Court size, rules, technique, physical demands, and injury risk — an honest side-by-side comparison for players considering both sports.
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The PadelRevive Team
Written by players, for players — built in Zanzibar · Updated May 2026
20x10m
Padel court.Enclosed with glass walls and metal fencing. Tennis singles court is 23.77m x 8.23m — larger and fully open.
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Players per match.Padel is always played doubles. Tennis can be singles or doubles, making them very different social and tactical sports.
Both
sports risk elbow injury.Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylalgia) is common in both — but the mechanism differs because of grip and swing style.
In short: padel and tennis share scoring, a net, and some technique — but they play completely differently. Padel is enclosed, always doubles, uses walls as part of play, and rewards positioning and teamwork over raw power. Tennis rewards individual athleticism and singular excellence. They suit different personalities, and the injury risks are not the same.
Court Differences
The most immediately obvious difference between padel and tennis is the court. A padel court measures 20 metres long by 10 metres wide and is completely enclosed by glass walls at the back and sides, plus metal fencing at the upper sections. That enclosure is not decorative — it is a structural part of how the game is played. Balls that hit the walls after bouncing off the floor remain in play.
A tennis singles court measures 23.77 metres long by 8.23 metres wide. For doubles, the width extends to 10.97 metres. There are no walls. A ball is out of play the moment it lands outside the lines. On a padel court you never have that concern in the same way — the walls return the ball to you.
Court facts at a glance
Padel court: 20m x 10m — always enclosed with glass and metal fencing
Tennis singles court: 23.77m x 8.23m — open, no walls
Tennis doubles court: 23.77m x 10.97m — open, no walls
Net height at the centre: approximately 0.88m in both sports
Padel surface: artificial grass almost universally
Tennis surfaces: hard court, clay, or grass — each plays differently
Padel court has no tramlines or service-box lines for doubles — the court is the court
The surface difference matters physically. Padel’s artificial grass creates moderate grip with a small amount of slide — joints absorb less force than on hard tennis courts, which is one reason padel is sometimes described as gentler on the knees and hips. Clay tennis courts share some of this forgiving quality. Hard courts amplify ground reaction force and are associated with higher rates of lower limb stress injuries.
Rules Differences
The scoring system in padel is identical to tennis: 15, 30, 40, game; games to 6 to win a set; most matches are best of three sets, with a tie-break at 6-6. If you already play tennis, you will not need to relearn how to count points. That shared structure is one reason tennis players pick up padel quickly.
Serving is where the rules diverge most sharply. In tennis, the server stands behind the baseline and hits an overhead serve directly into the diagonal service box. Padel uses an underarm serve: the server bounces the ball in the service box and strikes it below waist height. The ball must land in the diagonally opposite service box, and it may hit the side wall after landing. Both sports allow two serve attempts. The let rule — replaying a serve that clips the net cord and lands in — applies in both.
Key rule differences
Scoring: identical — 15/30/40/game, sets to 6, best of 3
Padel serve: underarm, bounce in service box, below waist, wall allowed after landing
Tennis serve: overhead, direct into service box, no wall element
Both: two serve attempts; let rule applies
Padel: walls are in play after the ball bounces on the floor
Tennis: walls do not exist — ball out of bounds is a point conceded
Padel: you can only win a set 7-5 or via tie-break — golden game at 6-6 in some competitions
One rule that surprises new padel players: you are allowed to leave the court through the gates to retrieve a ball and hit it back in from outside the court. This is legal in padel and creates some of the sport’s most spectacular moments. In tennis, the court boundary is absolute.
Technique Differences
The serve is the single biggest technical divide. A tennis overhead serve is one of sport’s most demanding skills — it requires precise ball toss, full shoulder rotation, pronation, and generates speeds that can exceed 200 km/h at the elite level. Padel’s underarm serve is technically simpler, which lowers the barrier to entry considerably. But this also means padel never uses the serve as a weapon in the same way.
Groundstrokes in padel are more compact than in tennis. Because the back wall returns the ball, there is often no need — and sometimes no space — for a full topspin groundstroke. Padel players learn to read the wall bounce and position early rather than generating their own pace from the baseline. Tennis players who switch to padel often find their biggest habit to break is overswinging from the back.
Technical comparisons
Padel serve: simpler, underarm, no overhead mechanics required
Tennis serve: overhead, technically demanding, major weapon
Padel groundstrokes: compact, wall-aware, positioning over pace
Tennis groundstrokes: full swing, topspin, high racket head speed
Net play: dominates padel strategy — most points are won at the net
Padel overheads: bandeja (control smash) and vibora (spin exit) instead of flat smash
Grip: continental grip is highly functional in padel; tennis uses western or semi-western for heavy topspin
Padel paddles are also physically different from tennis rackets. They are solid (no strings), shorter, and heavier per unit of swing weight. The absence of string tension means the ball reacts differently on impact, and the vibration profile is different. This matters for elbow health — something covered in the injury section below.
You know the feeling — you pick up a padel racket expecting your tennis game to carry over, and the first ten minutes are humbling. Most players don’t realise how much of tennis technique actually works against you in padel. What actually works is learning to slow down, read the wall, and play with your partner rather than past your opponent.
