Padel Court Dimensions – All You Need To Know

The Court’s Size

There are many racket sports nowadays, and let’s face it: it can get really confusing sometimes. Especially with disciplines like pickleball, paddle tennis, and padel.

Although similar from an outsider’s perspective, they differ not only in the dynamics of the game but also in many other aspects, like the size of the court and its elements.

To make it easier to understand, we have made a table comparing them in detail. To do so, we will take as a reference a tennis court, as it is the most popular racket sport worldwide, and most of us are familiar with it.

Surprisingly enough, we see that the playable area is bigger in padel than in tennis (singles). The rest of the modalities (paddle tennis and pickleball) are on average around half the size of a tennis court in terms of the playable area.

As a last observation, The height of a padel court should ensure a minimum of 19ft 7in or 6m free of elements obstructing the area. New padel courts constructions suggest lifting that minimum to 26ft 2in or 8m.

The Service Lines

• The court in the sport of padel is rectangular and divided into two sides by a net. Parallel to the net, there is a service line, one on each side of the court.
• The service lines are placed at a distance of 22ft 8in or 6,95m on both sides. The area in between is divided in two by a perpendicular line called the center service line.
• To maximize visibility, the lines must be always in contrast with the color of the floor. The colors used for padel line floors should be white and black.

You can learn more details about the specifications in the Regulation Book issued by the International Padel Federation

The Net

Okay, now that we know everything about the size of the court, let’s take a deeper look at the net.

Similar to many racket sports, the net in padel is slightly lower in the center. It must be 34,6in or 0,88m high in the center and 36in or 0,92 at the sides.

Attached at the end to two lateral posts with a maximum height of 41in or 1,05m, the net must be 32ft 8in or 10 meters long. There might be no spaces between both ends of the net and the posts. Although it should not be tense, it must be fully extended.

In order to ensure safety and protecting the players from impacts, the net posts should have rounded edges. The posts themselves are part of the playable court, therefore, they should be placed so the outer side coincides with the lateral limits of the court (metallic fence, opening).

Following safety measures, the net must be protected on the upper side with a white strip all along, covering the tension cable beneath it.

Enclosures

One of the main characteristics of padel courts is that they must be fully enclosed. To comply with the official measures of a padel court, the ends of the enclosures measured from the inside must be 65ft 7in or 20m in length and 32ft 8in or 10m in width.

Note that padel courts are enclosed differently depending on the side of the court:

• Back ends: ¾ will be enclosed by solid walls or glass, and the rest of the enclosure will be fence.
• Side enclosures: glass/solid walls and fence are used in almost the same proportion.

One of the main premises for a court to be constructed according to the official standards is that the bounce of the ball should be uniform. In order to ensure that uniformity, all areas with joins must be constructed with materials that provide smooth surfaces, free of obstacles.

End Walls

As mentioned before, the way the court is enclosed will differ from the end walls to the side walls.

When speaking of end walls, these must have a total height of 13ft 1in or 4 meters.

• The first 9ft 8in or 3m of the wall can be built of any solid material. The most used ones are typically bricks or glass.
• The last 3ft 1in or 1m is made out of a metallic fence.

Side Enclosures

When playing padel in an amateur court, the chances of getting balls bouncing off in a random way -thus generating controversy- are higher than you would expect. Especially in the areas that cover the sides of the court, close to the net. Let’s take a look at the regulations so you can win the next argument.

So we can understand it more clearly, bear in mind that both sides have been divided into three sections:

• Section 1: 9ft 8in or 2m long
• Section 2: 9ft 8in or 2m long
• Section 3: 19 ft 7in or 6m long

Now, and according to the official regulation, the side enclosures can be presented in two ways. The first variant is the one presented on the upper side of the table and the variant number two is the one in the lower row.

We need to think of the sides of a court in padel as a stepped solid wall in both ends. Then, an entire wall made of metallic fence will cover the rest of the court, from one end to the other.

As mentioned before, the walls may be made of any transparent or opaque material (glass, brick, etc.) but always with the correct consistency and which ensures a uniform bounce of the ball. The idea is that the material used must have a hard and uniform surface, which allows body impacts and sliding balls.

The color of the opaque walls should be uniform, and always contrasting with the color of the floor, to maximize visibility. Preferred colors are green, blue or terracotta.

Lastly, the holes in the fence must be always between 2in (5cm) and 3in (7,08cm)

The Ground

The ground in padel can be made of hard surfaces like porous concrete or cement or softer surfaces like synthetic material or artificial grass.

Besides the material, the ground should have the following features:

• A surface that allows a regular and uniform bounce of the ball.
• System to avoid the accumulation of water.
• Uniform colors in contrast with the wall. Preferred colors are green, blue or terracotta (and their various tones). Black floors accepted only indoors.

Access to the Court

The access to the court can be placed on both sides (preferably) or only in one of them, and always symmetrical to the center. The access must be placed at the net’s level.

There might be one or two access on each side, with or without door. If there is a door, the handles must be placed so they won’t be an obstacle at the inner surface of the wall.

Out-of-Court Play

In order to have out-of-court situations, there must be 2 access to the court on both sides.

Dimensions of the area that should allow the out-of-court play, which has to be free of obstacles:

• No less than 6ft 5in or 2m wide and 13ft 1in or 4m long on both sides.
• Minimum of 9ft 8in or 3 meters high.

The access to the court must be protected to ensure the safety of the players against injures because of the contact with it during the game. Normally, cushions are used to cover the three sides of the access, as well as the net posts.