Most padel faults are not separate penalties. They simply decide the point. The common pattern is simple: once the serve is valid, each pair must return the ball legally before a second bounce, without touching the net, hitting the wrong surface first, using illegal body or racket contact, or interfering with the opponents.
A fault is an action or event that makes a serve, return, or rally sequence illegal. During a rally, the usual result is immediate loss of the point by the pair that committed the fault. On serve, the first fault usually gives the server a second serve; a second consecutive service fault loses the point.
The clearest lost-point rule is the second bounce. A player may let the ball bounce once, and may let it rebound off their glass or fence after that first bounce, but the ball must be returned before it bounces on the floor a second time. Wall contact does not reset the bounce count.
If a player, racket, clothing, or carried object touches the net, net posts, tension cable, or the opponent's court while the ball is in play, that player's pair normally loses the point. It usually does not matter whether the contact changed the shot.
A player loses the point by hitting the ball before it has crossed the net to their side. A legal follow-through after contact is different from reaching over to strike the ball too early. Officials look at where the ball was at contact, not just where the racket finished.
A return is not legal if it hits the opponent's glass, wall, metal fence, ceiling, light, floor outside the court, or another outside object before bouncing in the opponent's court. A player may use their own glass as part of a return, but the ball still has to land legally on the other side.
A player loses the point if their shot touches the metal fence, floor, or an unrelated object on their own side after they hit it. In practical terms, a defensive shot into your own glass can be legal, but a shot into your own fence is not treated the same way.
If the ball touches a player, their partner, clothing, or equipment after an opponent's shot, that pair normally loses the point. If a player hits the ball and it then touches that player or their partner before becoming a legal return, the point is also lost.
A player may not deliberately hit the ball twice, and both partners may not hit the ball in succession. If both partners swing and only one contacts the ball, that is not automatically a fault. A single continuous racket contact can also be legal when the ball's natural exit is not substantially changed.
The ball must be played with a racket held by the player. Throwing the racket at the ball is a lost point. In FIP rules, if a player breaks the required safety cord or drops the racket during the point, that pair immediately loses the point in dispute.
A serve fault can come from the wrong stance, no bounce before contact, contact above waist height, missing the ball while trying to serve, landing outside the correct service box, hitting the server or partner, or landing in the box and then touching the metal fence before the second bounce. One service fault gives the server another try; two consecutive faults give the point to the receivers.
Players may leave the court to play the ball only when the court is approved for out-of-court play and the safety area requirements are met. If out-of-court play is not authorized, a ball that leaves through the gate or over the marked court limit after bouncing can end the point according to the court setup. If out-of-court play is authorized, the point can continue until the ball bounces again or touches something outside the court that ends play.
Some events stop play without awarding the point. A valid net-cord serve, receiver-not-ready serve, broken ball, outside object entering the court, or unexpected interruption can produce a let. Deliberate interference normally awards the point to the opponents, while involuntary interference can lead to a replay unless repeated or otherwise penalized by the official.
Officials judge padel faults by sequence. They identify whether the ball was live, where it first bounced, what it touched next, who touched the net or court, whether the ball crossed before contact, and whether the court allowed out-of-court play. In casual matches, players should use the same sequence rather than deciding from how spectacular or accidental the shot looked.