The serve in padel isn’t like tennis. You won’t see anyone launching the ball overhead at 100mph, and an ace is about as rare as sunshine in Glasgow in November. But that doesn’t mean the serve is unimportant. Done well, it puts you and your partner in a strong position before the rally even starts. Done poorly, you’re on the back foot from shot one.
What makes the padel serve interesting is that it’s more about brains than power. Where you place the ball, how much spin you put on it, and how quickly you move to the net afterwards all matter far more than how hard you hit it. That’s good news if you’re new to the sport, because you don’t need to spend months building up some massive, booming serve before you can compete. You just need to understand the rules of padel serving, learn a few different options, and practise putting the ball where you want it.
This guide covers all of it. The official rules, the technique from grip to follow-through, the different types of serve you can use, and the tactical decisions that separate a good server from someone who’s just putting the ball in play.
The rules of serving in padel
Ever been called for a foot fault when you didn’t even realise you’d moved? You’re not alone. Before you think about technique, you need to know what the serving rules in padel actually allow, because they’re quite specific and they catch out a lot of beginners.
The serve must be underarm. You drop the ball (or bounce it on the ground) and hit it at or below waist height, as defined by the International Padel Federation (FIP). Both feet must be behind the service line when you make contact, and at least one foot needs to stay on the ground throughout the motion. You can’t jump into your serve the way tennis players do. The ball must travel diagonally over the net (which stands 88cm at the centre and 92cm at the posts) into the opposite service box, so if you’re serving from the right side of the court (the deuce side), the ball needs to land in the service box to your left.
Once the ball bounces in the service box, it can hit the glass back wall and still be in play. That’s perfectly legal. But if the ball bounces and then hits the side mesh (the metal fencing rather than the glass panels), it’s a fault. This distinction trips people up more than almost anything else in padel, so it’s worth remembering: glass is fine, mesh after the bounce means the serve is out.
You get two serves per point. If your first serve faults (misses the box, hits the net without going in, or strikes the mesh after bouncing), you get a second attempt. Double fault and your opponents win the point. If the ball clips the net cord and still lands in the correct service box, it’s a let, and you replay that serve without penalty.
One more thing that catches beginners: you must stand between the centre line and the side wall when serving. You can’t drift too far wide. And your feet can’t touch or cross the service line until after you’ve made contact with the ball. A foot fault gives the point away just as a double fault would.
Step-by-step serve technique
Grip
Use a continental grip, sometimes called the hammer grip because you hold the racket the same way you’d hold a hammer. Your index knuckle sits on the top-right bevel of the handle (if you’re right-handed), and your fingers wrap around comfortably without squeezing too tight. This grip gives you the flexibility to hit flat serves, add slice, or put topspin on the ball without having to change your hand position between shots.
Stance and positioning
Stand roughly a metre behind the service line with your feet shoulder-width apart and your body angled slightly sideways to the net. Your front foot (left foot for right-handers) should point towards the net post on the opposite side, and your weight should sit on your back foot, ready to transfer forward as you swing. Don’t stand right up against the service line. Leaving some space behind it gives you a run-up into your serve-and-volley approach, and you’re less likely to foot fault.
The ball drop
This isn’t a toss. You hold the ball out in front of you at about chest height and let it drop naturally, or bounce it once on the ground and let it come up to waist level. Either method is fine under the rules. The important thing is consistency. Pick one method and stick with it, because an erratic ball drop is the single fastest way to introduce errors into an otherwise solid serving motion.
Contact point and swing
Make contact with the ball at or just below waist height, slightly in front of your body. Your swing should be smooth and controlled, coming from the shoulder and core rather than just the wrist. Think of it as a pendulum motion. The racket face angle at the moment of contact determines what happens next: a slightly open face (tilted upward) gives you backspin, a flat face sends the ball straight, and a closed face (tilted downward) creates topspin.
Follow-through
Let the racket continue naturally through the hitting zone and finish up near your opposite shoulder. A full follow-through helps with accuracy and spin, while a cut-off or jabbing motion tends to produce inconsistent results. The follow-through also sets up your body rotation, which feeds directly into the next part of the process, getting to the net.
