Padel and pickleball are different sports.Padel is played two against two on a 20 x 10 meter court enclosed by glass walls that stay in play, with a solid perforated racket, a pressurized ball and tennis scoring. Pickleball is played singles or doubles on a smaller, open court with a flat paddle, a plastic ball with holes, a 7-foot no-volley “kitchen” and games to 11.
What they share: an underhand serve, a solid paddle or racket with no strings, a net of almost the same height, and a reputation as two of the most social racket sports to start.
Padel vs pickleball at a glance
| Compare | Padel | Pickleball |
|---|---|---|
| Court size | 20 x 10 m (about 66 x 33 ft) | 44 x 20 ft (13.4 x 6.1 m) |
| Walls | Enclosed. Glass and mesh walls are in play | None. The ball must land inside the lines |
| Players | Doubles (2 vs 2) | Singles or doubles |
| Surface | Usually artificial turf with sand | Hard court or indoor floor |
| Racket or paddle | Solid racket with holes and a foam core, max 45.5 cm long, wrist cord required | Solid flat paddle, length plus width no more than 24 in |
| Ball | Pressurized felt ball, close to a tennis ball | Hard plastic ball with holes |
| Serve | Underhand, bounced first, hit at or below the waist. Two attempts | Underhand volley serve or drop serve. One attempt |
| Net height | 88 cm (34.6 in) center, 92 cm at the posts | 34 in center, 36 in at the sidelines |
| Volleys | Allowed anywhere once the serve is returned | Not allowed inside the 7-ft kitchen; two-bounce rule |
| Scoring | Tennis scoring: 15, 30, 40, game, sets to 6 | Games to 11, win by 2; traditionally only the serving side scores |
| Cost to play | Court rental, median $65 per court-hour in our directory (about $16 per player)[1] | Free on many public park courts; clubs charge court fees or memberships |
| US players (2025) | About 1.07 million[2] | 24.3 million[3] |
| US courts | 1,235 at the 316 open clubs we list[1] | About 68,000 to 70,000 at 16,000+ locations[4] |
| Learning curve | Easy to start; reading the glass takes a few sessions | Easiest racket sport to start |
| Common injuries | Elbow, then knee, shoulder and lower back; mostly tendon and muscle[5] | Sprains, strains and fractures, mostly from falls; most ER cases are players 60+[6] |
Rules from the International Padel Federation's 2026 Rules of Padel and the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook. Numbered sources are listed at the end of the article.
Padel court vs pickleball court
The court is the biggest difference, and it explains most of the others. A padel court is 20 meters long and 10 meters wide, measured inside the walls. The ends are 4 meters high: 3 meters of glass or solid wall with 1 meter of metal mesh on top. The sides are glass at each end and mesh in the middle. When the ball bounces on your side and then hits the glass, it is still in play, so you can let it come off the wall and hit it back.
A pickleball court is 44 feet long and 20 feet wide, the same footprint as a badminton doubles court, with nothing around it. Seven feet on each side of the net is the non-volley zone, called the kitchen. Because it needs only lines and a net, pickleball can be painted onto tennis courts, gym floors and parking lots. Padel needs a purpose-built court, which is why the US has far fewer of them; our guide to buying a padel court covers what goes into one.
Padel racket vs pickleball paddle, and the balls
Padel
The racket is solid, with no strings, a foam core and a face drilled with holes. FIP rules cap it at 45.5 cm long, 26 cm wide and 38 mm thick, and a wrist cord is mandatory. Shapes range from round (control) to diamond (power). The ball is a pressurized felt ball that looks like a tennis ball and is slightly smaller.
Pickleball
The paddle is flat and solid, usually graphite, carbon fiber or composite. Its length plus width can't exceed 24 inches, and it can't be longer than 17 inches. The ball is hard, light plastic with holes, and it moves through the air more slowly than a padel ball.
The gear doesn't cross over between the sports. If you are buying your first padel racket, start with our best padel rackets for beginners. If you come from tennis, see rackets for tennis players, and for balls, the best padel balls.
How the rules differ
The serve
Both serves are underhand and diagonal. In padel you bounce the ball behind the service line, hit it at or below waist height, and land it in the opposite service box. You get two attempts, as in tennis. In pickleball you hit a volley serve with an upward swing below the waist, or a drop serve after letting the ball bounce, and it must clear the kitchen. You get one attempt.
Bounces and volleys
Pickleball has the two-bounce rule: the serve and the return must each bounce before anyone volleys, and you can never volley while standing in the kitchen. Padel has neither rule. The receiver lets the serve bounce, and from the return onward anyone can volley from anywhere, which is why padel players rush the net.
