How Padel Scoring Works: Points, Golden Point, Star Point and Tiebreaks

If you know how tennis is scored, you already know most of padel scoring. Points go 15, 30, 40 and game, six games make a set, and a match is usually the best of three sets. The parts that trip up new players are what happens at 40-40, who serves in what order, and the shorter formats that US clubs and tournaments use.

This guide goes through all of it in detail, checked against the International Padel Federation (FIP) rulebook that applies from January 1, 2026, and the United States Padel Association (USPA) tournament rules. For the rest of the rules (the serve, the walls, lets), see our complete padel rules guide. If you have never played, start with how to play padel.

Points in a game: love, 15, 30, 40

A game is won by the first pair to win four points, as long as they are two points ahead. The points have names instead of numbers:

• 0 points is “love”
• 1 point is “15”
• 2 points is “30”
• 3 points is “40”
• 4 points (with a two-point lead) is “game”

The server calls the score before each point, and the serving pair's score always comes first. “30-15” means the servers have two points and the receivers have one; “15-30” means the reverse. Equal scores below 40 are called “all”, so 15-15 is “15-all”. When both pairs reach 40, the score is deuce.

At 40-40: advantage, golden point or star point

The FIP rulebook lists three ways to finish a game from deuce. They are all legal, and which one you play depends on your club, league or tournament. Agree on one before the first ball, because arguing about it at deuce is a bad way to decide a game.

Advantage

This is the method from tennis. The pair that wins the point after deuce has the advantage (“advantage in” if it is the servers, “advantage out” if it is the receivers). Win the next point and you win the game; lose it and the score goes back to deuce. A game can, in theory, go on forever, which is why many clubs prefer one of the other two methods.

Golden point (punto de oro)

Also called “no advantage”. The first time the game reaches deuce, one point decides it. Before that point, the receiving pair chooses whether to receive on the right side or the left side of the court, and once they choose they cannot swap positions. In mixed doubles, the receiver must be the same sex as the server. Golden point keeps games short, which helps when you have the court booked for an hour or 90 minutes.

Star point (new for 2026)

The star point is a middle ground between the other two. The FIP General Assembly approved it unanimously on November 28, 2025, and it went into the 2026 rulebook as Option 2. Here is how it plays out, using the calls the rulebook prescribes:

1. Deuce 1. Both pairs reach 40. Play the next point for advantage 1. The pair with the advantage wins the game if they win the following point.
2. Deuce 2. If the advantage is lost, it is deuce again. Play for advantage 2, which works the same way.
3. Deuce 3 and the star point. If the second advantage is also lost, the next point is the star point. The receiving pair chooses the side, nobody may swap positions, and whoever wins the point wins the game.

The FIP's stated aim is to limit how long a game can run while keeping some of the back-and-forth of advantage. A star point game can last at most 11 points, against 7 for golden point and no limit for advantage. The FIP introduced it in January 2026 at the first CUPRA FIP Tour event in Melbourne, and it debuted on the Premier Padel tour at the Riyadh P1 in February 2026. In the US, the USPA uses star point in all sanctioned tournaments and matches.

Which should your group use? If you are playing a USPA event, star point is the rule. For a booked court with friends, golden point fits the most games into your time, and star point is a good compromise if you want deuce to feel like deuce. Whatever you pick, say it out loud before the warm-up ends.

A worked example: one game, point by point

Ana and Ben are playing Cleo and Dev, and it is Ben's turn to serve. The first point of every game is served from the right side, and the server switches sides after every point. Here is a game that goes all the way to a star point:

The same game under the other two methods:

• Golden point: point 7 would be the deciding point. Cleo and Dev pick who receives, and because they won it, the game ends 7 points in, with Cleo and Dev taking it.
• Advantage: after point 10 the score is simply deuce again, and play continues until one pair wins two points in a row.

Ana and Ben win the game, and the next game is served by a player from Cleo and Dev's side. If this was the first game of the set, both pairs also change ends.

Sets and matches

• A set goes to the first pair to win six games with at least a two-game lead. At 5-5 you play on, so a set can finish 7-5.
• At 6-6 you play a tiebreak, and the winner takes the set 7-6.
• A match is the best of three sets. The FIP rules let organizers announce in advance that a third set will be played without a tiebreak, in which case it continues until one pair is two games ahead.

Shorter formats

The FIP rulebook also allows three alternative formats, and you will see all of them in US club and tournament play:

• Four-game sets (mini sets). First to four games with a two-game lead, and a tiebreak at 4-4.
• Match tiebreak to 7. At one set all, a single tiebreak to 7 (win by two) replaces the third set.
• Super tiebreak to 10. At one set all, a tiebreak to 10 (win by two) replaces the third set. A final score written as 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 means the match was decided this way.