Physical Demands
Tennis singles, particularly at a competitive recreational level, demands significant aerobic endurance. Long baseline rallies, extended court coverage from side to side, and the sustained effort of a three-set match create high cardiovascular load. Court coverage in singles means running distances that padel doubles players rarely approach.
Padel is physically demanding in a different way. The court is smaller and always doubles, which means your individual court coverage is lower — but the density of explosive lateral movement is higher. Points tend to be shorter but more intense. The wall keeps the ball in play longer than an unforced error would in tennis, which means more quick-change-of-direction events per point. The net game in padel creates repeated volleys, overheads, and sudden retreats to the back that stress the wrist, elbow, and shoulder through high-frequency low-amplitude loading rather than occasional high-velocity swings.
Physical comparison in plain terms
Tennis singles: longer points, greater total running distance, higher aerobic demand in long matches. Padel doubles: shorter explosive bursts, more lateral agility events per point, high-frequency wrist and elbow loading from net play and wall shots. Both require lateral agility and shoulder stability — padel rewards court awareness and reflexes; tennis rewards endurance and power.
Players who come from a tennis background often find padel physically easier to sustain for longer periods — the serve alone takes much less out of you. But padel players who take their first tennis lessons often underestimate how much ground singles coverage demands. Neither sport is physically easy at a competitive level.
Injury Risk Comparison
Both sports carry injury risk, but the distribution differs because of how each sport loads the body.
Tennis-specific injury patterns: The overhead serve generates very high shoulder loads — rotator cuff overuse is common in players who serve frequently. Lateral elbow pain (tennis elbow, formally lateral epicondylalgia) is named after the sport and is caused by repeated wrist extension under load during groundstrokes. Long singles matches with extensive lateral movement load the knee and hip through repetitive cutting and deceleration, particularly on hard courts.
Padel-specific injury patterns: Elbow pain in padel has a different mechanism. The solid paddle vibrates more on off-centre hits, and repeated compact swings at the net stress the extensor tendons differently from tennis’s full groundstroke. Wrist injuries are common from smash attempts — particularly the bandeja and vibora — and from receiving hard wall balls with limited preparation time. Ankle sprains are the most common acute padel injury, driven by the tight lateral changes of direction in an enclosed space with deceptive wall-bounce trajectories.
Injury risk by sport
Tennis: rotator cuff overuse from overhead serving — less relevant in padel
Tennis: lateral elbow pain from high-velocity wrist extension in groundstrokes
Tennis: knee and hip from long lateral coverage on hard courts
Padel: elbow pain from vibration and compact repetitive net swings — see /injuries/padel-elbow/
Padel: wrist strain from smash mechanics and sudden wall ball impact
Padel: ankle sprain from tight directional changes in an enclosed court
Both: shoulder overuse if overhead volume is high (padel smashes, tennis serves)
If you are managing elbow pain from either sport, the underlying anatomy is the same — the extensor tendons of the forearm at the lateral epicondyle — but the rehabilitation approach should account for which movements are triggering it. Our padel elbow guide covers this in detail, and if you need support while playing, our elbow support review covers the options that actually help.
For most beginners, padel has a lower barrier to entry. The underarm serve is simpler than a tennis overhead, the smaller court means less ground to cover, and the walls give you more time on errant shots. Most people can rally within their first session. Tennis takes longer to reach a consistent rally standard because the serve and groundstroke technique are more demanding.
Is padel better than tennis?
Neither sport is objectively better — they suit different things. Padel is more social because it is always doubles and points are often longer, keeping both teams in the rally. Tennis singles rewards individual excellence and is more physically demanding for one person. If you want a fast, sociable sport that is easier on the body, padel wins. If you want a test of individual athleticism and technical skill, tennis wins.
Can I play padel if I already play tennis?
Yes, and your background helps with timing, scoring, and net awareness. But expect to rebuild your groundstroke habits — the full topspin swing you use in tennis will send padel balls into the back fence rather than back over the net. The most common transition mistake is overswinging. Focus on compact swings, wall awareness, and moving to the net as a default position.
What is the main difference between padel and tennis?
The most fundamental difference is the walls. Padel courts are enclosed and balls remain in play after bouncing off the walls, which changes strategy completely. Padel is also always doubles, uses an underarm serve, and uses a solid paddle rather than a strung racket. Tennis is an open court, can be singles or doubles, and the overhead serve is a core weapon.
Which sport has more injuries — padel or tennis?
Both carry injury risk in different distributions. Tennis singles generates more shoulder overuse from serving and more knee and hip load from extended court coverage. Padel generates more ankle sprains from tight lateral changes and more elbow issues from vibration-heavy paddle contact and high-volume net play. Neither is clearly more dangerous overall — the risk depends on your body, your level, and how much you play.
Do padel and tennis use different scoring?
No — padel uses the same scoring as tennis: 15, 30, 40, game; games to 6 to win a set; most matches are best of three sets with a tie-break at 6-6. The only difference some padel competitions use is a golden game (sudden death point at deuce in the deciding game) to keep matches moving, but the base structure is identical.