The walls
In padel the ball must bounce on the opponents' side first. After that bounce it can hit the glass and still be played. You can also hit the ball into your own glass to send it back over the net. Pickleball has no walls, so a ball that lands outside the lines is out.
Scoring
Padel uses tennis scoring: 15, 30, 40, game. Six games with a two-game lead wins a set, usually best of three. At 40-40 the 2026 FIP rules allow advantage, the golden point or the star point. Pickleball games go to 11, win by 2, and in traditional scoring only the serving side can win a point. USA Pickleball also allows rally scoring as a provisional option.
For the full padel rulebook in plain English, see our padel rules guide. For a shorter walkthrough of your first match, read how to play padel, and look up unfamiliar terms in the padel glossary.
Is padel harder than pickleball?
Pickleball is easier on the first day. The court is small, the ball is slow, and the basic rules are short. That low barrier is a big part of why it spread so fast.
Padel is also easy to start, and the walls help beginners: balls that would be winners in tennis come back off the glass, so rallies last longer. The harder part is learning when to let the ball come off the wall and where to stand. Those two skills, covered in our padel positioning guide, separate a first-month player from a regular. Shots like the bandeja, padel's controlled overhead, exist because of the walls and take longer to learn.
Physically, padel asks for more movement. The court is about two and a half times larger, the ball is faster, and points often involve running back to the glass and forward to the net. Pickleball rallies at the kitchen line involve less running, though competitive pickleball is still demanding.
Injuries in padel and pickleball
The research on the two sports measures different things, so the numbers can't be compared directly. Here is what each body of research shows:
- Padel: a 2023 systematic review in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine found about 3 injuries per 1,000 hours of training and 8 per 1,000 matches. The elbow was the most common site, followed by the knee, shoulder and lower back, and most injuries were to tendons and muscles.[5]
- Pickleball: a study of US emergency room data from 2010 to 2019 found that over 85% of pickleball injury cases involved players aged 60 or older. Strains and sprains, fractures, and bruises were the most common diagnoses, and about two in three injuries came from slips, trips and falls.[6]
In both sports, warming up and building up gradually help. Our physical therapist guest post on preventing padel injuries covers the elbow, shoulder and back, and the best rackets for tennis elbow guide helps if your arm is already sore.
Cost to play
Pickleball is cheaper to start. Many cities have free public courts, and a beginner paddle is inexpensive. Indoor pickleball clubs charge court fees or memberships.
Padel is almost always played at a club, so you pay for court time. Across the 85 clubs in our directory that publish a court price, the median is $65 per court-hour, and the middle half of clubs charge between $48 and $80. Split four ways, the median works out to about $16 per player per hour. Many clubs rent rackets and offer memberships that lower the hourly rate; club listings in our court search show published prices where we have them.
How many people play each sport
In the US, pickleball is far bigger. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association counted 24.3 million Americans who played pickleball in 2025.[3] The same research tracked padel for the first time and counted about 1.07 million players, around 238,000 of whom played eight or more times.[2]
Worldwide, Playtomic's Global Padel Report 2026 counts roughly 19.4 million padel players and about 58,300 courts.[7] Our State of US Padel 2026 report tracks where American clubs are opening.
Which should you play?
Choose padel if you…
- Played tennis or squash and want a game that is quicker to enjoy
- Like long rallies and a real workout
- Enjoy doubles strategy and teamwork
- Have a padel club within reach and don't mind paying for court time
Choose pickleball if you…
- Want the quickest, cheapest start
- Prefer less running and a gentler pace
- Want to play singles sometimes
- Have free public courts nearby
Plenty of people play both. Soft hands at the net, patience, and placing the ball carry over from one to the other. Distance usually decides it, so check what is actually near you first.
Where to play padel and pickleball in the US
A growing number of clubs build both sports under one roof. These clubs in our directory carry both sports in their name; open each listing for courts, prices and booking links.