In USPA tournaments, the main draw of Division 1 at the larger events (USPA 2000, 1000, 750 and 500) plays the best of three tiebreak sets. Divisions 2 to 4, all consolation draws, and every match at USPA 250 and 100 events play two tiebreak sets and a super tiebreak to 10 in place of the third set. Every tiebreak is won by two points; there is no sudden-death point.

How a padel tiebreak works

In a tiebreak the points are counted 0, 1, 2, 3 and so on. The first pair to 7 points with a two-point lead wins the tiebreak and the set, and if it reaches 6-6 you keep going until someone is two ahead. The serving order is where people get lost:

1. The player whose turn it is to serve (following the set's rotation) serves one point, from the right.
2. The next server in the rotation, from the other pair, serves two points, starting from the left.
3. From then on, each player serves two points in turn, always left first, then right, keeping the same order as the set.
4. Pairs change ends after every six points (at 3-3, 6-0, 5-1 and so on, whenever the total is a multiple of six), with only a short pause.
5. The next set is started by the pair that did not serve first in the tiebreak.

Continuing the example, if the set reaches 6-6 and it is Ben's turn to serve, the tiebreak runs like this:

A match tiebreak or super tiebreak uses the same rotation; only the target changes, to 7 or 10 points.

Who serves when

Serving rotates between the pairs every game and between partners every other game, so all four players serve once in every four games.

• The coin toss. The pair that wins the toss chooses to serve or receive first (the other pair then picks the end), or chooses the end (the other pair then picks serve or receive), or asks the opponents to choose first.
• The order. At the start of each set, each pair decides which partner serves first, and that order holds for the whole set. If Ben serves game 1 and Cleo game 2, then Ana serves game 3 and Dev game 4, and the cycle repeats.
• The receivers. In the first game they receive in a set, the receiving pair decides who takes the first point. That player receives the first point of every game they receive for the rest of the set, and partners alternate from there.
• Sides. Every game starts with a serve from the right, then alternates left and right after each point. On a golden point or star point the receivers choose instead.
• Two serves per point. A fault on the first serve gives you a second; two faults lose the point. The serve itself (underhand, below the waist, diagonal) is covered in the serve rules.

If someone serves out of turn, the correct player takes over as soon as anyone notices. Points already played stand. If a whole game has finished before the mistake is spotted, keep the new order until the end of the set.

Changing ends

Pairs switch ends after the 1st, 3rd and every following odd-numbered game of each set, so an easy check is “change when the game total in the set is odd”. That evens out sun, wind and lighting on outdoor courts. In tournament play the FIP allows up to 90 seconds at a change of ends, except after the first game of a set, when you change straight away. Between sets you get up to 120 seconds. In a tiebreak you change every six points with only a short pause. If you forget to change, fix it as soon as you notice; the points already played still count.

Social formats at US clubs: Americano, Mexicano and round robins

Many clubs run social events where the scoring changes completely. None of these are FIP rules, so the details vary by club and by the app running the event. The common versions work like this:

• Americano. You switch partners every round so that you play with as many people as possible. Each match is played to a fixed total of points (16, 21, 24 and 32 are typical), every single point counts, and there is no 15-30-40 and no deuce. The serve usually changes hands every four points. Each player adds the points their team won to their personal total, and the highest individual total at the end wins.
• Mexicano. Scored like an Americano, but after the first round the pairings come from the leaderboard, so players with similar totals end up on the same court. It keeps matches closer as the event goes on.
• Round robins and leagues. These often use golden point and short sets so every match fits in a time slot. Ask the organizer how many games or minutes each match lasts and how ties are broken.

Social events are the easiest way into the local scene. Our glossary has the other terms you will hear, and the court search will show you the clubs near you.

Scoring mistakes beginners make

1. Calling your own score first when you are receiving.The serving pair's score always comes first, whoever is calling it.
2. Not agreeing on the 40-40 method. Decide on advantage, golden point or star point before you start.
3. Swapping receivers on the deciding point. The receivers choose a side, and then the player on that side has to take the serve.
4. Giving the first tiebreak server two points. The first server gets one point only, from the right.
5. Forgetting to change ends. After game 1, game 3 and every odd game. If in doubt, add up the games in the set.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: International Padel Federation, Rules of Padel (applies from January 1, 2026), Rules 1 to 6; International Padel Federation, “Introducing the Star Point” press release (December 18, 2025); United States Padel Association, Rules and Regulations, Edition 8.11 (June 1, 2026), section 3.6 Scoring Formats.