A padel return must reach the opponent's floor before their wall or fence.

The ruleset used on this page

This page applies the FIP Rules of Padel with application review dated 1 January 2026. FIP is the international governing body, and Rules 6–16 control service, ball-in-play, correct-return and point-loss questions.

The FIP rules are the international baseline, not a promise that every club, national federation or tournament uses identical officiating procedures. The separate section below identifies the current Premier Padel review procedure; local play should check the appointed competition regulations.

Read the contacts in order

For a normal rally return, ask what the ball touched after the stroke:

1. An opponent volleys or blocks it: the return is good; no bounce was required.
2. The opponent's court surface first: the return is good, subject to the later events below.
3. The opponent's wall or metal fence first: the striker's pair loses the point. A foreign object lying on the ground has the separate Rules 10(d) and 14(f) treatment explained below.
4. The ceiling, a light or another off-court object first: the striker's pair loses the point.
5. The net or a net post first: keep watching. The return is good if it then lands on the opponent's court; it is lost if it goes directly to their wall, fence or an unrelated object.

That sequence comes from FIP Rules 13(g)–(h) and 14(a)–(e). “It touched glass” is therefore incomplete: the call depends on whether the floor came before or after the glass.

Ordinary rallies do not use tennis-style sidelines

The standard FIP court is an enclosed 10 m by 20 m rectangle. Its marked floor lines define the service areas; the side and end enclosures define the outer court during a rally. Calling a rally ball out because it crossed an imagined tennis-style baseline or sideline is the wrong test.

FIP Rule 14(i) expressly treats a return that bounces in the angle where the wall meets the ground as correct. For service, however, the actual service-box lines matter, and Rule 7(c) says those lines count as good.

Wall and fence rebounds stay live

Under FIP Rule 12, once the ball has bounced correctly in the opponent's court, contact with an inside wall or the enclosing metal fence does not by itself end the rally. The receiving pair may let the ball rebound and must return it before its second bounce.

A wall or fence contact is not a bounce and does not reset the count. Floor, glass, fence, floor is two bounces; if the receiver has not returned the ball before that second floor contact, Rule 13(c) awards the point to the other pair.

Your wall and your fence do different jobs

An incoming ball that has bounced on your side may rebound from either your wall or your fence before you hit it. There is a narrower choice when you strike your return: FIP Rule 14(b) permits you to play the ball into your own wall first, provided it then bounces in the opponent's court.

You may not deliberately route your struck ball through your own metal fence or your own floor. Rule 13(l) makes either contact a lost point for the striker's pair. “The enclosure is playable” does not mean every enclosure surface may be used in the same way.

The ball must be returned before bounce two

Rule 13(c) ends the point when the ball bounces a second time before being returned. The second bounce need not follow a simple floor-to-floor path: a ball may bounce, rebound from one or more court surfaces, and only then bounce again.

With authorised out-of-court play, that second bounce may occur outside the enclosure. The defender can chase through the side opening, but must strike before the outside bounce that makes two.

Leaving the enclosure is not the same as landing out

A smash may bounce correctly and then leave the court. If out-of-court play is not authorised, Rule 13(d) ends the point when the ball goes over the marked outer limit or through a gate after the bounce.

If Rule 16 out-of-court play is authorised, a player may leave and return the ball from outside. A ball leaving through a door or over a sidewall remains available until its second bounce or until it touches something unrelated to the court. A ball going over the end wall ends the point; there is no playable safety route behind that wall under Rule 13(e).

Authorisation depends on the court meeting FIP's safety design: two access points on each side and an unobstructed external area at least 3 m wide, 4 m long on each side and 3 m high. Four metres of width is recommended. A light pole in that safety area prevents out-of-court play.

A serve has additional in-and-out tests

Rules 6–9 require the serve to bounce in the diagonally opposite service box before the receiver returns it. A service-box line is good. The receiver may not volley the serve and must play it before its second bounce.

• Correct box, then glass or wall: live; the receiver may play it before bounce two.
• Correct box, then metal fence before bounce two: service fault under Rule 7(e).
• Correct box, then directly through the gate on a court without the required safety zone and no authorised outside play: service fault under Rule 7(f).
• Outside the correct box: service fault, even if the ball later enters it.
• Ball hits the receiver or the receiver's racket before bouncing: point to the server under Rule 8(5).

Two consecutive service faults lose the point. A first fault leaves the server with a second serve.

A net touch is replayed only after the rest of the test is met

Under Rule 9, a serve is a “net” when it touches the net or a supporting post, then lands in the correct service box, and does not touch the metal fence before the second bounce. The service is repeated. A net on a first serve restores two serves; a net on a second serve repeats only the second serve.

If the net-touched serve lands outside the correct box, it is a fault. If it lands correctly but then reaches the metal fence before bounce two, it also fails the condition for a net and is a service fault.

A body touch is not a playable rebound

If an opponent's shot touches a player or anything worn or carried by that player other than the racket, that player's pair loses the point under Rule 13(k). If a player's own struck ball then touches that player, their partner or their clothing or equipment, Rule 13(j) makes the striker's pair lose the point.