- PURE Pickleball & PadelScottsdale, AZComing soon
- Santa Monica Pickleball & PadelSanta Monica, CA
- The Tennis & Pickleball Club at Newport BeachNewport Beach, CA
- Padel America at Pickleball AmericaStamford, CT
- Serve & Smash Pickleball & Padel ClubBranford, CT
- Eko Padel and PickleMiami, FL
- Let's Go Pickleball & PadelPeachtree City, GA
- Pickleball Club of GeorgiaAtlanta, GAComing soon
- Club Pickle & PadelHighland Park, IL
- Pickle N PinsMetairie, LA
- Open Play Pickleball and Padel ClubHopkinton, MAComing soon
- Padel + PickleOlivette, MO
- Bozeman Classic Pickleball ClubBozeman, MTComing soon
- Cleveland Premier Pickleball & PadelAvon Lake, OH
- Matt's Pickle and PadelSewickley, PA
- Pine Valley PickleballPhiladelphia, PA
- Incredibowl Pickle & PadelMission, TX
- Legacy Padel & PickleballAustin, TX
- RGV Padel & Pickleball ClubMission, TX
- TEMPO Padel & Pickleball ClubHouston, TX
Many other padel clubs also have pickleball courts without saying so in their name. To see every padel club near you, use our court search or browse the states with the most clubs:
First time at a padel club? Our guide to choosing a padel club and padel lessons page will help you book the right session.
Frequently asked questions
Is padel the same as pickleball?
No. They are different sports. Padel is played in doubles on a 20 x 10 meter court enclosed by glass walls that stay in play, with a solid perforated racket, a pressurized felt ball and tennis scoring. Pickleball is played singles or doubles on an open 44 x 20 foot court with a flat paddle, a plastic ball with holes, a 7-foot non-volley zone and games to 11.
What is the difference between padel and pickleball?
The biggest differences are the walls, the court and the ball. Padel's glass back and side walls are part of play, and pickleball has no walls. A padel court has about two and a half times the area of a pickleball court. Padel uses a pressurized ball much like a tennis ball; pickleball uses a light plastic ball with holes. Scoring differs too: padel copies tennis, and pickleball plays games to 11.
What is the difference between a padel court and a pickleball court?
A padel court is 20 x 10 meters (about 66 x 33 feet), fully enclosed, with walls 4 meters high at the ends (3 meters of glass or wall plus 1 meter of mesh), usually on artificial turf. A pickleball court is 44 x 20 feet, open on all sides, on a hard surface, with a 7-foot non-volley zone on each side of the net. You cannot play padel on a pickleball court.
What is the difference between a padel ball and a pickleball?
A padel ball is a pressurized rubber ball covered in felt, very close to a tennis ball and slightly smaller. A pickleball is a hard, light plastic ball with holes; balls with larger holes are customarily used indoors and smaller holes outdoors. The padel ball is heavier and faster, and it rebounds off the glass.
Is padel harder than pickleball?
Padel usually takes a little longer to learn because you have to read the ball off the glass walls. Pickleball is quicker to pick up because the court is small and the ball is slow. Both are easier to start than tennis, and in both, most beginners can rally in their first session.
Which is more popular in the US, padel or pickleball?
Pickleball, by a wide margin. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association counted 24.3 million Americans who played pickleball in 2025 and about 1.07 million who played padel. Worldwide, Playtomic's Global Padel Report 2026 counts about 19.4 million padel players.
Can you play padel on a pickleball court?
No. Padel needs a larger court enclosed by walls, because playing the ball off the glass is part of the game. Pickleball courts are open and much smaller. Padel is played on dedicated padel courts, which is why there are far fewer of them in the US.
Is padel the same as paddle tennis or platform tennis?
No. Platform tennis is an American sport played mostly outdoors in cold weather on a raised deck surrounded by wire screens, using a spongy rubber ball. POP tennis and beach tennis are different sports again. If you mean the doubles game played inside glass walls, that is padel.
Sources
- Padel Courts Finder directory, computed live from our club listings: open clubs and their published court counts, and court-hour prices from the 85 clubs that publish one.
- Sports & Fitness Industry Association, “What Is Padel?” (2026 Topline Participation Report data for 2025). sfia.org/resources/what-is-padel
- Sports & Fitness Industry Association, “U.S. Pickleball Participation Statistics” (2025 data). sfia.org/research/u-s-pickleball-participation
- Pickleheads, “Pickleball Statistics” (updated February 2025): 68,458 courts in its database, over 70,000 including tennis courts with temporary lines, and over 16,210 places to play. pickleheads.com/blog/pickleball-statistics
- Dahmen, J., et al. (2023). “Incidence, prevalence and nature of injuries in padel: a systematic review.” BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 9(2), e001607. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37337550
- Weiss, H., Dougherty, J., & DiMaggio, C. (2021). “Non-fatal senior pickleball and tennis-related injuries treated in United States emergency departments, 2010 to 2019.” Injury Epidemiology, 8, 34. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8091689
- Playtomic and PwC Strategy&, Global Padel Report 2026. playtomic.com/global-padel-report
- International Padel Federation, Rules of Padel (in force from January 1, 2026). padelfip.com
- USA Pickleball, 2026 Official Rulebook. usapickleball.org
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