, and stay there until the ball has been served.

You also must not touch the service line, the imaginary center line, or "the reception box of their own side of the court" with your feet until you have hit the ball. So the lines and the court in front of you are off limits until contact.

The rules are the same whatever racket you use. If you are still picking one, Mint's range covers the main shapes: the Merite (teardrop), the Merveille (slightly oversized teardrop), the Manouvre and Majeste (diamond), and the round Maitre. Our guide to round vs teardrop vs diamond rackets explains the differences.

Bounce, then hit at or below the waist

Every padel serve starts with a bounce. The server "must bounce the ball on the ground to serve, within the corresponding box in which they are to serve." The ball also "may not cross the service line or the imaginary line until it is struck", so the bounce and the hit both happen on your side of those lines.

At contact, "The height of the ball being served must be at or below the waist level", and you need at least one foot on the ground.

One more detail: once you make contact, or make an intentional attempt to hit the ball, it counts as a serve. A swing and a miss is a fault, not a do-over.

The bounce-and-hit is easy to practice on your own with a fresh tube, such as a 4-pack of Cannonballz padel balls. They are made with natural rubber, pressurized, and covered in felt "with a 57% wool blend".

Where the serve has to land

The serve must "pass diagonally over the net towards the receiving box" and "must bounce within the lines that limit this box." The first serve of each game goes into the box on the receiver's left, then the serve alternates sides after each point.

Lines are good. A serve that lands on the line of the box is in.

Two chances: what counts as a fault

You get a second serve if the first one is not valid. Two faults in a row lose the point. Here is what makes a serve a fault under Rule 7 of the FIP rules:

Fault	In plain English
Breaking the standing, bounce or height rules	Foot on the line, ball bounced or hit in the wrong place, or contact above the waist
Missing the ball	A swing and a miss counts as a fault
Landing outside the box	The lines are counted as good
Hitting the server or partner	Including anything they wear or carry
Bouncing in, then hitting the mesh	If the ball "touches the metallic fence around the court before the second bounce", it is a fault
Leaving through the gates	On a court with no out-of-court play allowed, a serve that bounces in and goes straight out through the gates is a fault

Watch the mesh: a serve that bounces in the box and then hits the metal fence is a fault. For how the walls work during the rest of the rally, see our padel wall rules guide.

Net serves and lets: when you serve again

A serve that clips the net or the posts and still lands in the right box is called a "net". It is replayed, "as long as it does not touch the metallic fence before the second bounce." It is also a net if the ball touches the net or posts and then hits a player.

A serve is also repeated if you served before the receiver was ready. The server "will not serve until the player receiving is ready", but a receiver who tries to return the serve cannot then claim they were not ready.

How many serves do you get after a let? If it happens on your first serve, the whole point is replayed and you get two serves again. If it happens on your second serve, you only replay that second serve.

Receiving the serve

The receiver must let the ball bounce in their box and hit it before it bounces a second time. If the serve hits the receiver or their racket before it bounces, the point goes to the server.

The receiving pair choose who receives first in the first game of each set, and that order "may not be altered during that set". The serving pair decide who serves first before each set, and that order also stays until the next set.

What has changed since the 2021 rules

Comparing the current FIP rules with the 2021 version, three serve details are worded differently:

Feet: the 2021 rules said to stand "with both feet behind the service line". The current rules say "one foot".
Ball position: the current rules add that the ball may not cross the service line or the imaginary line until it is struck.
Your own court: the current rules add that your feet must not touch your own reception box before you hit.

Walking into the serve: walking into the serve is no longer in the FIP rules, but both 2026 pro rulebooks tell umpires to call it.

FIP has not published an itemized list of these changes, so treat this as our side-by-side reading of the two texts.

Serving in pro matches

At pro level, umpires call the serve using the tour rulebooks. The Premier Padel rulebook and the CUPRA FIP Tour rulebook both tell the chair umpire to announce a foot fault when a player touches the service line or the imaginary center line during the serve, has no foot on the ground at contact, or "walks, runs, or jumps during the execution of the serve".

Quick FAQ

Can I serve overhand in padel? No. The ball must be hit at or below waist level after a bounce, which rules out an overhead serve.

Is a serve on the line in? Yes. In the FIP rules, the lines are counted as good.

What happens if my serve hits the net and goes in? It is a "net" and you serve again, unless it hits the mesh before its second bounce.

How is the score kept once the rally starts? See our padel scoring guide.

How does this compare with pickleball? Pickleball has its own serve rules, including a volley serve and a drop serve. See our pickleball serve rules guide, and for the bigger picture, padel vs pickleball.

Heading to the club? The Unleash Tournament Bag "works equally well for pickleball and padel", with space for rackets, shoes, clothing, accessories and hydration.