A ball volleyed with the racket remains a normal return. The rules therefore distinguish a racket stroke from a ball merely striking the body, clothing or carried equipment.

Not every unusual contact is simply “out”

FIP Rule 14(d) treats a shot that first bounces correctly and then goes out or hits the ceiling, lights or another object unrelated to the court as a correct return. The striker has not hit an out ball merely because the later contact is unusual.

Rule 14(f) also says a ball in play that hits a foreign object lying on the opponent's ground—for example, another ball—is a correct return, so that contact is not automatically “out.” Rule 10(d) requires a let if the object moves in a way that could interfere with play or endanger players. More generally, an unrelated object invading the court or an unexpected interruption can also produce a let. This is an umpire decision, not a blanket right to replay any disputed bounce.

Two trapped-ball cases award the point

FIP Rule 15 identifies two uncommon results after a correct bounce in the opponent's court. The striker's pair wins if the ball then goes through a hole in the metal fence or becomes stuck in that hole. The striker also wins if the ball becomes stuck on the flat horizontal surface at the top of a wall.

Some professional calls can be reviewed electronically

The Premier Padel men's and women's Official Rulebooks, Version 2026/2, effective 1 June 2026, treat whether a ball was in or out as a question of fact for the chair umpire. The factual call is final unless the court has the approved VAR review system and the challenge procedure is used.

At Premier Padel Majors and P1 events, VAR is required on centre court during the main draw; at P2 events it is recommended there. Each pair has two incorrect requests per set. A successful request, or a play unavailable for review, does not use one. If review cannot decide, the original call stands; if the chair umpire had no call to preserve, a let is ordered.

This is a Premier Padel procedure, not a universal rule for club matches or every FIP competition. The FIP game rules themselves do not say that players should replay a point merely because they disagree about an in/out call.

How to decide a difficult ball

1. Was it a serve? If so, apply the diagonal service-box, compulsory bounce, fence and net-service rules first.
2. Was the return volleyed? A legal volley means no first bounce needs judging.
3. If not, identify first contact. Opponent's ground or wall-floor corner is good; opponent's wall, fence or unrelated object first loses the point.
4. Track later contacts. Wall and fence remain part of play after a good bounce; neither resets the bounce count.
5. Count floor bounces. Return before the second, including a second bounce outside during authorised out-of-court play.
6. Check the court permission. A ball leaving through a side opening can be chased only where Rule 16 conditions are met.
7. Apply a narrow exception. A moving foreign object, interference or an authorised review follows its own procedure.

Six rulings under FIP 2026

• Rally ball reaches the receiver's racket before any bounce: live. Rule 14(a) permits the opponent to volley the return.
• Ball lands at the back wall-floor angle: good. Rule 14(i) expressly treats that corner bounce as a correct return; a clearly wall-first ball would be lost.
• Receiver lets the ball bounce, rebound from the fence, and then hits it: live if the stroke occurred before the second bounce. Rule 12 includes the inside fence as part of the court after a good bounce.
• Player strikes the ball into their own glass, then it lands in the opponent's court: good under Rule 14(b). The same route through the player's own metal fence would lose the point under Rule 13(l).
• Smash bounces in and exits through a side door on an authorised court; the defender reaches it after one outside bounce: too late. That outside floor contact is the second bounce, so Rule 13(c) has already ended the point.
• Serve clips the service line, then hits the back glass: live because service-box lines are good and post-bounce wall contact is allowed. Replace the glass with the metal fence before bounce two and Rule 7(e) makes it a service fault.

Claims the FIP rules do not support

• “Every return must bounce.” The opponent may volley a rally return; only the serve must bounce before it is returned.
• “Any glass contact is out.” Glass first on the opponent's side is out; court first and glass second is live.
• “The sideline is in.” In a standard padel rally, there is no tennis-style painted sideline to judge; the enclosed court surface is the key area.
• “Glass and fence are interchangeable.” Both can be used after an incoming bounce, but only the player's own wall may be used deliberately before sending a return over.
• “A fence rebound is a second bounce.” Only ground contacts count as bounces.
• “A ball leaving the court is automatically out.” It may have bounced correctly and remain retrievable through a side opening when out-of-court play is authorised.
• “An uncertain club call must be replayed.” The FIP let rules list defined interruptions; they do not create a general replay for disagreement.

Governing-body sources and effective versions

• International Padel Federation — Rules of Padel, application review 1 January 2026: Court safety area and Rules 6–16
• FIP / Premier Padel — Official Rulebook, Men's Tournaments, Version 2026/2, effective 1 June 2026: Sections 11.8 and 13
• FIP / Premier Padel — Official Rulebook, Women's Tournaments, Version 2026/2, effective 1 June 2026: Sections 11.8 and 13
• International Padel Federation — current official documents index

Checked on 27 August 2026 against the FIP rules currently linked from the official documents index. The in/out baseline is the FIP rules reviewed for application on 1 January 2026. Premier Padel's VAR procedure is a named competition supplement; other national, age-grade and tournament regulations may add their own officiating procedures.