Types of padel serve
Once you’ve got the basic motion down, what next? You start varying what you do with it. Different serves create different problems for the returner, and having more than one option keeps your opponent guessing.
Flat serve
The safest option and a reliable second serve. You hit the ball with a neutral racket face, producing minimal spin and a predictable bounce. It won’t trouble experienced players much, but it gets the ball in play consistently, and consistency is what matters most when you’re building your game. There’s no shame in a flat serve. Plenty of club players use it as their primary delivery and do fine.
Slice serve (backspin)
This is the most popular serve in padel at every level, from beginners to Premier Padel Tour professionals. You brush down and underneath the ball at contact, which makes it spin backwards as it travels. The effect on the bounce is noticeable straight away. The ball stays low after hitting the ground and skids rather than kicking up, which makes it harder for the returner to attack. Some players add sidespin to the slice too, curving the ball towards the glass and making the bounce even more awkward to read. When a slice serve hits the back glass wall, it dies rather than springing off, which gives you even more time to reach the net.
Topspin serve
The opposite of slice. You brush up the back of the ball, creating forward rotation that causes it to kick up higher after the bounce. A well-executed topspin serve can be uncomfortable to return because the ball jumps into the returner’s body or up above their comfortable hitting zone. It’s less common than the slice in padel, but it adds variety and can surprise opponents who are expecting the low, skidding delivery every time.
Body serve
Instead of aiming for the corners of the service box, you direct the ball straight at the returner. This gives them very little room to swing, forces an awkward return, and often produces a weak reply that you or your partner can attack. The body serve works particularly well when the returner likes to move early and take the ball on the forehand, because it jams them and takes away their space.
Kick serve
A combination of topspin and sidespin that produces a high, curving bounce. The kick serve jumps up and away from the returner after landing, which makes it genuinely difficult to time. It’s the hardest serve to master in padel because the wrist action and racket angle need to work together precisely, but it’s a real weapon once you’ve got it down. You’ll see it used more at competitive level than in social play.
Short serve
A soft, gently hit serve that barely clears the net and dies in the front half of the service box. The returner has to move forward to play it, which pulls them out of their comfortable baseline position and makes their return angle narrower. It’s a smart tactical option, especially if your opponent has been standing deep and attacking your bigger serves off the back wall.
Where to aim your serve
Placement is more valuable than power in padel serving, and understanding your targets makes a bigger difference than any technical adjustment.
Serving into the glass back wall is the most common tactic for a good reason. If the ball bounces in the service box and then carries into the glass, the returner has to deal with the rebound as well as the spin. A slice serve into the glass barely comes off the wall at all, which leaves them stuck near the back of the court with very few attacking options. Meanwhile, you’ve had plenty of time to walk to the net and set up in an attacking position.
Aiming at the T (the junction of the centre line and the service line) pulls the returner towards the middle of the court and limits the angle they can return at. Going wide does the opposite, pushing them towards the side wall and opening up space on the far side for your partner to attack. The best servers mix all three targets across their service games so the returner can never settle into a rhythm.
Pay attention to which side of the court you’re serving from, too. On the deuce side (right), a slice serve naturally curves away from a right-handed returner towards the glass. On the advantage side (left), the same slice pulls into the returner’s body. Adjust your targets based on these angles and on whether your opponent favours their forehand or backhand return.
After the serve: getting to the net
Here’s something that separates padel from tennis in a fundamental way. In tennis, you can serve and stay on the baseline. In padel, the net is where points are won, and the serve is your ticket to get there.
As soon as you’ve made contact with the ball, start moving forward. You don’t sprint, you take two or three purposeful steps towards the net while watching the returner prepare their shot. The goal is to reach a position roughly a metre back from the net, side by side with your partner, before the return comes back over.
Timing matters here. As the returner is about to make contact with the ball, do a split step: a small hop that lands you with both feet shoulder-width apart, ready to react in any direction. If you’re still moving forward when they hit their return, you’ll be caught off-balance and struggling to react. The split step is the reset that lets you respond to whatever comes back at you.
Your partner plays a role in this too. While you serve, your partner should be positioned at the net on their side of the court, already in an attacking stance. The two of you are trying to form a wall at the net as quickly as possible after the serve, because that’s the position that wins points in doubles padel. Talk to each other. If you’re struggling to reach the net in time, your partner can shift slightly towards the centre to cover for you until you get there.
Common serving mistakes
The biggest mistake beginners make is serving too hard. It sounds counterintuitive, but a powerful serve in padel actually works against you because you don’t have time to reach the net before the return comes back. You’ve traded a tiny bit of extra pressure on the returner for a massive positional disadvantage. Dial the power back, focus on spin and placement, and give yourself time to get forward.
Overcomplicating the technique is another common trap. If you’re thinking about seven different things during your serve (grip pressure, wrist angle, ball drop height, foot position, shoulder turn, contact point, follow-through direction), you’ll tighten up and produce something robotic and inconsistent. Simplify. Practise the basics until they’re second nature, then add layers of complexity one at a time.
Not varying your serve is the third big one. If every serve goes to the same spot with the same speed and the same spin, the returner figures you out inside two service games and starts punishing it. Move your targets around. Mix a slice with a flat. Throw in a body serve when they’re leaning one way. Predictability is a server’s worst enemy.
How to practise your padel serve
Set up target zones in the service box using cones, bottles, or even spare balls, and aim for them. Place one near the T, one near the glass, and one short. Hit ten serves at each target, alternating between flat and slice. Track how many land where you want them to, and try to beat your score next session.
The serve-and-close drill is worth doing regularly too. Serve the ball, then immediately walk to the net and do a split step as if a return is coming. You can do this solo. It builds the muscle memory so that the serve and the net approach become one connected movement rather than two separate actions you have to think about individually.
Can you serve well in practice but fall apart during a game? That’s normal, and the fix is to add match pressure to your training. Play practice points where you only score if you win the point on your serve. This simulates the tension of a real game and forces you to execute your serve when it matters, not just when there’s nothing riding on it.
First serve vs second serve
Your first serve is where you take calculated risks. A slice serve aimed at the glass, a wide body serve that jams the returner, or a topspin delivery that kicks up awkwardly. If it goes in, you’ve put yourself in a strong position. If it doesn’t, you still have a second chance.
Your second serve needs to go in. That’s the priority above everything else. A reliable flat or gentle slice that lands consistently in the box is far more valuable than a flashy second serve that double faults one time in four. Professional padel players aim for a first-serve percentage above 70%, and their second serves prioritise reliability over aggression. At club level, the same principle applies but even more so, because a double fault at our level often comes from trying too hard on the second attempt rather than trusting a simpler delivery.
Frequently asked questions
Can you serve overarm in padel?
No. The serve must be underarm, with contact made at or below waist height. Overarm serving is not allowed under any circumstances.
Can the serve hit the glass wall?
Yes. After the ball bounces in the correct service box, it can hit the glass back wall and the serve is still good. However, if it hits the metal mesh fencing after the bounce, it’s a fault.
What happens if the serve hits the net?
If the ball clips the net cord and still lands in the correct service box, it’s a let and you replay the serve. If it hits the net and doesn’t make it into the box, it’s a fault.
How many serves do you get in padel?
Two. If your first serve is a fault, you get a second attempt. If both miss, it’s a double fault and your opponents win the point.
Can you jump when serving in padel?
No. At least one foot must remain on the ground throughout the serving motion. Jumping into the serve is a fault.
Does it matter which side you serve from?
Yes. You alternate sides each point, starting from the right (deuce side) at the beginning of each game. The angles are different on each side, so your serve placement and spin should change depending on where you’re standing.
Put it into practice
The padel serve isn’t about raw power or perfect technique. It’s a tactical tool that sets up the rest of the point, and the best servers are the ones who can place the ball consistently, vary their delivery, and get to the net before the return comes back. Everything else is a bonus.
If you want to work on your serve with proper guidance, our coaching sessions at The Court in Glasgow cover all of this and more. And if you’d rather just grab three friends and figure it out on court, that’s fine too. Book a court and get stuck in.
